Follow the news sections of major universities and research institutions.
Check for monthly updates on breakthroughs, grants, or new projects.
There are several ways to keep up with your favourite journals. You can, for example, subscribe to receive a notification email every time a new (electronic) article is published in a journal, or receive the table of contents of the newest issue. Publishers have their own tools for subscribing (see Springer below), but there are also services, such as the Researcher app and JournalTOCs specialised in notifying you of the latest updates in electronic journals.
Domestic and international scholarly conferences are important opportunities for networking and discussing current research. Conference presentations are usually based on the latest or ongoing studies and therefore provide newest information. Especially in technology and similar disciplines, conference proceedings are often the most valued type of publication.
In learned societies', research centres', and departments' seminars you can attend talks and lectures the same way as in larger conferences. In addition there's usually workshops focused on a particular problem or topic, where like-minded researchers get to share and exchange ideas.
Research organisations and departments often let you know about upcoming conferences on their mailing lists. There are also several web pages that collect and share information about scientific conferences around the world, such as:
