Last week, I presented my research at the 2019 CFP Colloquium--a yearly conference geared towards academics where colleagues present their findings and receive constructive feedback. There are also non-academic financial planning practitioners who attend as well. Overall, the cfp ("certified financial planner") community is a huge proponent of bridging the divide between academics and practice. The former conducts research and disseminates it to practitioners who then test these ideas "in the field" and offer feedback to the academics as to the theories' strengths and weaknesses. It's very much a collaborative effort, and it's great that this group is on board with helping each other because not every community is cooperation-minded. At the conference, I made many new connections and learned a lot of new, cutting edge research across a wide array of topics. It was a great experience, one which I hope to repeat.
Also, I cannot stress enough the importance of having excellent professors and mentors in this (and probably ever) field. Drs. Benjamin Cummings and Jason Martin, my two co-authors, have not only enriched this process but made it possible in the first place. I will write a subsequent post later about the importance of intrafield mentorship and why it's absolutely crucial in academia.
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