It’s More Than an Alliance – It’s a Community
By Chris Kelly
Why You Should Join HETMA: It’s More Than an Alliance—It’s a Community
Let’s start with the most obvious reason: there’s no reason not to. HETMA is free to join—and it always will be. For anyone working in higher education AV/IT, this organization offers a solution to a problem many of us face every day: feeling isolated in a silo.
You can be surrounded by colleagues, but their interests and knowledge are often limited to what your university has already tried. And let’s be honest—you’re probably not going to “bother” them with a tech question after work hours.
That’s where HETMA comes in. This is a worldwide organization with members across the world, so there’s always someone to connect with. I’ve been able to talk to people who have seen things my university folks have never encountered. Need to ask questions about a new technology you’re considering? Chances are, someone in HETMA has already done it. I’ve met people who have tried everything—even tech that’s still under NDA.
Joining HETMA gives you a window into a world you could never have imagined from your own campus, no matter how small or large.
Influence the Future of AV—No Matter Your Title
You might think you need to be a high-ranking director or manager to have a real impact in this industry, but HETMA changes that. When I joined the advisory board, I was at an entry-level position at my university—yet I was given an important role in HETMA.
Being able to attend advisory board meetings almost every week and sit with senior-level folks from some of the most powerful AV companies is an amazing and truly empowering opportunity. I’ve been able to tell an engineer at Shure that we need a new feature added to the next-generation microphone, or give feedback to Extron on how to improve their recorders.
What kind of AV tech at a small school has that kind of power? In HETMA, I do.
It’s an incredible feeling of connection in a world that can otherwise feel super siloed. I might not know many people in a similar role within 100 miles of my campus, but I know more folks than I can count who are doing the same work at universities across the world.
A Wealth of Resources for Your Day-to-Day Job
The connections are great, but what about the practical benefits for your daily work? Fortunately, HETMA has a ton of things happening all the time:
- HEX Credential: We’re extremely close to launching the HEX credential, which points you toward industry-recognized training and validates your skills with a predefined set of competencies.
- Education Committee: Weekly education committee meetings keep you in the loop about upcoming learning opportunities—virtual conferences, Ed Summit, Lunch and Learns, and more. We help design the informative content everyone looks forward to.
- Events Committee: Want to help plan events for yourself and others in HETMA? The Events committee meets weekly to plan our next InfoComm presence, the Golf Classic, virtual conferences, and other gatherings.
- Advisory Board: Nearly weekly meetings where you can connect with manufacturers, learn about products before they’re announced, and help influence the future of the industry.
- Scholarship Opportunities: If your school won’t fund InfoComm or CTS certification, the Prism Scholarship can make it possible. We are constantly striving to empower people.
- Knowledge Sharing: Want to see what other universities are doing in their spaces? FLEXspace is exactly what you need—photos and detailed descriptions so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel.
- Local Networking: Prefer to connect closer to home? We have regional groups and HETMA Roadshows coming to campuses near you.
You Don’t Have to Do It Alone
HETMA is for all of us in higher ed AV/IT. We’re constantly working to connect with new people in every area of the field. Are you doing instructional design? We’re adding more people who do just that. Trying to get e-sports added at your university? Perfect—we’re finding others doing the same. Pushing the boundaries of mixed reality? We have a bunch of folks doing that too. Does AVoIP seem out of reach with no one to discuss it with? Awesome—we have plenty of members who’ve already done it and others in the process of standing it up.
No one should be doing all of this alone. Everything you’re trying has been done elsewhere—or is being tried on another campus. Higher ed tech managers are family. Even if our universities compete on the surface, in IT, we are peers.
We want you. We also want your coworkers and the folks down the street. You don’t need to be an influencer or the “top dog.” Many of us are introverted and start by just lurking. We hope you’ll share your perspective, but if you just want to watch and learn at first, that’s okay too. That’s how most of us started—by watching, learning, and realizing the community gives you as much as you put into it.
We’re not all Joe Way, but we’re all here for the benefit of the community. See what you can gain here, invite some friends, and help us all on our #RoadTo10K.
Connect with Chris – community.hetma.org
