Information Seeking in Context Conference (ISIC) in Aalborg, Denmark

As some of you know, I’ve just returned from the Information Seeking in Context Conference (ISIC) in Aalborg, Denmark. While I’ve shared my work at practitioner-focused conferences in the past, thanks to my role at the MIT Sloan School of Management, this was my first time presenting as a doctoral student. People kept telling me that the academic audience is much different, so it felt like the stakes were much higher. 

This reflection is for anyone thinking about pursuing doctoral studies, those seeking to understand the proposal submission process, introverts who want to speak at conferences, those with a love for travel, and anyone else who’s curious. I’ll be my usual self in this reflection, so expect casual language and a healthy dose of humor. 

Fair warning: it’s going to be a bit lengthy, so feel free to skip around to the sections of interest to you. 

The Backstory 
In the Fall 2023 semester, I took two courses. One of them was a doctoral seminar in Information Science (IS)—an intro to IS for doctoral students. The major deliverable was a literature review on a topic of our choosing, but for some reason, I decided to “jazz it up” and turned it into a conceptual paper using Kuhlthau’s ISP model to map the information-seeking behavior of prospective students and evaluators during the graduate admissions process. Admittedly, I was doing the most for no reason whatsoever, and I acknowledge that!

As I wrote the paper, I kept thinking, “This is terrible!” So when Prof. Amy emailed me feedback saying, “Excellent paper about IS theoretical perspectives useful in interpreting the IB of these groups. Specifically, strong argument. Smooth flawless writing." If you know her, you will know that she is an incredibly kind person, so I laughed out loud when I read this because I was convinced that she was just being polite.  I could hear my 11th grade English teacher's voice in my head, “Ms. Burt. Your writing is incredibly awkward.”  I did not want Prof. Amy to be polite; I wanted the truth. But after a feedback meeting she assured me, she was serious. 

Then (the big shock!) she suggested I submit a proposal to the Information Seeking in Context Conference (ISIC) in Denmark. I thought, now she is doing the most! Then, a week later, my advisor, Dr. Hands, recommended that I submit something to ISIC. Now, with both of them recommending, I decided to submit because...why not?

Dr. Hands and I decided that instead of submitting the paper, I should make it a poster, get people’s feedback, and use that to narrow my scope for my eventual dissertation. That was December 2023. After more than 10 revisions, a loop of my favorite album, and countless rounds of feedback from Dr. Hands (who deserves a medal for putting up with me), I finally submitted the proposal with no expectations.
 
The Waiting Game and the Big News 
The waiting period was awful. But in early March, I got a text from Dr. Hands: “We received the ISIC notification! 🎉” That party hat emoji had to mean good news, right? Surely, there was some mistake. NOPE! It was real—we were going to Denmark! The reviewers were thorough and gave us a ton of great feedback. My professor, Dr. Julien, mentioned how unusual it is for this type of work to be shared at ISIC, and I knew I had a ton of work to do before the conference if I wanted to really put my best foot forward.

Telling people was the weirdest part. The first person I told was my closest friend, followed by my mom, who naturally told every person she encountered that day—and every day for the next five months (thanks, mom!). This whole academia thing is confusing because you’re supposed to be great at self-promotion, but too much of it is very annoying (yeah, I said it!). So, what do you do? I decided it was best to just let close friends and family know (though most already did because…you know, my mom). Let me pause here to say that it was my friends who really got me excited about this while I was still waiting for it to sink in. “What are you doing this summer?” “I am going to Denmark at the end of August for school.” “Girl, what!? Quit playin’! That's amazing. Where is that again?" My small group of friends are the most amazing human beings, and I try to remind them of that as often as I can. 

After making the feedback table, refining the methods, and tweaking the research question, I felt...fine. It did not feel award-winning, but Dr. Hands told me, "You are much too hard on yourself. This is all a process... 'Crawl, walk, and then run.'" 

The Adventure 
This summer was EXHAUSTING! I went on seven trips in three months, including one presentation at the NASPA Assessment, Planning, and Data Analytics Conference. So, by the time my trip to Denmark rolled around, I was drained. Plus, in the days leading up to the conference, I was not feeling well, and I never get sick. But the time had come!

Shout out to my Uber driver who skillfully navigated the Boston traffic during JP's Porchfest!  We made it just in time (thanks, Claude), and I boarded my flight to Copenhagen. HUGE shoutout to Scandinavian Airlines, which is saying a lot because I am a JetBlue loyalist (free Wifi!!!). The overhead space, kind staff, and hot meal were fantastic. BUT then I asked, “May I have a ginger ale, please?” The flight attended responded, “Uh, ma’am, we do not have that.” I replied, “Really? G I N G E R A L E?” I (very embarrassingly!!) slowed my speech, assuming he just could not hear me over the others talking on the plane because who doesn’t have ginger ale? He looked down, visibly disappointed for me. “I am so, so, so sorry, ma’am. We stick to drinks only found in this part of the world.” They don’t have ginger ale up here? What was I getting myself into? 

I asked myself the same question as I woke up from my very short nap, realizing we were about to land, and I was now 6 hours ahead—it was 8am CET (2am ET). I waddled to my gate to catch  my flight from Copenhagen to Aalborg. In my dazed, sleep-deprived state, I noticed my airplane row buddy listening to a Danish R&B duo, Phlake. I downloaded a couple of their songs because I knew I would not get any sleep on this 30 min ride, and was pleasantly surprised. The surprises continued as I was startled by my new, very energetic flight attendant: “KAFFE?!?!?!?!?!” he yelled while cheesing at me with all of his teeth. This would turn out to be the first of three cups of coffee that day (and if you know me, you know I usually stick to one cup, three times a week, on designated days—so you can imagine what kind of state I was in). 

