Opportunities to learn abroad

The last 2 weeks have bought absolute mayhem to my working day. In April, I submitted abstract to one conference and one international week-long school. I was informed over the bank holiday weekend that I had been accepted by both. The delight soon gave way to despair when I realised that finding funding to attend both would be a headache in itself; going through the laborious process of applying to the University to get permission to go is stuff that migraines are made of.

This week I have been particularly focusing on the International School on Digital Transformation to be held at the University of Porto, Portugal, as the deadline for payment is next Monday. There was tough competition to be awarded a place, and so there is a waiting list of potential candidates. So understandably, the organisers need to know yesterday who can go and will only accept full payment as confirmation.

So I have requested to put all of next year’s modest PhD budget towards it. The remainder I will have to either fund myself, or hope that the faculty can help. The difference will not be too much to prevent me going, UNLESS the flight nightmare does not improve. It seems that Porto is not on the well-trampled [flight] path for Brits, and Lisbon is a 3 hour train ride south.

Here’s the thing; traveling when you are the primary designated carer of children in a family becomes an issue straight away. Strained agreements to go away does not indicate a lack of support in career-building opportunities, it just always becomes so stressful to leave the children under whatever arrangements and they are usually unsettled for a couple of weeks afterwards.

So every day away is problematic, and therefore my trips have to center around flying on the day I start the conference/workshop and flying back the day I finish.  This also constrain the number of airports I can fly from and to as travel time at this end is an issue.

When destinations aren’t well represented with direct flights, I have the added strain of extended travel durations with one or more airport transfers.

I have seen some suggested flights that are 20 hours long (2 transfers) that take in a night stop, and are costed at over £1,200.  This is the extreme, but there are plenty of options with 2 stops and priced at £450+. So if I am topping up the cost of the trip, I’m still not 100% sure I’m going to be able to manage it, however much I want to go. hence spending far too much time scouring the net for a reasonable flight combination, whilst chasing the form signing back on campus. I don’t even get to book the flights, the decision is ultimately in the hands of the designated supplier of the University.

I’m just wondering how impolite it would be to phone the International Office back to find out if my application has been signed today. Just bearing in mind Monday’s deadline…