FROM THE
CONFERENCE DIRECTOR
WHY BOTHER WITH PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT? I
t was great to attend ITW and see members of SubOptic at the members meeting in Chicago. I recently read an article about attending conferences than having to justify the expense to management. I touched a little on this in my last article but for that was directed more to sponsoring or exhibiting at the conference. Let’s look at the Return on Investment from an attendee perspective or the employers point of view. Why should I send my employees to a conference when they could be more productive and contributing to the bottom line of the business by not attending? What are the perceptions of sending five to ten employees to a conference at a destination that is known for enjoyment? In many cases the appeal of the destination distracts from the goals and objectives of the conference. Ideally, the conference is an external workplace that is structured with educational, marketing, and networking opportunities. Most everything is provided to the attendees while on-site at the conference. The conference delivers to the attendees a program, to include facilitated seminars, Wi-Fi, networking opportunities at different functions at the conference.
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SUBMARINE TELECOMS MAGAZINE
SubOptic is the submarine cable industry’s premier event, showcasing the literal bleeding edge of technology and best practices. What will you miss if you don’t attend? Can you justify the missed opportunity to your management?
The best way to save is to take advantage of the early bird rates and the $100.00 discount that is being offered by reserving your hotel at the official SubOptic2019 hotel at the time of registration. As you are considering registering for SubOptic2019, the best way to save is to take advantage of the early bird rates and the $100.00 discount that is being offered by reserving your hotel at the official SubOptic2019 hotel at the time of registration. When determining your Return on Investment of a potentially attending conferences, first is to estimate the true cost of a conference by considering all direct and indirect expenses. In addition to the cost of registration travel, lodging
Chris Noyes Conference Director STF Events and time away for the office, as well consider the opportunity cost of not attending. Knowing the all the cost associated with the decision you can better gauge if the conference is currently worth the time and effort to attend. We took a new approach to SubOptic2019 and determined that the conference need to offer attendees a chance to increase their RIO by attending. We have begun the process to offer Professional Development Hours (PDH). In conjunction with the SubOptic2019 Program Committee we are working to have all the Master Classes be accredited and offer 1.5 or 2.0 PDHs for those who attend the entire sessions. The Program Committee has determined the six topics for the Master Class to held on Monday. • Principles of Offshore Oil & Gas Submarine Telecoms • Open Submarine Networks • Advancements in Marine Installation and Maintenance • Wet Plant Design and Qualification • Updates to Transmission Technology • Legal and Regulatory Developments