Aalborg!!! 
Sunday was painful. I landed in Aalborg around 9:30 am CET (3:30am ET) and instinctively whipped out my phone to get an Uber to the hotel. I briefly panicked and then laughed at myself when I realized there’s no Uber in Denmark (no Lyft, either). Taxi it is! 

I couldn’t check into my hotel for another four hours, so with my heavy backpack in tow, I stumbled through the cobblestone streets into a coffee shop (coffee #2): 

Them: “Hej.” 
Me: “Hello. Uh, may I have a menu?” 
Them: “Yes, my colleague will be right with you.” 
Me: “Tak!” 

PHEW! This is going well. Now, I can charge my phone. 

Wait, American plugs aren’t compatible with European sockets? What else have I missed? 

Admittedly, I don’t remember much of that day because…well, sleep. But I do recall one more cup of coffee (#3) and sitting on my hotel room’s balcony watching the cyclists. I managed a two-hour nap, had dinner with Prof. Amy and Dr. Hands who were also attending the conference, and attempted to sleep through the night. Unfortunately, I could only manage two hours at a time since 10 pm CET is 4 pm ET. 

The next day was completely free for me. I roamed the streets, sat by the water, and after a failed attempt at a tour, I walked about an hour and a half to Lindholm Høje, the Viking burial ground and enjoyed a wonderful street art walk organized by the conference. The backboards on their outdoor basketball hooper were small, the lawn mowers were small robots, and there were tons of “privat parkering” signs where I assumed there would be meters. This place is cool!

Conference & New Connections 
Day 1 of the conference was not nerve-wracking, but I was definitely overstimulated. The beautiful, expansive windows of Aalborg University’s Create building and the buzz of established and aspiring Information Behavior theorists reuniting created a sensory overload for me. Conferences typically don't have low sensory areas, so I found a quiet corner, shuffled over to wish Dr. Julien well on her keynote (which she absolutely crushed!!), and tried to “professionally” disengage...if that’s even a thing. 

That calm was quickly interrupted when someone tossed their bag down at my table and said, “Hi, I’m Jenna Hartel. What’s your name?” Huh!? THE Jenna Hartel--2023 ASIS&T Outstanding Information Science Teacher Award winner, creator of INFIDEOS, and one of the most creative and important information behavior researchers out there. Not only was she standing in front of me, but she was genuinely interested in my name, my school, and my research—when she could have been prepping for her four presentations or connecting with "more important" people. 
  
Dr. Hartel continued to be a wonderful presence over the next two days—remembering my name, spending time at my poster, coming back to my poster a second time, and even insisting I stand beside her for the conference photo. A highlight was watching her passionately praise Prof. Amy and Dr. Hands during their presentation: "I'm so sorry. I must sound...I just...I'm SO excited about this." I felt like I was suddenly at a pep rally! Some say don’t meet your heroes, but if you’re reading this, Dr. Hartel, thank you for being an example of brilliance paired with kindness! 

But Dr. Hartel wasn’t the only source of joy. ISIC is a tight-knit, supportive, and academically robust community. I had the privilege of meeting scholars like Isto Huvila, Lisa Given, and Ian Ruthven, along with some fellow doctoral students who will undoubtedly contribute great work to the field. 

My poster session went surprisingly well. My first visitor was Dr. Julien, fresh off an inspirational keynote that “nearly moved [someone] to tears.” She asked if I had a blurb. I practiced it on her, and when she responded with “Well, I think it’s wonderful,” I was almost on the floor. Over the next 2.5 hours, it was reassuring to see several interested people—a good sign. I received overwhelmingly positive feedback, and I got much more comfortable (and tired) as the night went on. 

This gave me the confidence to engage more during meals and even wear my favorite shirt on the second day, shedding the self-doubt that said, “my favorite clothes aren’t professional enough.” It would be good to return to ISIC in two years when it’s in Montréal, though I know it will be different with some scholars retiring. I now have a clearer vision for future information behavior research. 

After a city walk through Aalborg’s main area, by the water, De Syngende Træer (Park of Music), and the Kunsten Museum of Modern Art, I had to attend a synchronous Zoom class from 4:10-7 pm ET (10:10pm-1 am CET), followed by a morning workshop on the future of AI.  Just as I was starting to find my way, it was time to leave Aalborg.
 
Final Reflections 
Aalborg, Denmark, was the ideal spot for my first conference as a doctoral student, and ISIC was the perfect, first conference. Aalborg was manageable, with plenty of restaurants and coffee shops. At times, I even felt right at home (literally!!!)—like when I found myself eating mozzarella sticks and dancing with a waiter to Ne-Yo, Jojo, and Ja Rule.  There were some small differences: being charged for water at restaurants, the absence of a tipping culture, and as a bike person, I loved the spacious bike lanes and how cars actually respected bikers (take notes, Boston!). By the end of my trip, I was getting the hang of it—understanding some Danish and even converting DKK to USD in my head.  
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As I sat in the Aalborg airport this morning, the self-doubt kicked in: “It wasn’t that great. It was only a poster, and not an outstanding one. Do people understand the significance? Does IB research even matter? Am I too introverted for these conferences?” Once again, I was my own biggest critic. But then, I boarded my flight to Copenhagen with Prof. Amy in the seat in front of me, Dr. Hartel two seats to my right, and two encouraging emails in my inbox—one from Dr. Hands and one from Dr. Julien. You can’t make this stuff up! 

And if you made it this far into this reflection, thank you! You are amazing! I appreciate you, and I wish happy days ahead for you and yours! 😊  ​