Have you traveled the world – I'm a Scientist 2024

Question: Have you traveled the world
- Keywords:
  travel
Asked by anon-380383 on 12 Jan 2024. This question was also asked by have1sap, thus1sewn.
- Georgia Lambert answered on 12 Jan 2024:
  
  I get to travel quite a lot as a biologist! Because I study animals, I often get to go to wherever they are to look at them in their natural environment. A few years ago I was studying giraffes so I got to go to South Africa which was amazing! Scientists also travel to conferences which are big meetings where scientists from all over the world come together to talk about what they have been working on.
- Margaret Laurie answered on 12 Jan 2024: last edited 14 Jan 2024 11:24 am
  
  Like Georgia, I have had the opportunity to travel through work, for example, I went to some scientific meetings abroad in the US (where most of the biggest scientific meetings take place) and I’ve also been able to visit some of our amazing LEGO Clubs in Mexico. I’ve lived in the UK, Germany and Denmark for working on different projects with new groups of people. I like to travel outside of work too, and I would love to go further afield to places like Asia and Africa! It is always of fun exploring new places and meeting new people, and trying new food!
- Rachel Edwards answered on 12 Jan 2024:
  
  Yes! I never got to before I started working in science. But since doing my PhD I’ve worked in the Netherlands and America (I lived in Florida for a year), and visited places like South Africa, lots of Europe, and all over the US to tell people about the science research I do at different conferences. Covid and having small children mean I don’t get to travel as much at the moment, but hopefully will get to again soon :).
- Zoe Vance answered on 12 Jan 2024:
  
  The second half of my PhD was mostly COVID lockdowns so not as much as I would have liked! But I do have the opportunity to travel to lots of cool places either for conferences where people from all over the world present their science to each other, or to teach workshops to other labs. My work is also completely computer based so I can really work anywhere!
- Paula Proszek answered on 12 Jan 2024:
  
  Hi, I did a lot thanks to students exchange programmes and lab practicals opportunities. Great way to get your hands on science and also try live in another country. I also travel in my free time, from local parks to Thailand.
- Santosh Mahabala answered on 13 Jan 2024:
  
  A bit of I may say. I worked in the USA, UK, India and Dubai. I also toured some parts of the Europe, like Greece, France and Swiss. So, I may say I travelled some parts of the world.
- Penny Timpert answered on 13 Jan 2024:
  
  Hi, yes I have though not as much as some people. For holidays and for work I’ve been all around Europe, up to Sweden and down to Malta and Greece. I really enjoy being in Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia. I’ve been to Central and North America, but not to South America or Antarctica. I would love to visit many more places!
  
  I was born in the UK in the north west of England then moved to Quebec in Canada when I was 5 and lived there for two years. When I was 8, we moved to the north coast of Germany. After that we moved back to Chester in time to start secondary school. Since then I’ve worked in several countries in Europe, North America and in Japan and now I work in Switzerland.
  
  Going to the local school is important to me – it is how I grew up and my boys have all gone to our local schools in Switzerland. I learnt to have my lessons in French and in German and in English, and now so do they – Switzerland has four official languages.
- Fergus McKiddie answered on 13 Jan 2024:
  
  We often have to travel to Conferences or to see new equipment when we are replacing our scanners. We have upcoming trips to the USA and Denmark to see new PET/CT scanners and have recently been to France as well.
- Nora Vyas answered on 13 Jan 2024: last edited 13 Jan 2024 10:11 am
  
  Yes, I really enjoy travelling. I’m born and raised in the UK, and have had opportunities to work in the USA and Middle East. I’ve been on research fellowships which have enabled me to spend more than a week in some countries such as Hungary, USA and Japan. My favourite trip was living in Kyoto for a month during my Churchill fellowship. I conducted research at the hospital and after my trip, I had an opportunity to extend my stay and see majority of cities such as Osaka, Hiroshima, Nara, Tokyo. Kyoto has an aesthetic charm and traditional elegance, including historical architecture, serene gardens, temples, traditional tea houses, and cultural heritage. In contrast, Tokyo is a bustling modern metropolis city with skyscrapers, technology and a vibrant atmosphere.
  
