ADDIO ALLE CONFERENZE PROFESSIONALI. C'È UN MODO MIGLIORE PER FARE RETE.

It is surprising that in today’s digital world, the majority of networking among researchers and industries takes place in professional conferences and conventions. According to conventionindustry.org, quasi 1,8 milioni di incontri ha avuto luogo negli Stati Uniti durante l'anno solare 2009 e ha coinvolto circa 205 milioni di partecipanti. Questo ha generato più di $263 miliardi di spesa diretta (costi relativi all'acquisto di alloggi, viaggi e altre attività correlate).

It is quite impossible for anybody, be it a researcher or a business person, to work in isolation. Having a strong network in your professional and personal lives is important for you to access opportunities to grow. Students, scientists, industry experts and professors meet at conferences, all seeking the same thing – expanding and strengthening their network. Most attendees have a goal in mind which they seek to achieve at the event – meeting an important person, talking their way into a research group, finding a collaborator, etc. But attending an event doesn’t it come without its own share of challenges.

1. There’s money involved 

Partecipare a una conferenza comporta quasi sempre il pagamento di una quota di iscrizione e/o l'acquisto di biglietti per eventi specifici. Altri costi includono viaggio, alloggio, cibo e spese accessorie. Anche se la conferenza è gratuita (cosa rara) o offre uno sconto per studenti, il costo della partecipazione può essere spesso proibitivo per molti.

A study by conventionindustry.org says that “the total direct spending associated with U.S. meetings activity in 2012 is estimated at over $280 billion. Approximately $130 billion (46%)  of the direct spending in the meetings industry is on travel and tourism commodities such as lodging, food service, and transportation. The majority of direct spending, however, is not travel-related, with $150 billion or 54 percent involving meeting planning and production costs, venue rental, and other non-travel & tourism commodities…”

While reliable statistiche are hard to come by, a segnalare pubblicato da IEEE nel 2007 mostra che la loro quota media di registrazione alla conferenza era $451. Tuttavia, la quota di registrazione rappresenta solo 24% dei costi totali, mentre il biglietto aereo e i costi dell'hotel occupano rispettivamente 26% e 24%. L'accessibilità economica è il principale fattore restrittivo che impedisce agli individui e alle organizzazioni di ottenere il tipo di guida e sostegno che meritano.

2. Costa tempo, energia e sforzo 

Planning for a conference can involve weeks and months of preparation. This could include getting paperwork done, researching on the people attending, writing to them and trying to fix appointments beforehand, registering for events, trying to volunteer so that you can save costs, as well as working overtime to make up for the leave you’ll take from work during the event. Attending a conference can also be mentally and physically exhausting, especially for introverted people.

Ricerca tells us that a large number of people are just plain uncomfortable with professional networking. Many times, successful networking requires people to sell themselves and make the right kind of impression. But this may not be everyone’s cup of tea –  some people may be quite reluctant to put themselves out there. Most people who do attend professional conferences do it as an unavoidable aspect of working life.

3. There is hope but there’s no certainty 

One would think that having spent so much of resources into attending an event, one would be guaranteed of a satisfactory outcome. However, often, you may have to come away disappointed from the event. Perhaps you didn’t get to meet the person you wanted to because he/she didn’t turn up last minute, perhaps there was no time. We also have to factor in any unfortunate circumstances that might prevent you from getting the best out of the event (such as a last minute emergency or an illness). While you may hope to get what you’re looking for at a conference, there is no guarantee. There’s no assurance. It’s, at the end of the day, a gamble.

Con i social media che guadagnano popolarità nel mondo accademico e degli affari, c'è una crescente accessibilità ai ricercatori e agli esperti del settore da tutto il mondo. Secondo un studio pubblicato nel 2015 dal Pew Research Centre, 22% degli scienziati dell'AAAS credevano di usare Twitter o Facebook per promuovere il loro lavoro. Anche i gruppi di LinkedIn stanno diventando un popolare terreno di caccia per potenziali collaboratori e partner.

It is evident that there’s a glaring lack of a digital platform that specifically helps scientists, businesses people, entrepreneurs and students connect and collaborate with each other on specific projects. If you were to look for somebody who can help you with a statistical review of your data, you might have to spend hours doing research, tracking down the right person(s) online, send a mail and hope that they will reply. And even if they do, they:

1. a) può o non può essere disposto ad aiutare
2. b) potrebbero essere vincolati da politiche restrittive, e
3. c) potrebbe esserci una mancata corrispondenza di budget.

Kolabtree mira a risolvere questo problema, permettendo alle persone di connettersi con un esperto di fama, che offre volentieri la sua esperienza online. Con già più di 2000 postdoc da tutto il mondo a bordo, compresi quelli di istituzioni come Stanford, Cambridge, Oxford e MIT, mira a ridurre l'onere monetario che deriva dalla partecipazione a una conferenza professionale. Kolabtree ti assicura un aiuto rapido su aree tematiche specifiche, facilita l'accesso a freelance specializzati e ti permette di scegliere il tuo budget per progetto.

Avere un piattaforma di collaborazione online allows a specificity and certainty that doesn’t come from attending professional networks, where there is always some degree of ambiguity involved. Ultimately, the goal is to democratize access to research, so that more and more people benefit from it – not only scientists and industries but also individuals like you and I.