Possibilities through global collaboration

Science is a collaborative effort. Think Watson and Crick, Twain and Tesla, da Vinci and Machiavelli. Great teams of scientific minds can create wondrous ideas. Collaborators share an interest in the outcome of a project. Because all parties are investing time and resources, each has a strong motivator for the project to yield results. Most everyone collaborates in one way or another. Whether a grad student in a lab, a new professor getting started, or a global team working on a project like the human genome. When communities work together, great outcomes can be generated. With scientific research encompassing an ever growing global setting, researchers are able to look beyond their own institutions to their colleagues around the world for partnerships. One important way to be able to connect with those that share similar interests is to attend conferences. The ability to discuss research with like-minded colleagues is one of the main benefits gained from participating in conferences. Virtual conferences now add additional benefits by providing a platform, not only to attend presentations by field experts and chat with colleagues, but also to reach peers from around the world that do not travel to other conferences and meetings. By attending virtual conferences and educational webinars, networking and collaboration come hand in hand. When you sign up for a virtual conference or webinar, don’t forget to experience everything the platform has to offer. Visit the chat rooms to find peers doing similar research and ask questions, take advantage of the resources section to download informative papers that might just help with your own experiments, and take a look in the poster hall to see the latest in current research and support colleagues. By collaborating and teaming with others, that next great discovery can turn into the next great solution as well. (Image: Masur, wikicommons)