Period of stay: 4 July - 8 July
Report
The annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science (ECSS), one of the largest and most prestigious conferences in the field, was held in Paris, France. Various disciplines, including exercise therapy, were included in the broad programme. I was thrilled to be able to present some results from part of my PhD project – a randomised controlled trial examining the effects of exercise as a rehabilitation measure in subjects with Long COVID. The study was conducted under the supervision of Univ.-Prof. Dr. Daniel König at the Department of Sport Science.
It was my first oral presentation at a scientific conference, so it is safe to say that I was a little nervous in the days leading up to the event. Luckily, my talk was scheduled for the first day and I was more than happy with how it went. This gave me the opportunity to fully enjoy and use the remaining time by listening to presentations, networking with fellow researchers and attending the social events. It was a pleasure to spend an evening strolling in beautiful Paris and practicing my French.
Presenting my own work at the ECSS gave me the opportunity to learn and grow as a young researcher. I embraced all the steps along the way, from visualising the results, to practicing in front of colleagues and to seeing my work sparked the interest of researchers from different countries and fields. I have also challenged myself to contribute to discussions and ask questions during talks, which is not easy at first, but certainly boosts my self confidence in a scientific setting.
To sum it all up, I could not have asked for a better experience during my first active contribution to a conference. I want to thank my supervisor, Daniel König, for guiding me through this journey, the Vienna Doctoral School of Pharmaceutical, Nutritional, and Sport Sciences for providing the financial support, and my colleagues for turning these three days into a such a memorable time. I look forward to (hopefully) attending and contributing to many more congresses in the future.
