International Conferences: The Power of Connection
by Andy Vance, Executive Director
This time next month, hundreds of PSA members and guests will gather in Macau, China, for the inaugural PSA Pacific Rim Scientific Conference. This event, the newest in our portfolio of international scientific conferences, is the result of years of study and planning by PSA leaders, including our Board of Directors and the Organizing Committee for this debut conference.
One might logically ask: why is PSA making this commitment and expanding our portfolio of meetings and events in this way?
The answer is simple: it’s all about delivering on our mission.
We exist to advance “the discovery, dissemination, and application of knowledge in the poultry sciences.” The two most visible ways we do that are through publication of our portfolio of journals and by hosting the premier research conferences in the community. Our Annual Meeting in North America regularly draws more than 1,200 members and guests from around the world, and for the past decade our Latin American Scientific Conference has given thousands of colleagues in South and Central America additional opportunities to present their research and learn about the latest work happening in the region.
The connections made at these conferences are incredibly important to fulfilling our mission. Advancing the discovery, dissemination, and application of knowledge is a collaborative effort. Meeting future co-authors, future graduate students or post-docs, and learning from colleagues from different parts of the world provide us with new perspectives and more opportunities to learn, share, study, and grow our own research programs and networks.
At a recent PSA Board of Directors meeting, Elsevier shared some data related to publishing in our field. Of all the articles published in our journals and in other journals in our market, less than 15% were submitted by authors in North America, while more than 45% were submitted from countries in the Asia-Pacific region. This illustrates the importance of PSA staying engaged and active in the region, supporting members and colleagues there, and providing opportunities like the Pacific Rim Scientific Conference so scientists from around the world can discover, discuss, and disseminate the latest findings.
I look forward to joining members of our Board of Directors next month in Macau for this momentous occasion. See you there!