University of Otago graduate research services manager
Claire Gallop and husband, Otago information science
lecturer, Andrew Long, take part in an innovative Twitter
conference from the comfort of their home. Photo by Linda
Robertson.
The most valiant of song birds could be forgiven for
falling silent in snow-covered Dunedin yesterday, but a great
deal of tweeting was actually going on, thanks to an innovative
University of Otago conference.
Twenty-five postgraduate students took part in what Otago
University officials said was the world's first official
university Twitter conference devoted to thesis-based
research.
Conference initiator and Otago University graduate research
services manager, Claire Gallop, yesterday cheerfully
welcomed participants on the internet to "the only conference
you can attend in your pyjamas".
And quite a few participants may indeed have opted to take
part from their homes in their pyjamas yesterday morning, as
heavy snow made it difficult for some Otago thesis students
to reach the university campus.
Also because of the snow, Ms Gallop and her husband, Andrew
Long, who are both undertaking PhD research, worked from
their Macandrew Bay home yesterday. She helped monitor and
run the conference. He made a brief presentation about his
research.
Brevity, clarity, and community were three key features of
the event, which is part of the university's Graduate
Research Month, which aims to provide support for and to
celebrate postgraduate students.
Participants were required to describe their research and its
tentative conclusions in only six tweets, sending the
messages via smart phone or laptop computer.
Each tweet is an email-like message no more than about 140
characters long - often amounting to about 20 words.
Lively presentations were made on many topics, including the
best ways of assessing the heart-attack risk of airline
pilots, and the impact of social media, including Twitter, on
international diplomacy.
Mr Long said it was a rewarding challenge to distil the key
ideas of a lengthy thesis into such a short space, and to
keep it interesting.
Ms Gallop said that working on a research thesis could become
a rather isolated experience, and postgraduate students had
enjoyed the chance to discuss their work and receive feedback
from others.
"I'm thrilled. It turned out a lot better than I had imagined
it would be."
john.gibb@odt.co.nz
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