To Be or Not to Be in Person…There is no Question
While many universities, research institutions, and businesses figure out whether and how to be back on campus or in the office in person, when it comes to holding conferences there is no question. Holding conferences and meetings in person wins!
As the world transitioned to the digital space during the last two years, telework and on-line conferences became the norm. As the pandemic turned endemic, the debate about the role and scope of telework and the in-person office continues. It is now common for jobs and positions to be advertised as 100% virtual, so telework is here to stay. Conferences, however, are returning to the in-person format more and more.
Such was the case for the Society of Research Administrators International (SRAI) when the 2021 annual conference returned, safely in person in New Orleans last fall. Although smaller than the pre-Covid normal, the New Orleans conference was a wonderful opportunity to build community with colleagues after a long time behind computer screens. The trend continued this past spring with in-person joint section meetings held in Philadelphia and Phoenix.
Chapters In Person, Too
Chapters are also returning to in-person meetings.
After a long two-year hiatus, the SRAI Virginia Chapter held its meeting on the campus of Virginia Tech University in June. By many accounts the meeting was a huge success.
The meeting attracted over 91 registrants and included 23 speakers and nine sessions on wide ranging and relevant topics including subrecipient determination and monitoring, conflict of interest management, agency electronic portal submissions, team building, teleworking, foreign influence, and preparing for audits. The meeting also included a welcome address from Virginia Tech’s Vice President for Research and a plenary talk from the Associate Vice President for Research and Innovation and Director of the Division of Scholarly Integrity and Research Compliance.
The plenary session focused on the importance of research integrity and the idea of a collective and active responsibility to ensure research at universities and institutions is conducted with the highest level of ethics and transparency. The chapter meeting also included visits to the Drone Research Park and the Smart Road Research Facility where attendees learned about the centers and ongoing work and research. Attendees were also able to test-fly drones as part of the visit. Just like the Virginia Chapter, other SRAI Chapters have organized and continue to organize meetings in person.
Genuine Experience
The fact that people showed up in-person at the meetings in New Orleans, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and more recently Blacksburg at the Virginia Chapter meeting, is a testament for the human need to build community in the same physical space and not through a computer screen.
When physically together in the same location, all attendees experience the same stimuli, noises, smells, distractions, light, laughter, etc. simultaneously and not through a video camera, screen, mute button, or chat board. Attendees can all see each other and the reactions, body language, and gaze of all those present. Speakers can gauge the room all at once and engage the audience in real time. Important side conversations and networking occur between sessions, at breaks, during lunch, or in the halls. The learning experience and networking is genuine, live, and in the moment. This tangible experience was validated by attendees who were glad to be in person, together after years behind their computer screens. Who needs virtual?
Authored by Dr. Jose Alcaine, Director of Research Services/Affiliate Faculty Foundations of Education, School of Education
Virginia Commonwealth University
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