We need #trainTraining to build a long term #habit necessary to slash #pollution with climate changing #emissions.
Some people point out that trains still may have dirty emissions.
Here some reasons how going from #Warsaw to #Barcelona and back by train has been meaningful #now:
- 4 weeks of 2 #researchMeetings #benasque and #qtd23 gave me around 25 new contacts and had a lower #networking output per week than interpolating by train between these two destinations which resulted in 25 contacts gained in 2 weeks (#Cracow, #Vienna, #Innsbruck, #Milan, #Lyon, #Lausanne, #Zurrich, #Berlin).
- I was optimising meeting scientists outside of my bubble and find that encounters at thematic conferences tend to be less creative.
- If you fly, you fly in and out. By train you stay longer at a given institute, might travel through a node with a colleague etc. You give yourself a chance to experience more. That is the point of a #researchTravel and is better facilitated by train.
- I recommend to interpolate with up to 6 hour nodes to mitigate delays, departing after the uni visit. This pushed me to find productive stops. I dared to write to intimidatingly strong researchers and it worked.
- I talked to group members I didn't anticipate because I had a rhythm of travel and not just rushing back home. Train stations are centrally located so less hassle getting to the institutes than from airports outside of the city.
- I could double up meetings on the way back that were particularly productive on the way. Neither would happen by plane.
- I had more flexibility than when flying.
- On trains my mind could work, on a plane I waste time.
(1/more): e.g. saying city hopping opens doors😄, #interrail 🤙etc. 🫰
#interrail #researchtravel #berlin #zurrich #lausanne #lyon #milan #innsbruck #vienna #cracow #networking #qtd23 #benasque #researchmeetings #now #barcelona #warsaw #emissions #pollution #habit #traintraining