Mutual gains: Non-presenting undergraduate attendance at regional scientific meetings benefits students and scientific societies

Participation in scientific meetings confers many benefits to undergraduate students and promotes their success and retention in science. However, the cost and time required to attend a scientific meeting is often prohibitive for students, and university funding is often restricted to students presenting research. Small regional scientific meetings offer an opportunity to promote non-presenting undergraduate attendance because of their reduced registration fees and travel time, but the benefits of attending regional scientific meetings have not been extensively studied. We recruited 45 non-presenting undergraduate students to attend the annual meeting of the Indiana Physiological Society and provided students with pre- and post-meeting surveys measuring self-perceptions of their professional abilities, sense of belonging in science, confidence in their degree program and career pathway, and reflections on the conference experience. Additionally, because non-presenting undergraduates made up nearly half of all meeting attendees, we surveyed other meeting attendees to assess the impact of these students on the meeting environment. After attending the meeting, students reported increased confidence talking to other scientists and presenting future research, a greater sense of belonging within the scientific community, more interest in pursuing research after graduation, and increased enthusiasm to attend future meetings. Other meeting attendees felt that the non-presenting undergraduates had a positive impact on the meeting and enhanced the environment for student presenters. Our results suggest that the attendance of non-presenting undergraduates at small regional scientific meetings provides mutual benefits to students, universities, and regional scientific societies.