It’s been two weeks since I returned from the NRC’s Annual First-Year Experience Conference (03-06 February 2023) in Los Angeles, California.
I cannot believe that two weeks have passed since that immersive experience of the NRC’s Annual First-Year Experience Conference. I learned so much. I engaged with so many interesting people, including the legendary founder of the NRC’s Annual First-Year Experience Conference, John N. Gardner (could there be a more charismatic personality in the field?). I engaged in so many thoughtful discussions. I presented my paper on the applicability of the concept of Ubuntu to the world of First-Year Experience, and found that the concept of Ubuntu resonated with different people and cultures. It was hard to believe that we were different nationalities, discussing issues across very different national contexts. Because it felt like we were effortlessly speaking the same language.
I felt exhausted when I returned home from the buzz and the excitement. Los Angeles is a long way from Johannesburg. A very long way. Travelling to the United States involves something of an arduous journey, as well as a great deal of jet lag. It is super-expensive in rand terms. I could not help but feel some pangs of guilt about the environmental impact of my conference travel. However, wherever possible and funds permitting of course, I would make the effort to attend the NRC Annual First-Year Experience Conference, every single time. It is truly a special space for people who care about First-Year Experience.
The NRC Annual First-Year Experience Conference is aspirational for South Africa. I see the Annual First-Year Experience Conference that we host in South Africa, as one day reaching the level and depth of participation that I see at the NRC. However, it is not just about the number of participants. It is about the passion and commitment of the conference, foregrounded by the rock-solid certainty that First-Year Experience truly matters. There is no need to make the case for First-Year Experience to anyone. The belief in First-Year Experience, is unwavering, and exists in and of itself.
In South Africa, we have a similar community of First-Year Experience professionals, whom I would accurately describe as earnest and dedicated. These are the people who are more than willing to go the extra mile for students. They are the ones whose dedication to First-Year Experience pays off in the form of happier, less anxious students who are more likely to succeed at their studies and eventually to graduate. These are the people who embody the spirit of First-Year Experience.
I am always grateful and happy when young people join our First-Year Experience Conference, and become part of the network. Because I know they are going to stay, and, in turn, ‘catch’ the spirit of First-Year Experience. They will carry that spirit of First-Year Experience back to their home institutions. In time, First-Year Experience will grow and deepen in our institutions.
All of which leads me to thinking about conferences in general. We tend to think that conferences are not really that important, in comparison to all the other priorities in our working lives. When a Call for Papers or conference invitation pops into your inbox, your first reaction is most likely I can’t find the time. Or, even, where will I find the funds? Will my attendance be supported by my institution?
Given our fast-paced professional lives, those are logical reactions. However, we need to carve out a place for conference attendance (the right kind of conferences) in our working lives and in our operational budgets. We have to make sure that our institutions understand the importance of the attendance of conferences.
Conference attendance is an important part of the personal and professional development of employees. Conferences represent a platform to share the knowledge being accumulated, and ensure that it has life beyond the confines of one particular institution. Conferences make it possible to test a theory or to deepen existing perspectives on a particular paper, with a group of peers. Conferences actually keep our minds fresh by actively exposing us to new perspectives and new ways of doing things.
I admit that conferences can be intimidating for those who are introverted personalities. It is challenging to have to intentionally go out and meet new people, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic when most of us retreated into relative isolation but for digital platforms. Now that the worst of the COVID pandemic appears to have passed, we do have to make the effort to overcome the barriers of fear, shyness and skepticism, in order to reap the benefits of in-person conference attendance.
I would especially encourage emerging or young scholars to pursue conference attendance as much as possible. Who knows, that conversation around the coffee machine might just lead to an exciting research collaboration or even your next publication…
A case can be made for virtual conference attendance. The virtual setting is all about convenience. It eliminates costs such as venue hire and food, as well as all the problems and inconveniences of travel. As COVID cases rise, worryingly, in certain countries, the benefits of virtual conference attendance may be considered. Now having said that, the SANRC hosted a hybrid conference in 2022, and it was one of the most labour-intensive and time-consuming events we have ever hosted. If at all possible, we would like to-and are now choosing to- dive back into the era of in-person conferencing-as safely and responsibly as possible.
I hope to see as many of the First-Year Experience network as possible at the SANRC Annual First-Year Experience Conference (17-19 May 2023). The Conference will take place in the beautiful port city of East London (or Buffalo City, as it is known by the locals), and the Indian Ocean will serve as the backdrop to our annual gathering of South Africa’s First-Year Experience network. We dearly want to make this conference grow in South Africa and beyond. Therefore I would appeal to all to make the effort to send abstracts, apply for funding and generally make the case for promoting First-Year Experience in your various institutions. It is worth it!
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