Although virtual conferences have broken down geographic boundaries it has introduced the problem of timezones as well as the dreaded zoom-fatigue. Nothing like a few all nighters in a row to help you dissociate from reality for a while…

Oh and don’t forget the added desk clutter and absolute crumbling of any sense of time management.

Although meeting virtually may never replace a quick chat in the hallway the chance to still meet up with colleagues and learn some cool things along the way makes it worth it!

Tanya Strydom is a PhD student at the Université de Montréal, mostly focusing on how we can use machine learning and artificial intelligence in ecology. Current research interests include (but are not limited to) predicting ecological networks, the role species traits and scale in ecological networks, general computer (and maths) geekiness, and a (seemingly) ever growing list of side projects. Tweets (sometimes related to actual science) can be found @TanyaS_08.