The Goldschmidt Conference flags off with the Ice Breaker at the Prague Congress Center on a lazy sunny afternoon on the 6th of July. The city seemed relaxed and quite as I walked to the congress center through empty streets running through gorgeous architecture of Prague, which was replaced with liveliness as I approached the Congress center.  As a first time attendee in person, my first impression was: wow! too many people!!

I waited in line to collect my badge, while getting too excited spotting old friends I haven’t seen in years. The atmosphere became even more lively as I made my way to the 2nd floor where the Ice Breaker was taking place. Feeling a bit nervous with so many people and the idea of starting a conversation with strangers, I decided to arm myself with a glass of wine and a notebook and started approaching random people with the excuse that I am working as a blogger for the conference.

Several of the attendees shared their views and their expectations on the conference with excitement.

Rachael from the USA is almost finished with her PhD and here mainly for networking and to find her next opportunity in research.

Decla from Canada is joining the conference for the 2nd time and also about to finish her PhD. Her goal in this conference is to expand her network of European colleagues.

Saurabh from India, currently in his 1st year of PhD, is joining an international conference for the first time and will be giving an oral presentation. On asking if he was feeling a bit nervous, he replied that he is confidant the presentation will go well, even though he hasn’t finalized the slides yet.

Leonardo from Brazil, a working professional, is joining the conference for the first time.

Sanchita from India is joining the conference for the fourth time combining in-person and virtual ones, and is here to connect with researchers in Europe working on C-O clumped isotope geochemistry. She wants to take this opportunity to have some in-person chats with potential collaborators. She shared her experience of feeling overwhelmed during her 1st visit, and not having a clear idea of what to expect from the conference. She advised 1st time attendees to have some clear goals of what they want from the conference (networking, Mentorship, research collaborations etc) to make the most of their time.

Sikha from India is in the final year of her PhD and looking for mentorship for the next steps in their career. She shared her experience of visiting the tourist attractions of Prague after arriving at the city.