Photo Guy Ackermans Tijmen (fictional character) had successfully completed his master’s thesis. He wanted to share his findings with the academic community and searched for conferences. After finding a few options, he could not decide on one, for he was inexperienced in the matter.
He finally chose one conference, and then he arranged a meeting with his student advisor to discuss it. He needed a confirmation about the legitimacy and suitability of the conference before applying. One day after the meeting, his study advisor notified him that he had checked the conference and confirmed that it looked good, hence, a suitable and legitimate option.
It is a reality that our students are exposed to fake conferences
A few days after completing the application and payment process to register for the conference, Tijmen became suspicious about the legitimacy of the conference. In the next few days, some colleagues mentioned that this exact conference had been deemed a scam. He then rushes to cancel his registration and ask for a refund, although not successfully, as the “organisers” claimed that, according to the cancellation policy, he could only get a certain amount of money back.
It is a reality that our students at WUR are exposed to these types of fake conferences. I then wonder what the academic body of advisors can do to detect and prevent these fraudulent situations from happening. Perhaps the spiders need to make the web stronger.
Willy Contreras-Avilés (34) is a second-year PhD candidate in Horticulture and Biochemistry of medicinal cannabis, from Panama. He likes to dance (perrear), cook Italian food, and swim.
