How to Network Effectively? Challenges and Solutions for Junior Researchers at Academic Conferences

I examine how junior researchers view the challenges of networking at academic conferences, and compare their views of these challenges to those of senior researchers. Networking at conferences may be important because they may affect junior researchers’ career progression. In this regard, it is relevant to explore the challenges which junior researchers feel they face when trying to network at conferences. I also review the extent to which senior researchers sympathise with the plight of junior researchers. And if so, do they propose solutions which are similar to those suggested by junior researchers? Based on structured interviews with junior and senior researchers at the Faculty of Social Sciences in the University of Helsinki, I find that senior researchers sympathised with the challenges faced by junior researchers. However, junior and senior researchers generally diverged in their suggested solutions to these challenges. Junior researchers preferred solutions which address the structural problems limiting their networking, whereas senior researchers highlighted more practical solutions to these challenges. Future studies could explore if such views are found in other disciplines and universities.