  When travelling, it’s always good to contemplate how the experience alters your perception of the surrounding world. If you are into seeing animals, you may want to look into whale / dolphin watching experiences which are available in Mexico, Tenerife, California, but also Iceland, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and Australia.
- Jayne Roberts answered on 13 Jan 2024:
  
  I sometimes get the opportunity travel to attend scientific conferences where scientists get to meet up and share all the exciting things they are doing. Since Covid the use of video calls has become common place so I can now talk to anyone, anywhere in the world at the touch of a button. This means less need for travelling which is good from environmental point of view.
  
  Outside of work I travelled to lots of places for holidays. I have been to Canada, USA, Kenya and lots of different places in Europe.
- Lisa Humphreys answered on 13 Jan 2024:
  
  I’ve been to places like Montreal, Prague and Vienna for conferences to talk to others about the research I’ve done. 😁
  
  I’ve been to places like Cannes, Lanzarote, Kos, New York and Las Vegas on holidays. 😎
  
  A place I’d love to go to is Reykjavik as I’d love to see the Northern Lights.
- Sujit Bhattacharya answered on 14 Jan 2024:
  
  Hi All,
  
  I have traveled to lots of places for my professional work and academic studies. I traveled in India, Scotland, Northern Ireland, England, France, Italy, Greece, Finland, the Czech, USA, Canada and many more.
  
  I look forward to a trip to Egypt to see the Pyramids.
- Adam Washington answered on 14 Jan 2024:
  
  I’m far from having travelled the world, but I can brag that I’ve visited ten different neutron facilities across six nations.
  
  An old colleague of mine had a much better story. He had performed a neutron experiment on every continent but South America. That was over a decade ago – I’m hoping his finally finished his collections.
- Lisa Russell answered on 15 Jan 2024:
  
  Like everyone else who has answered, as a research scientist, it is common for us to travel around the world meeting others working in the same area. This is either to present results at conferences, attend workshops to learn new skills, or to start new projects with other groups and to present results as an invited speaker. I usually like to add a few days on to the end of a trip so I can explore the local area.
- Michael Capeness answered on 15 Jan 2024:
  
  As part of my research I’ve been to lots of different countries to present my work, such as Mexico, Switzerland, and Poland, and I’ve also had the opportunity to go to America recently.
- removed scientist answered on 15 Jan 2024:
  
  Like others, my work has taken me to some interesting places. A great one was to visit China to see how they teach maths in schools. Another great visit was spending a few weeks in Vancouver on research. I also go to conferences which are held all over the world, though many are in the UK and it is nice to visit places nearer to home.
- Charles Douch answered on 15 Jan 2024:
  
  I have been lucky to travel to many places including Cuba, Peru, Italy, and many more. So much to see and learn from these places. With work I will get to travel to other manufacturing facilities and contractors but travel abroad is limited due to having so much great engineering expertise in this country.
- Stephanie Foster answered on 15 Jan 2024:
  
  Yes, earlier in my career I used to travel all over Europe to show the doctors and nurses how to fill in the data in our clinical databases. Also, I like to travel for my holidays.
- Erica Oliveira answered on 15 Jan 2024:
  
  Hello everyone! As a scientist, I have been very lucky and traveled a lot! Every time I go to a conference in a new place, I make sure to spend a few days more to enjoy.
  The most exciting was Australia: after the conference, I went to a sanctuary for kangaroos and koalas! It was magical!
  Apart from that, I also love visiting new countries on my holidays, my latest one was Romania.
- Daniel Friedrich answered on 15 Jan 2024:
  
  Travelling to conferences and to work with collaborators is very common as an academic. I have spend a few weeks in Brazil and China and have been to conferences and workshops in many other countries. However, I have reduced my overseas travel in recent years because most of my work is focussed on making heating in the UK greener. Nowadays, I mainly travel between Edinburgh, Glasgow and England.
  
