Academic Pilgrimages

 Academic conferences help doctoral students find new lines of inquiry and methodologies that may be relevant and useful to their research. My initial foray into international conferences was based on what internet provided me on google searches. I chose to attend these conferences to gain extensive knowledge on international aspects of climate change and sustainable development.  I believed conferences could be an opportunity to meet experts, academics and professors who have the innate ability to shed light, providing wealth of information and updates on topics of interest. After having participated in six international conferences, I must say I have gained meaningful insight into the world of academics, understanding the intricacies involved in research and scholarly writing. I am hoping this post motivates and inspires students to take up research and further their quest for knowledge with an intent to gain expertise.

   

My first academic pilgrimage was to Lausanne, Switzerland in the year 2012.  The Cooperation & Development Center (CODEV) had organized its second major international event after being recognized as a UNESCO Chair in Technologies for Development in 2007. The conference was held at EPFL in Switzerland, aimed to highlight ‘science and technology’ as an agent of change in societies that were impacted by climate change. The presenters either invented gadgets or came up with theories on use of technology for sustainable development and to eradicate poverty. The idea of discussing sustainable development, which is currently evolving as a major discourse under international law, at a science and technology conference seemed interesting enough to register.   The Conference was held at École Polytechnique Fédérale De Lausanne (EPFL) that housed ‘The Rolex Learning Center’ a modern marvel of architecture. Lausanne, itself is a historic city where the Treaty of Lausanne, a peace treaty between the Ottoman Empire and the Allied Forces   was signed in the year 1923 after World War I. The city had for one of its attractions, the Olympic Museum and a replica of the Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris. During my first visit to Lausanne, the Museum was closed for renovation and it was during my second visit the following year that I visited the Museum. Tourists who visit Geneva, should be able to travel by train to Lausanne and visit the Museum that takes visitors through the origins of Olympics in Athens into its evolution as a modern international event.  

  

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