The virtual NordMedia Conference 2021 organized a photo contest for the participants. Among the over 400 delegates who participated in the conference last week, one participant won a non-virtual trip to Iceland to look forward to.
During the conference, participants had the opportunity to enter a photo contest on social media by sharing a photo capturing “the essence of being a virtual guest at a virtual conference”. At the conference closing session, Randa Romanova, PhD student from the University of Helsinki, Finland, was announced as the winner of the contest for her photo depicting some of the essentials for attending a virtual conference.
The prize of the contest had been held secret during the conference, but at the closing session, it was revealed that Romanova had won a return ticket to Iceland.
– I think I choked on my coffee when I heard that I am the winner, says Randa Romanova.
– I have never been to Iceland, and before the decision on an online conference format was made, I was imagining myself in Iceland, swimming in hot springs and watching whales. It was really sad to hear that we were going online, even though I understand the reasons. I would say that Iceland is the number one destination for me, so I couldn’t imagine a better prize for the photo contest!
A motivating experience
NordMedia2021 was Romanovas first scientific conference, and she attended both the pre-conference for PhD students, and the main conference. The decision to participate was not an obvious one for her from the beginning, but something she says definitely does not regret.
– As a beginner, I used to feel separated from the community due to lack of experience. Honestly, I even wanted to cancel my application several times, because I was not sure that I am good enough to present my draft in front of the research community. I am so happy I didn’t do it!
– The conference was perfectly organised: Every student was important and every paper appreciated. I got extremely constructive comments from my reviewer that motivated me to work with renewed vigour. I am looking forward to the next conference and I hope to see everyone there.
Explore the contest photos
Although Romanova’s photo was the winning one, there were several other creative contributions to the photo contest. Scroll down to browse through some of them, or search for #NM21Pic on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. You can find even more posts about the conference with the hashtag #NordMedia2021.
My cat meanwhile I try to conference 😼 #NordMedia2021 #NM21pic pic.twitter.com/wzt65hGLR9
— Margareta Salonen (@MaakeSalonen) August 19, 2021
#NM21pic Empty media department for media conference🇸🇪 pic.twitter.com/fDnLhLFQCj
— Liming Liu (@Liming_Liu1026) August 19, 2021
Online conferencing – fight from where you are! Carolina martinez #NM21Pic pic.twitter.com/X8xbNgxBSY
— CarolinaMnz (@MnzCarolina) August 18, 2021
From home to world #NM21Pic Carolina Martinez pic.twitter.com/06C3f62XvH
— CarolinaMnz (@MnzCarolina) August 19, 2021
Photos: Unsplash, Randa Romanova.