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SysMus24

 Hi everyone, it is Bruna here!

I am excited to share that last week we presented our first poster together at SysMus24! 

The 17th edition of the International Conference of Students of Systematic Musicology happened at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Our poster showed the current state of our literature review on the benefits of singing and also presented our collective and individual research aims. 

The great thing about SysMus is that it is led by students and for students, which makes everything a bit more relaxed than "big" conferences. However, this more relaxed approach does not mean that the level of quality of presentations is affected. I had the opportunity to meet so many brilliant PhD students from all over the world who are doing a great job in their areas. We also had the chance to hear from three keynote speakers, who introduced us to very interesting topics: 

Professor Minna Huotilainen, from the University of Helsinki, took us on a "mental travel" across the current state of research in neuroscience about our engagement with music from the early stages of life (fetus) until later stages (elderly). It was great to hear about the emerging efforts of neuroscientists towards ecological validity in their research around music. 

Professor Tuomas Eerola, from Durham University, talked about transparency, diversity and equality in the music and science field. His talk was mind-opening for me, as he showed the current state of the research in our field and the lack of transparency we are facing. Just 5% of the published papers analyzed in his study had their data openly available.

Professor Isabelle Peretz, from the University of Montreal, focused on Congenital Amusia and how the brain of people who carry this condition perceives music. One of her remarkable statements was about her research on improvisation, and how people with congenital amusia, even not being able to carry a tune, can improvise. 

Sysmus provides amazing opportunities to PhD students to engage with peers and professors, as well as present their own work. Next year it will be held at the University of Oslo, Norway and I am looking forward to that!

P.S: There are lots of socials organised by the hosts. This year we had the opportunity to have dinner on a boat! 


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