SWE’s 2020 National Conference, WE20, was a 2-week virtual conference and career fair hosted via vfairs.com. From November 2-13 attendees were able to log in and participate in live and semi live sessions. Additionally, some of the features of the conference were virtually available like a photo booth, scavenger hunt and networking lounges. A Slack channel was created for Dallas SWE members to connect. Dallas SWE Attendees met virtually on GotoMeeting, on two occasions, to discuss their personal conferences experiences. While the live portion of may be over, attendees (and anyone else who wishes to register) can access sessions on demand for a year.
“Attending WE20 as a virtual conference was a unique experience and very valuable! The speakers were exceptional as always, and I enjoyed still being able to “meet” members from around the world. I appreciated that many topics covered were relevant to the current and new challenges we are all facing.” – Amanda Alsbrook (3rd WE Conference attendee).
“I had been looking forward to WE20 in New Orleans for several years, so it was initially disappointing not to have an in-person conference. The virtual conference was such a different, but also such a valuable experience. Having access to so much amazing content was overwhelming at first, but now, it’s great to be able to go back and rewatch favorite sessions or keep attending new ones. Despite being virtual, I did make new connections with other SWEsters from other sections, which further adds to the value of SWE and the annual conference. It was my first year speaking at conference, which was a fantastic experience and something I hope to do again in the future. Looking forward to WE21 in Indianapolis now!” – Zaineb Ahmad (6th WE Conference attendee).
“WE20 was definitely not what any of us expected, but SWE stepped up in a big way to connect us all and “Practice Curiosity” virtually and safely this year! The session speakers were fantastic, covered a wide variety of topics, and recordings are available for a whole year! The interactive nature of the networking chats and virtual talks helped us feel closer together and see our SWE friends we’re used to seeing at conference each year. My favorite sessions were on digital communication strategies and of course the annual State of Women in Engineering research and literature review.” – Shelley Stracener (11th WE Conference attendee).
