Eldo Roza
Report of GLOMAR PhD student Eldo Roza about his participation in the "20th International Conference on Harmful Algae (ICHA)" in Hiroshima City, Japan from 5 to 10 November 2023
The 20th International Conference on Harmful Algae (ICHA) was the last scientific event I participated in throughout my doctoral program. With over five hundred participants, ICHA was the largest conference that I have attended. This conference was held on the 5-10 of November 2023 and was hosted in Hiroshima City, Japan. A city that went through a horrific history but rose back and rebuilt into one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. The journey to Japan was memorable too, because I travelled alone for nearly 24 hours from Bremen to Hiroshima. But all struggles were paid off by the lovely hospitality of the people in Hiroshima as I took a day to wander around the city.
The event started with a Young Investigator Networking session, where I could introduce myself and get to know fellow early career researchers in a fun and exciting way. It was very beneficial for young scientists to have someone to talk in a large event, especially if they came alone. This session was inspiring as three speakers shared their scientific career journey in different countries. The agenda was continued with an icebreaker, where all participants could join. After that, I went to a restaurant to have dinner with some fellow PhD students from all around the world. The first scientific session began on the next day. There were many interesting talks about biotoxin-producing algae, toxicology, mitigation plans, prediction and modelling, and socio-economic impacts. The official opening ceremony was held on Tuesday evening (November 7th) and the organizers provided delicious Japanese cuisines and a theatrical samurai show. I presented my talk on the following day about the cyst production dynamics of potentially toxic dinoflagellates in the canary current upwelling region. I was motivated to see a large audience and even got more excited answering their questions. Overall, I was happy with my performance in this particular conference. Although I came here without the personnel from my working group, I was accompanied by fellow Indonesian PhDs and other young scientists I met on the first day. In the poster session, I focused on finding researchers working in the same field as me and quickly exchanging contacts with them.
The organizers also planned excursions to several locations near the host city. I joined a small number of participants visiting a city in the neighboring prefecture, called Iwakuni. This city housed an iconic wooden bridge built with an interlocking method and an Edo period castle. Iwakuni Castle now served as a museum exhibiting items from the local samurai and former emperors. The event was proceeded for two more days with more insightful presentations. The event was closed with pre-dinner at Hiroshima Castle and the conference diner at a different venue. In both sessions, the organizer prepared tasty meals and entertaining performances of the local folklore. ICHA delivered such unforgettable experience regarding knowledge, social interactions, and cultures.
I would not get this rare chance, if not because of the financial support from MARUM and its Excellence Cluster as well as amazing collaboration work with my supervisor and co-authors. Finally, I want to thank GLOMAR for providing me this platform to tell my experience at ICHA 2023 and conferences before that. Wish me luck completing my doctoral project in 2024!