Academic Networking

As a current PhD student deeply immersed in the management and social sciences domain, I’ve come to realize the instrumental role that networking plays in our academic and professional lives. It’s not just about obtaining contacts; it’s about building a community around your research. In this post, I want to share why I believe it’s crucial to start your networking from the very beginning of your academic journey and how you can go about it in a productive way.

Why start early?

At the very beginning of your academic journey – which for most people tends to be when they start their PhD program – feels very uncertain and people tend to focus on their research and generally finding a foothold in academia. However, just when you seem to progress with your research topic, the priority switches to building an academic brand through effective networking. At this point, most PhDs and early career professionals feel unprepared and wish they spent more time developing their brand by building an online presence and connecting with scholars at various academic events. This post is about reflecting on these pressures and building an action plan to set me up for the future. Next, I discuss some strategies for effective networking and why building an online presence is essential.

Effective Networking Strategies

Attending Seminars & Summer School

One of the often overlooked strategies for networking is to network with fellow PhDs in your field. Most early career professionals, especially PhDs, tend to gravitate towards the big names in the field. However, odds are you are more likely to find a future collaborator at events such as doctoral consortiums or PhD summer schools. These collaborations also have the potential to span across your academic career since you likely enter academia at a similar age, whereas established scholars are a few publications away from retirement.

Active Participation

Don’t just attend events—participate. Ask questions, initiate conversations with presenters, and if you’re feeling particularly brave, volunteer to help organize these events. This visibility can be invaluable. Also, remember that first impressions count, so it’s important to show that you actively participate and take initiative, and if you are lucky you might catch the attention of a future colleague or collaborator. Also, think about arranging for a one-on-one meeting/coffee after seminars with the presenters from other academic institutions. This is a really nice way to get to know how these ‘established’ scholars came to be so successful.

Visiting another institution

If possible, make arrangements for visiting another institution. This is an easy way to potentially collaborate with some of the best scholars at some of the best institutions in the world. However, it’s important to note that the typical length of a visiting is 3 months, so it’s imperative to make the most of your visiting. In an ideal scenario this would result in some co-authored paper with a prominent figure in your field.

Academic conferences

Likely the most common thing researchers think of when discussing academic networking is attending annual academic conferences. This is definitely one of the most effective ways to get your name out there. However, common mistakes that young researchers tend to make is that of not preparing to participate in the broader topic discussions and following up on the connections made. Of course, this is typically not required but it could be a good way to gain visibility. However, it’s important not to be too high-strung since most of the established researchers tend to view conferences as their annual academic getaway. If you do manage to make a few connections, it’s important to follow up as soon as possible to cement your new connection while you are still fresh in their minds. Otherwise, as the saying goes ‘out of sight – out of mind’, and it all would have been for nothing.

Building an online presence

In the age of digital academia, having a strong online presence is crucial. Platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, and your own personal website can serve as platforms to share your research, achievements, and thoughts with a broader audience. Today, it’s more common for researchers to use AI tools to make this journey even easier, by using tools like GPT4 to convert your published papers into blog posts or LinkedIn captions. Effectively capitalizing on these tools available will be an unavoidable necessity for future scholars to stay connected and informed.

Conclusion

The thought of having to network might seem superficial and generally unpleasant, however, it’s the reality of our situation, and playing the academic game will probably get you a lot further than trying to do your own thing. The sooner you start, the richer your academic journey will be. And remember, while the world of academia might seem serious, there’s always room for a bit of light-hearted banter and genuine connections. So, let’s not just grow our networks; let’s enjoy the process and perhaps, make a few friends along the way!