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One year ago in April 2020, it seemed like virtual events were merely a stop-gap measure to maintain some level of normalcy during unprecedented times. As organizations adjusted to working remotely, they also turned en masse to virtual event platforms.
At the National Hydropower Association (NHA), we quickly found not all virtual event platforms are created equal. For this week’s virtual events we are organizing – Waterpower Week and the International Conference on Ocean Energy (ICOE), NHA is partnering with robust, dynamic technology platforms that are user-tested and built for the number of attendees while giving them an unparalleled experience.
While we are excited that resuming in-person events are on the horizon, we do see several advantages of participating in virtual events to keep professionals working in and with the waterpower sector connected, engaged, and informed.
GREATER ACCESS TO UNMATCHED CONTENT
With traditional in-person meetings, attendees need to be at the physical location at the time of the event to reap the full benefits of educational content and sessions.
Not so for virtual events. For both Waterpower Week and ICOE, registered attendees will have access to the panel discussions, sessions, presentations, and posters for up to a year after the virtual events are held. This means that impactful discussions that happened during the event can be revisited months after they initially occurred – a first in NHA history for such large events with the amount of content offered.
To put the scope of available content into per perspective, for ICOE, there are 23 sessions, 117 speakers, and 100 poster presentations. For Waterpower Week, there are 27 sessions and 102 speakers. That’s a lot of content that would be impossible to access in the span of a 3-day live event. Therefore, having access to all of this content long after the actual event concludes is a huge learning advantage for attendees.
INCLUSIVITY AND EASE OF CONNECTION
Additionally, for many junior members of the waterpower industry, attendance to these events would normally be inaccessible due to budget or time constraints. Virtual events that do not require travel or lodging are prime avenues for young professionals to get the exposure and education they need for career development.
Attendees can browse the full list of conference attendees, and message those who have opted into the platform’s networking feature. This communications tool, as well as the virtual networking platform that will be used at Waterpower Week and ICOE make virtual events unparalleled for ease of finding and contacting persons of interest at the conference.
LAST-MINUTE PARTICIPATION DECISIONS ALLOWED AND ENCOURAGED
When you don’t have to purchase a plane ticket, reserve hotel rooms, or make arrangements to care for children or pets when you are out of town, you have the luxury of deciding to attend an event literally the day it starts.
Registration will be open for both Waterpower Week and ICOE throughout the week. Registration details are available online for both events: www.waterpowerweek.com and www.icoe2021.org
QUICK PIVOT FOR SMALLER EVENTS
For smaller events and meetings, one of the advantages of the virtual format is how quickly organizations can pivot and provide their members with valuable content. For example, at the beginning of the pandemic, the NHA Hydraulic Power Committee hosted weekly online meetings to discuss how different asset owners and generators were reacting to new mandates and keeping their facilities fully operational in a safe way.
For NHA’s Path to Clean Energy webinar series, we are able to feature a diverse array of speakers and attract an audience of policy makers and clean energy professionals who affect the industry because there is no incurred travel costs.
With in-person meetings set to resume later this year, we are excited to reunite with our colleagues. But you can bet that NHA will continue to leverage virtual event technology to share valuable industry news and insight. You can stay updated on NHA events, both in-person and virtual, by visiting the website.
