Why you should attend trade shows

We are talking about trade shows! Virtual and in-person, how exciting. I am glad to see more in-person events appear on my calendar and am happy to be out talking to people again. I don’t think virtual events are going anywhere, and of course, shows like HETMA were virtual before it was cool (bunch of hipsters over there). ISE and Infocomm are right around the corner and not to mention all of the regional shows. I will be at a bunch of those, and I hope you are too!

I am excited to be speaking at the HETMA conference next week about designing classroom spaces with the customer experience in mind. I will be diving into what information is helpful to gather before designing and ensuring you are looping in the correct stakeholders from the beginning. I hope everyone leaves this session with some fundamental, actionable steps to take when planning their next upgrade or refresh.

This year I hope to see a lot more talk about future goals for the student and faculty experience rather than just our response to a pandemic. Hybrid, HyFlex, In-Person, Remote, and Online are all terms that have been tossed around to discuss what has been done in response to the pandemic. From what I have seen, people are starting to talk more about this plan for the future, but I hope trade shows take this same approach when planning their activities.

So why should you attend these conferences and trade shows?

Build Community:

Attend conferences and trade shows to build community with other tech managers to learn what is and is not working from various people. We all face the same issues when trying to implement technology in the classroom, and it can be easy to get caught inside our institution’s sphere of influence. Break outside of that bubble and talk with others to see what you could improve on your campus or share your experiences to help others.

Create Healthy Competition:

In higher education, we see a lot of competition between universities, especially in sports, so why not take that same attitude into our classroom technology. This competition should not stop us from talking to other tech managers and sharing ideas but instead using those moments to try and improve our institutions. Competition drives innovation and allows us to share achievements with others. Sharing those achievements and knowledge among other institutions provides more resources for the campuses that need it and/or aren’t as well equipped.

Continue to Innovate:

Being content with what you have is excellent, but don’t let it stall innovation. Always keep learning how to do things better and focus on more than just the best tech out there. How is it affecting the student experience?

If you put a highly technical solution in your classroom, but no one is comfortable using it, that funding could have possibly gone to something better. So, as you attend these conferences and webinars throughout the year, do your best to think about how the things you learn will affect the student experience.

*Pro Tip: Students are the ones who pay the bills, so if it directly affects them, it will get more attention.

Trade shows are an excellent opportunity to meet others, form a community, create healthy competition, and implement innovative and effective changes at your institution. Coming back with the knowledge and experience from these trade shows will allow you to grab a seat at the decision table. Don’t get left behind when the rest of campus is upgrading, and ensure there is space for you to get what you need.

I look forward to seeing you all at the HETMA conference next week. If you have not registered yet, what are you waiting for!?! Visit hetma.org for more information.