  In addition, I have studied in four different countries; I am counting Scotland and England separately here 🙂
- David Bremner answered on 15 Jan 2024:
  
  I have been to a few countries but i wouldn’t say i was very well travelled. Most of the countries i have been to are in Europe but i have been to America once, Las Vegas. Other countries i have visited are Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands and i worked in France for 1 week.
- Ben Dryer answered on 15 Jan 2024:
  
  Hi!
  As scientists, it’s important that we share our work with each other, so that we can learn from each other’s mistakes and successes, in this way we can build on each other’s work to progress what we know. This means meeting in person to share and discuss, and, if we get to pick (which we often do) we normally want to meet somewhere historic, warm, and enjoyable to visit. So many scientists will get to travel quite a lot for these conferences. I have been to the US several times, most countries in Europe, and I spent 3 months working in Japan which was a highlight.
- Kellie Horan answered on 15 Jan 2024:
  
  I’ve travelled some of the world – and I would love to see more! I’ve travelled around a lot of Europe, and have been to America and Africa once. I got the chance to live in Germany for a few months while working as a scientist, which was super cool 🙂 I took trains all over Europe on the weekend after finishing up in the lab on Fridays. Last year, I got to travel to Austria to present some of my experiments too! I love being able to travel with my work.
- Jessica Johansen answered on 15 Jan 2024:
  
  I am lucky enough to have travelled a good chunk of it! I have been to four continents (North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania).
  
  I have travelled to Canada and America for conferences and research before. Scientists use conferences as a good excuse to get together in cool places!
- Katherine Whyte answered on 15 Jan 2024:
  
  As part of my work, I often travel to meet with other scientists. This has taken me to lots of different places across the UK, as well as places in Europe and the USA. With online video calls being very popular now, often it is quicker (and more environmentally-friendly) to just phone someone though!
- Liv Gaskill answered on 15 Jan 2024:
  
  I’ve traveled to a few countries in Europe for conferences. I also traveled Australia during my gap year and in a few weeks I’m going traveling around South East Asia!
- Erin Pallott answered on 16 Jan 2024:
  
  I have not quite travelled the world, but I sure hope to!
  Being a scientist at a university, I have been very lucky to visit some great places for conferences and presentations. Last year I went to Boston and Cape Cod in the US! This year, I will be going to Sweden to present my work to other scientists!
- Hannah Fawcett answered on 16 Jan 2024:
  
  As a psychologist I travel for academic conferences. These are events where researchers share presentations and posters of their latest research findings. They are a great opportunity to meet colleagues and keep up to date with research. These conferences can happen all over the world depending on which university or organisation is organising and hosting. I’ve been lucky enough to travel to Sweden, Netherlands, Italy and Northern Ireland as well as various cities in England. I tend to go to one or two conferences each year, although increasingly these are hosted online.
- Evelyn Maniaki answered on 16 Jan 2024:
  
  I’m from Greece and now live in the UK, so that was one of the biggest life choices for me! I have travelled to a few places as part of attending conferences (a few places in the UK, San Diego, South Africa, New York to name some), and I am flying to Alaska to work with sled dogs next week!
- Hannah Marshall answered on 16 Jan 2024:
  
  I had a great opportunity to complete a short research placement at Cedar’s Sinai in Los Angeles in their Radiation Oncology department!
- Pam Harrison answered on 16 Jan 2024:
  
  I have been to a few different conferences or visited manufacturers in other countries, but you don’t get to see much beyond the airport and your hotel when in company business.
  However, since Covid and updated changes to reduce out carbon footprint on the world (quite rightly!!), there are less opportunities to travel worldwide. That doesn’t mean I don’t still speak to people worldwide though, we just make use of technology instead.
- Lauren Graham answered on 16 Jan 2024:
  
