HLF Experience
HLF is a forum where the Laureates can meet and talk with young researchers from around the world. I feel lucky as being one of the selected young researchers to participate this year.
But it was not easy. Let me tell my story about HLF. As being selected as one of the young researchers I received a grant that would help me with the hotel and everything in Heidelberg, the city that was hosting the forum. But I needed additional funding to go to Heidelberg. The foundation can help young researchers with that, but to be entitled to this second grant you need to present a letter from the official institution of your country that promotes research saying it is not possible to fund you.
We have such institution in Chile, but you do not go there and ask for money. They have national contests for everything. I went there and asked if they could at least give that letter and the answer was “no”. I was desperate, but I found help at NIC Chile (https://www.nic.cl) and they funded my tickets.
I followed all the young researcher’s office mails in every detail and I enrolled myself in anything possible. I wanted to enjoy and to participate in everything! So, I tried to embrace the whole HLF. I had the chance to participate in the poster session and to present my research to all the HLF assistants in two minutes (a very big challenge and a lot of rehearsing).
I bought my tickets to be at Heidelberg early, so, I could have at least a good night of sleep before it began, since I don’t sleep in planes (impossible to find a good position to sleep). My fear of additional problems grew when I was not able to do my online check-in, so I called the LATAM’s call center and they were also not able to do my check-in. I went to the airport and the lady told me that my ticket was corrupted in the system, but she could give me a boarding card and everything; it was a direct flight SCL-FRA. I arrived in Frankfurt but my luggage didn’t. Someone coul say, great, now I can go shopping, but I’m not a shopping person. I normally have a hard time when I am looking for clothes, and now I had to. So, I spent my first day shopping (I only had the clothes I was wearing). I bought clothes for three days, just in case and I kept all the receipts. Fortunately, the luggage appeared on Monday (two days later).
Each day of the forum I wrote something about that you can read here:
Day 1 – http://mairasamary.com/2017/09/25/hlf-day-1/
Day 2 – http://mairasamary.com/2017/09/25/hlf-day-2/
Day 3 – http://mairasamary.com/2017/09/27/hlf-day-3/
Day 4 – http://mairasamary.com/2017/09/27/day-4/
Day 5 – http://mairasamary.com/2017/10/01/hlf-day-5/
Day 6 – http://mairasamary.com/2017/10/01/hlf-day-6/
But here I would like to share what was like to be there, my opinion and feelings about it; and not just tell and write about what I did and see.
I had the pleasure of meeting a lot of young researchers, working in different topics, on computer science and math. But all of them share the same passion, to search for something that can cause impact on our cities, countries, regions or even the world. Every one of us want to contribute somehow with our grain of sand to science and we are committed to that. We received feedback and ideas from each other, we discussed about forming alliances and to see what we could achieve if we are inspired and if we work hard enough. The laureates gave us a different perspective of the world. Prior of being here, many of the young researchers saw them as “Hollywood Actors”, people that you can admire but you cannot know or talk to. We were able to see that the laureates are flesh and blood and that they are accessible and open to talk and hear us. This was amazing!!!
The scope of HLF is broad, no matter that we “just” have matemathicians and computer scientists. Talking with other young researchers, from math; they tought that were more computer scientists talks, and for the computer scientists were more math talks. The theme here is that there are a lot of topics that are in the threshold of computer science and math; and if these topicas are not well known to you; you think that the other area received more attention. These variety of topics challenges the intelligence and the capacity of everyone. It is impossible to foloow all the topics, talk to other researchers, there were topics that really interested us and there were others that we could not exactly follow everything. But this makes all more interesting, to learn, to know.
I had the privilege to seat during the dinners with Leslei Lamport, Robert Tarjan, Manuel Blum and Leonor Blum; and I talked with the laureates and their wife’s. I had a personal theory that all the important people (no matter male or female) need a good backup, need a good support to achieve something. And here my theory was backed up: all of the laureates that I sited with and others that I just had the pleasure to talk to for a short while had amazing wife’s. But unfortunately, I couldn’t test my theory the other way around, since this year there were no female’s laureates present.
I really hope that in the years to come more women go on the HLF stage, and that the “Women of HLF” gathering grows to be a part of the official program.
I have the chance to meet so many nice and amazing people, that I really hope to see and meet them again. Specially my great new friends Leonor Blum and Larissa Suzuki.
And just to end my story…
Do you think I arrived home easily on my way back? No… My tale continued. My way back was Frankfurt, Madrid, São Paulo and then Santiago. Again, I was not able to do my check-in online. At the airport, the LATAM attendant only could do my check-in to Madrid, the other ones, he told me, would be done in Madrid. I did not need to worry. I told him about my luggage and that I had to buy clothes and that I had all my receipts and they said it didn’t matter. Since it was just 2 days without my luggage they only had to pay me a compensation of 43 euros. Obviously not enough to cover my spendings.
Arriving at Madrid, I went right away to Iberia desk (my flight from Madrid to São Paulo was Iberia), and the lady said she didn’t think I would be able to board the flight because they were full. I waited, hoping that someone wouldn’t show up, but it was not the case. So, I was back at Iberia desk to see another flight. All the flights were full. They gave a direct flight in 24 hours. Since my record on their system was corrupted, it took three hours for them to do whatever they need to do on their system and give me a new boarding pass. As the ticket was for the next day, they sent me to a hotel (without my luggage).
I’m currently at the hotel waiting for my flight, and I really hope that nothing more happens! But there is still chance for more, since I have the feeling that Murphy loves me. But let’s hope for the best.
