10th Cracow Conference on Graph Theory (Emma Smith)

10th Cracow Conference on Graph Theory

By Emma Smith (Research Postgraduate - Ph.D, Information Security, Maths)   


In September 2025, I attended the 10th Cracow Conference on Graph Theory, held at AGH University in Poland. I’ve been fortunate to attend and present at many conferences during my years in the CDT, but this was the first time I’d been invited to speak — an exciting (and slightly nerve-wracking) milestone!

Giving a talk is always a valuable exercise, no matter where you are in your research journey. It forces you to take a step back and take stock of your work. In preparing for this one, I finally found clarity on how I want to structure my thesis — a small but satisfying breakthrough that made the late nights of slide editing in my hotel room feel worth it.

The conference itself was exceptionally well organised, with a great mix of keynote talks, focused thematic sessions, and lots of food! My talk was part of the Designs session, which brought together 23 speakers from around the world. I always enjoy seeing how different people approach similar problems. Hearing alternative perspectives often sparks new ideas and fresh approaches for my own work.

Outside the talks, I met many new people and built connections. These informal chats over coffee breaks (or in a local cat café) are such an important part of any conference. I also managed to squeeze in some work with a collaborator and somehow read more papers that week than I usually manage in a month.

Of course, I didn’t understand every talk — far from it. There were plenty of times when I found myself completely lost, but I’ve learned to embrace that. Those sessions where I can’t follow every detail often turn into quiet thinking time and a chance to let my mind wander. These moments that used to feel like failure now often lead to clarity and progress on whatever problem I’m currently stuck on.

My talk was scheduled for the very last slot of the conference — not exactly prime time, and I’ll admit I worried that half the audience might have already made a dash for the airport. But to my relief, a good crowd stayed to the end. Despite it being a pure maths conference, I included a section on how my work connects to cryptographic key-distribution. Perhaps a slightly risky move given that “applications” can sometimes feel like a taboo topic at these events. Thankfully, it went down well, and I had some great follow-up conversations, even in the applied side of the research.

No conference trip is complete without a bit of sightseeing, and Kraków definitely delivered. On the Wednesday morning, we had an organised electric buggy tour of the old city — it rained the entire time, but it was still lovely to escape the conference rhythm for a bit. I also explored the Wieliczka Salt Mine and took a day trip to the mountains.

I left Kraków feeling exhausted but with newfound energy for the final stretch of my CDT journey, and a new favourite food – pierogi! 

                                                            

 


                                                                


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Remote working and Cyber Security: Georgia Crossland and Amy Ertan

Introducing the project The shift to remote working represents a huge shift for employees and organisations alike, introducing significant implications for cyber security. Amy Ertan and Georgia Crossland are currently working on a research project, in collaboration with the Research Institute for Sociotechnical Cyber Security (RISCS) and funded by the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), on the impact of remote working on cyber security and wellbeing. This blog post will give an overview of a section of this project, how remote working impacts cyber security. In response to COVID-19, in March 2020, organisations across the world made the rapid shift away from physical office working to remote working, wherever possible. This shift has had a significant impact across many aspects of organisations. This blog post will offer a high-level overview of how the cyber threat landscape was impacted for many organisations and may further change organisational cyber resilience. Remote workin...
Read more

New Publication: Remote Working and (In)Security?: Amy Ertan

Image
A recent research report by CDT researchers Amy Ertan and Georgia Crossland has been published with the Research Institute for Sociotechnical Cyber Security (RISCS). The report examines ‘The Impact of Pandemic-Driven Remote Working on Employee Wellbeing, the Psychological Contract and Cyber Security’, with research carried out through a series of interviews with senior cyber security colleagues between January and April 2021. The full report can be found on the RISCS website: New publication: Remote Working and (In)Security | RISCS. Context In the UK and around the world, the impact of COVID-19 represented a total shift away from what was considered ‘normal living’. One aspect of this change was the rapid transition to remote working as people were encouraged to work from home and limit contact with others as far as possible through repeated lockdown conditions. Fellow CDT colleague Georgia Crossland and I were curious to explore how remote working has impacted the experiences - and se...
Read more

The Artificial Intelligence Monster: Nicola Bates

Image
Christopher Booker in 2004 wrote of the seven basic plots to any story, one of these being ‘overcoming the monster’. Within Hollywood, such ‘monsters’ often reflects the zeitgeist balancing commercial requirements with the political and societal preoccupations of the age. The monster evolves over time - from Russia in the Cold War years through to lone actors and terrorists and now to seemingly shadowy figures controlling intelligence. Whilst generally lighter in tone, such monsters also exist within children’s cinema. In recent years this monster has become increasingly defined by their use of highly sophisticated technology, finally becoming the technology in ‘The Mitchells vs. the Machine’*. Lethal technology and subversive machines aren’t new concepts in children’s movies. They can, for example, be found in ‘Short Circuit’ back in 1986. This movie begins with five United States military robots in a training exercise against tanks and focusses upon one of the robots becoming ‘alive’...
Read more