Attending Conferences
Breaking news for SCaLE 21x
Info on "The Next Generation" (TNG): SCaLE webpage on The Next Generation (SCaLE Kids).
Schedule:
- 10:00am - Mr. White on site to assist with registration.
Text/call me when you're on site to coordinate entry—626-590-4262—or if any concerns arise during your visit. - 10:00am - Expo floor opens. Your pass will get you in.
- 11:00am - 5:00pm - Kids STEM Playground open
- 11:15am - TNG Talks begin in Room 103
Pasadena Convention Center
Orientation
What happens at conferences?
- People talk.
- People learn stuff.
- People see stuff.
- People sell stuff.
What's there?
- There are people.
- There are professionals.
- There are vendors.
- There are keynotes.
- There are talks.
- There are workshops.
- There is a show floor / exposition floor.
Conference Skills
- Smile!
There's a lot of cool stuff to see and do. - Relax
You're here as a student, not as somebody hustling to sell something, or hustling to get a job. - Take your daypack.
There will be swag! - Bring money.
There may be stuff to buy, and you'll definitely 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?
Student Presentations
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