Attending Conferences

Breaking news for SCaLE 21x

Info on "The Next Generation" (TNG): SCaLE webpage on The Next Generation (SCaLE Youth).

Schedule:

Smile!
There's a lot of cool stuff to see and do.
Relax!
You're here as a student to enjoy the vibe, and to learn a little more about technology. (Have some sympathy for the vendors who are here trying to sell their equipment and services, or the other attendees who may be looking for a job.)

Take your daypack.
There will be swag! (Don't be greedy.)
Bring money.
There may be stuff to buy, and you may want to get coffee/lunch.
Keep your badge visible and facing out.
People will see your name, and vendors may ask to record it for email follow-up. (You're not required to do this, but it's something of a professional courtesy.)
Talk to vendors.
The classic opener, from you to a vendor: "So, I'm a student, and I use Python/Java/GitHub/etc. Tell me about your product!"
Be polite.
You can't just walk up to a table and steal swag. It's fair for a company to expect you to engage with them before they give you free stuff. Have a conversation, find out what their thing is. Then, you can say, "Would you mind if I took one of these cool little plush toys?"
Practice your "soft skills."
It's a tech conference, and people like "hard skills," but they really like "soft skills." ("You can code... but can you look me in the eye while you talk to me? Can you have a conversation with me that doesn't make me want to turn around and run screaming in the opposite direction?")
Have your own "elevator" talk prepared.
Vendor to you: "So, what do you do?" Response: "I'm a student at Polytechnic School. I'm taking the AAA course there, but what I'm really interested in is BBB." (You can fill in additional details regarding anticipated fields of study in college, projects you've worked on, things you find intriguing: AI? Cybersecurity? Videogames?)

Austin Froelich

Desmond Mantle

Ikenna Ogbogu