Edel Sheerin was delighted to have the opportunity to attend the recent Kerguelen Plateau Symposium in Concarneau, France! She presented findings of her literature review on the ‘Evolutionary origin and connectivity of the Kerguelen Plateau benthos over space and time’. This work synthesises the available literature to understand what we know about the benthic invertebrates to date and emphasises the importance of further research given the position of the Kerguelen Plateau as a future gateway to Antarctica. Edel was gratefully supported by a travel grant from the KPS committee.