Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1337116
50 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2021 Johnson: Connecting experience to the younger professionals is so important. Balonek: I think it goes both ways. ey can def- initely learn from each other. Also, Forgotten Tribal Knowledge is one of the events included in Event Essentials as well. So that event is free and available for everyone to attend. Johnson: What's your vision for the serendipi- tous bumping into somebody, having a conver- sation, waiting in line for snacks in the exhibit hall or in a hallway? Do you see a way to incor- porate that sort of very traditional organically occurring networking in the virtual environ- ment? Balonek: Well, a lot of it is going to be on both the attendees and exhibitors to reach out to one another. at's why it's critical that they work with the online agenda planner to con- nect with each other. We are trying to, like I said, match people up with each other. All the conference technical sessions will have live Q&A, so there's also an opportunity for people to get to know each other through the Q&A. For our keynote speaker, Travis Hessman, there will be a live one-hour Q&A with event participants later in the day, in addition to his 45-minute keynote presentation. So, it would be nice if they can build upon the questions that are asked and connect with each other aer the event. If attendees allow us to share their information with exhibitors, we send the attendee list to the exhibitors so they can reach out to them before and aer the event. Johnson: I have heard on several occasions people comment that the virtual approach will allow for a much more global reach for IPC APEX EXPO. Do you see that unfolding? Balonek: Yes, I do. And not only a global reach, but I also see this as a potential for people who aren't normally able to attend the event to participate this year in some capacity. Even though all the events will take place in cen- tral time zone, again since everything is on- demand, they are able to access this virtually on-demand wherever they are for 90 days aer the event. We oen hear from some companies that they can only send so many people to the event, but they would like to send more. is is the opportunity for more people to attend now, because you don't have the travel related expenses of hotel, airfare, meals, etc. And as I mentioned earlier, we have a one-day con- ference option. We also have a single session pass option if people just want to attend one or two sessions, they have the opportunity to do that as well. I definitely see our reach with the younger engineers who may not have the authorization to travel or the budget to travel as well as expanding our reach around the globe for people to participate. Johnson: Now, it's tricky to be an exhibitor in a virtual environment, in that all of our normal ways of operating as an exhibitor change, and we interact with our booth visitors in a very different way. You've already alluded to mak- ing appointments and scheduling through the planner. As an exhibitor, what sort of support can I expect to receive in this environ- ment? Balonek: We're working on a video to show them how to make the most out of their exhibitor profile and virtual experience. is is a platform we've been using for years, but some exhibi- tors don't take full advantage of every feature available, while some do. So,