More than an opportunity to learn more about Evolutionary and Genetic Computing, Gecco’22 provided me with several incredible experiences, contact with other researchers and certainly memories that I will take with me for the rest of my life.

As my first conference on Evolutionary Computing, I had the opportunity to learn more about the work of researchers from different parts of the world and from the most diverse areas of this field of computing, at the same time I was in contact with several of them, learning many new things, not only about computing, but also from the academic world in general.

Being there, in person, I could see how the community is united and welcoming. There was a tendency, during coffee breaks, to introduce yourself to someone new and show interest in that person’s research. I was also able to get in touch with many amazing women (gecco@women is a very nice example), it gave me a lot of inspiration to continue in the academic world. In addition, I met several people from my country who were conducting research in several different countries. All this showed me that it is possible to overcome many obstacles that are placed in our way.

Apart from the academic part of the conference, the opportunity to get to know a unique place like Boston, accompanied by amazing people, contributed to making the whole experience unforgettable. All the organizers’ dedication to making the conference enjoyable for all participants certainly had a positive effect as well. I really hope to be able to attend and present papers in many Gecco in the future.

I am immensely grateful to ACM’W for giving me that opportunity. I certainly left this experience very inspired to continue in the academic area of ​​computing and develop research that can somehow be an inspiration for other young researchers.