  I have been to the Netherlands for work to visit suppliers of our instruments to buy a new robot to analyse nutrients in water.
  Outside of work I have travelled a lot, since I really like to explore. My favourite place I have been is India!!
- Neil Guthrie answered on 16 Jan 2024: last edited 16 Jan 2024 4:22 pm
  
  Hi! I don’t travel much with work – I did go to Sheffield last year for a conference! When I finished studying, I took 18 months off and I travelled around the world though. We worked in America at a Summer Camp, before travelling around with some friends we made. We then flew to New Zealand and spent a month there, before going to Australia for a year. While we were there, we drove from Adelaide to Darwin, and Darwin to Perth, and lived in our car the whole time! That drive is almost 7000km, which is the same as driving from Scotland to the middle of China!
- Henry Duke answered on 17 Jan 2024:
  
  Not for work, although I do work for a company based in the US. I did a fair amount of travelling around the US and Canada before I became a software engineer, including living in Vancouver, Canada for 6 months and driving a 4,500 mile road trip in the western States.
- Kirsty Ross answered on 17 Jan 2024: last edited 17 Jan 2024 7:50 am
  
  I have been lucky enough to travel with school, university, and work. So far, I’ve visited the following countries:
  
  Italy (3 times)
  USA (twice)
  Vietnam (twice)
  Netherlands (twice)
  France
  Switzerland
  Germany
  Czech Republic
  Thailand
  Ireland
  Iceland
  Israel
  Cambodia
  Portugal
- Arun Patel answered on 17 Jan 2024:
  
  My job hasn’t led to travelling around very much just yet, but I’m aware there are lots of events and conferences in Europe that I hope to go to in the future. I have however been lucky enough to travel around a fair bit outside of work, studying a year abroad in Melbourne was definitely a highlight!
  
  I’d really encourage everyone to take as many opportunities as possible to travel as it’s great to see the world and experience new places, people, and cultures (and food!), and it develops some great life skills – there’ll always be time for the sciencey stuff later! (But if you can land a career that involves both then you’re winning!)
- anon answered on 17 Jan 2024: last edited 17 Jan 2024 10:53 am
  
  Some bits of the world. I grew up in South East Asia in Malaysia so I have been to other Asian countries, e.g. Singapore, Vietnam, China, Japan. A couple of those countries I have been for work and school exchange, so it is a perk in academia to do so.
  
  I’ve only started to travel in this part of the world since moving to the UK a few years ago. I’m absolutely in love with UK and Europe. Still many places on my bucket list to explore.
  
  I enjoy traveling for the scenery (definitely prefer nature instead of cities) and to try out different food. I also like visiting museums for the history.
- Tom Kitching answered on 17 Jan 2024:
  
  I have travelled as far as Australia, Canada, Colorado in the USA, and Barbados. The places I visited were beautiful, but my favourite holidays revolve around food and being with friends in Europe, such as in Bruges in Belgium or skiing in France.
- David McGonigle answered on 17 Jan 2024:
  
  I’m not sure if i’ve traveled the world…let me explain!
  
  I was lucky enough to go to 2 or so conferences – where scientists present work to each other – a year in the early period of my career. These could be local to the UK, or as far away as South Korea or China.
  
  One thing that conferences have in common, no matter the topic, is their intensity! I may have been in Seoul in South Korea, but 75% of my time was spent in a big conference centre. Once you’ve been to 4 or 5 you start to realise that…yup…they all look pretty similar!
  
  So if you looked at the stamps in my passport, it may look like i’ve traveled – but sadly, getting the most out of a conference often means neglecting to learn more about the fascinating destination…
- Philippa Harding answered on 17 Jan 2024:
  
  Being a biologist I often get to travel to very cool places!
  
  During my degree, I did field trips to the coast to look at the plants and animals that live in rock pools, as well as to a bird sanctuary to learn about how birds have evolved different shapes and sizes depending on what they eat.
  
