For educational researchers the BERA Annual Conference is an important date in their professional year. It provides the opportunity to:

• network with existing colleagues
• support new colleagues at the start of their careers
• establish the beginnings of new collaborations
• exchange ideas with like-minded colleagues; and sometimes more profitably, with non-like-minded colleagues1
• make new links with potential publishers or funders
• learn about research outside your own area and investigate possible connections
• indulge in discussions of ‘blue sky’ research that reminds you why you are a researcher

Seasoned BERA delegates could probably add several more reasons of their own as to why they return but for most it is about being part of a community of researchers. A community that is dynamic and changes over time; not just in terms of its members but in the way it does things. Participating in a vibrant conference is one way of making sure that you contribute to that change.