The distance between Utrecht and Malmö is more than 800 kilometres. By car it takes at least nine and a half hours to get there, by train around eight hours. 

What a long way! By plane you can get there much faster. Why did you choose the train?
"When the conference organisers invited me, they offered to pay for my plane ticket. But if you are into sustainability like me, flying is not an option. Also, travelling by train is much more comfortable than by plane, especially with those long queues and security checks at Schiphol Airport. Privately, I always choose the train. If I go to visit friends in London - which I frequently do - I take the Eurostar."

How was your journey?
"I left Utrecht Central at 7 am in the morning. In total, I had to take five trains and I was curious if it would work out with so many changes. Despite a delay of an hour, I made it through all connections and arrived in Malmö around eight in the evening. Of course, it was a long journey, but I had been given a first-class ticket. This allowed me to travel comfortably while working and reading. Meanwhile, I watched the landscape go by. That was very relaxing. Malmö is close to Copenhagen, where I had never been. After the congress, I had a few days off and visited that beautiful city as well. 

The journey back to Utrecht did not go so well and was quite stressful, as I almost missed my connection in Hamburg. There was a police intervention going on in the city, which meant buses and metros were down. By quickly jumping on an electric scooter and whizzing from one station to another, I still managed to catch my train."  

Do you also give digital key notes?
"After the congress in Malmö, I was invited to give a key note at a congress organised at the end of November in Umeå, a city in the north of Sweden. From Utrecht to Umeå is more than 2,000 kilometres: way too far to travel by train for a key note of an hour. Luckily, the organisers of the conference were open to a digital version. I decided to give my key note in Studio 041 at Utrecht Science Park. Studio 041 is a professionally equipped studio, complete with various set-ups: there is a table you can sit at with a group of people, there are comfortable chairs for two or three people and there is a green screen. All the technical facilities are there and the staff is very nice and helpful. As a result, it ran like clockwork."

How did that go?
"I gave my presentation to the studio staff, they arranged all the technicalities. Standing in front of a green screen, I looked into a big camera with a double mirror, through which I could see my own presentation. The participants at the conference in Umeå saw both me and my presentation, at the same time I saw the participants on a screen. In this way, I could see how people reacted to my story. That made it interesting for the participants, because they were much more involved, and it was also much more fun for me. It is a good alternative if you cannot attend a conference yourself. I can recommend it to anyone!"

About Tom and UULabs
Tom McDevitt lived in England for most of his life. He obtained his bachelor's degree in Geology and Physical Geography at the University of Edinburgh and then decided to do a master’s in Earth Science at Utrecht University (Earth Surface and Water). He got a part-time job at the Green Office, which has been working with students on sustainable solutions since 2015. Tom is now project leader at UULabs, where he works on living labs on campus for sustainable development.