  My first job I studied bird behaviour on an island called Maio in Cape Verde, where I spent a year studying what influences how birds choose who to mate with in their natural environment.
  
  I now work mostly in the lab, I have worked in Cambridge and London, but I still get to travel a lot to meet with either scientists, either from collaborating teams or at conferences. I have been to Sweden to learn a new technique for an experiment I wanted to do. Last year I presented my research at a conference in Austria which was in a palace! This year I am planning to go and present my work at a conference in Seattle in America and I plan to travel to Japan to meet with a collaborator.
  
  If you like to travel science has loads of opportunities to explore fun and exciting places you may never even have heard of!
- Esra Hassan answered on 18 Jan 2024:
  
  I do travel a fair bit 🙂 mostly on personal grounds but I do go 2-3 conferences a year abroad too! I also like to generally get away for a few days at least once a month or every other month. I am a massive sun seeker! I definitely do not do well in this cold weather 🙁
- Lisa Hursell answered on 18 Jan 2024:
  
  Not that widely, but I have been fortunate enough to travel to the USA a few times with work (as well as regular trips to Florida in my spare time).
- Emma Weir answered on 23 Jan 2024:
  
  Not much, yet! But work sends me to places I would never pick for a holiday like Serbia and North Sweden
- Sharon Madzorera answered on 24 Jan 2024:
  
  Not yet. I don’t know that I want to “travel the world”, but there are some places I would like to visit before my time is up.
- Emma Singleton answered on 24 Jan 2024:
  
  Both my parents worked in the travel industry when I was growing up, so we were lucky to experience lots of interesting holidays as children. This instilled a love of travel in me, and I have continued to do lots of travelling over the years. I have been fortunate at work to be able to travel to such places as Mexico, Armenia, Ethopia and Cuba. My husband and I have done lots of travelling together, to SE Asia, India, the Caribbean and to many places in Europe. My favourite place in the world? Probably either Sri Lanka, or, a bit closer to home, Venice.
- Alberto Granero answered on 1 Feb 2024:
  
  I have studied and lived in Spain, UK, Rumania and Australia.
  
  With work I have travelled to USA, Mexico, France, Germany, Spain, Turkey and New Zealand. Although it usually means flight>hotel>factory/office>flight, I have also managed to squeeze in some cool trips in between 🙂
- Clara Ferreira answered on 15 Feb 2024:
  
  15 countries until now!
  I actually just came back yesterday from Italy – I visited Milan and Venice. My mother loves Italy and we go there every year.
  The fact that I get to present at conferences and participate in meetings gets me traveling a lot – so, in March I will be in Vienna, Austria to present my PhD work. In September, I will go to Buenos Aires, Argentina for a world conference; in October, I will be in Hamburg, Germany. It might seem fancy, but my mother often goes with me, and she gets to know the city more than me – I have my day filled with listening to talks, giving my talks, and meetings (because I participate in research groups).
  I have been to Barcelona five times and I still have not been to the Sagrada Familia – I always have too much to do.

Comments

Sujit B commented on 16 Jan 2024:

Hi,

I have travelled the world both because of my profession and education.

I travelled in India, Scotland, Northern Ireland, England, France, Italy, Greece, Finland, Sweden, Czech, Netherlands, Belgium, US, Canada and many more.

I would love to go to Egypt to see the pyramids.
Martin M commented on 24 Jan 2024:

I’ve been very lucky in my career. As a PhD student a spent a short time as one of the best universities in Europe, the Technical University of Munich. Since then I’ve had opportunities to attend conferences and visit colleagues across the globe… from Seattle and San Francisco in the US to Chennai in India and lots of places in between. Travelling and meeting others to tell them about your science is one of the fun aspects of being a scientist.
Eleftheria S commented on 30 Jan 2024:

That’s the best part of my job, I get to travel a lot. I have been to most countries in Europe but I have also visited Brazil, China, Kenya, USA and many more. I like meet new places and tasting new food.

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