Attending conferences
Conferences are an important way to grow your network and learn about new research. Giving a very good conference presentation can have a greater positive impact on your career than publishing the related paper - conferences are popular places to recruit and build new collaborations. Jess may suggest that you attend particular conferences if she receives relevant invitations, but ultimately it is up to you to bring up conference attendance during 1:1 meetings and make plans accordingly.
The lab can usually support each member (with contracts >1 year) attending one conference outside of the UK per year, although conferences that are very far away may need additional consideration. Some fellows (PhDs, some postdocs) have a dedicated budget that can be used to fund conference / training attendance - you have some freedom in how this is allocated. Applying for travel grants or presenting on behalf of a project with dedicated travel funds could enable you to attend more than one international conference per year. Do not register for conferences on your own; the research office will directly pay the registration fee to avoid extra paperwork associated with reimbursements.
Keep an eye out for local workshops and symposia. The Cambridge area is a rich scientific hub and Jess is very supportive of you taking advantage of these opportunities. The Wellcome Genome Campus hosts many conferences each year; you can find a list of upcoming conferences here. The lab budget should be able to cover most local events, but check with Jess before registering. The Wellcome Genome Campus conferences are particularly affordable (~£20 for the basic in-person registration).
Timing
Attending conferences involves multiple deadlines, including for abstract submission, registration, booking travel, and presentation preparation (both oral presentation slides and posters). Please complete each of these things two weeks before they are due. None can be done at the last minute: co-authors must review abstracts and posters, Jess must ensure that there is sufficient budget, presentation slides may require editing, the research office needs time to book travel, and printing a poster is a whole procedure that requires approval from multiple people (see details below).
Procedure to print posters
Printing a poster requires several steps and involves multiple people, so do not leave this until the last minute.
The EBI printing services page is here:
https://intranet.ebi.ac.uk/article/printing-services
In the lab, we have had good experiences with AVMG at the University of Cambridge:
https://www.pdn.cam.ac.uk/other-pages/avmg/posters
AVMG offers several poster formats, and you can choose the format that best suits your needs. For travel, you may want to consider the Lightweight Cloth Poster, as it is foldable and easy to pack in a bag.
Step 1: Check the poster format and price
Check the printing service’s poster page for the available formats, sizes, prices, and submission instructions.
For AVMG:
https://www.pdn.cam.ac.uk/other-pages/avmg/posters
AVMG does not usually provide quotes for posters, so use the price listed on their website.
Step 2: Request a Purchase Order (PO)
To place an order, email Christelle via the Research Office email address with the following information:
- Poster format, material and size
- Price
- Core cost centre: [ask Jess or lab members for the cost centre]
- The printing service’s poster quote. If using AVMG, they do not provide quotes, so you can forward their email response instead.
- Any relevant deadline or collection date
Copy Jess on the email for approval.
Christelle will create a shopping cart, and the Purchasing team will raise the Purchase Order. Once the PO is ready, it will be sent to you.
This step can take time because it involves several people: you, Christelle, the Purchasing team. Do not request the PO at the last minute.
You are encouraged to request the Purchase Order as an early step. This can be the first thing you do, as long as you already know the poster format, material, price.
Step 3: Send the poster to the printing service
Once you have the PO, email the printing service with the following information.
For AVMG, include:
- The poster PDF
- Poster size
- Poster material
- Collection date and time
- Payment type: Purchase Order
- The PO information
AVMG contact details:
AVMG
Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience
Anatomy Building
University of Cambridge
Downing Street
Cambridge
CB2 3DY
Email: avmg@pdn.cam.ac.uk
Phone: 01223 333767 / 01223 333787
Website: https://www.pdn.cam.ac.uk/other-pages/avmg
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### Step 4: Allow enough time for printing and collection
AVMG offers same-day poster printing if they receive the poster file **before midday**.
Their usual opening hours are:
```text
Monday to Thursday: 08:30–16:00
Friday: 08:30–15:00
Closed for lunch: 13:00–14:00
Closed on bank holidays
Staff are not available for collections outside these hours.
If the file is sent after midday, the poster will usually be ready by close of business the next working day. If you need faster printing after midday, AVMG may apply a 50% surcharge, and same-day printing is not guaranteed.
Step 5: Collect the poster
AVMG does not offer delivery, so you must collect the poster in person.
Collection location:
When you arrive, go to the fire escape marked on the AVMG webpage map and ring the doorbell.