Orlando or Bust…What Other’s Are Saying!

It has been a little while since I have done a post in my series titled “Orlando or Bust” about how to convince your management to send you to SolidWorks WORLD 2009 in sunny Orlando, Florida. Last year when I was attempting to convince the management at my company to send me to my first SolidWorks WORLD I learned a lot about what to expect from other users that had been there before. So last week I sent out a questionnaire to some of my fellow bloggers to see why they feel it is beneficial to attend this event from a user’s perspective. Below you can find the response’s that I received back from them (be sure to check out their blog’s as well, they are a wealth of knowledge for everything SolidWorks related). Here is the question and the responses:

Question: As a user who has been to a previous SolidWorks WORLD, why do you feel it is beneficial to attend this event?

Jeff Mirisola – Jeff’s Blog

1. I feel it’s beneficial for a few reasons. First, and foremost, the learning opportunities. As an attendee, you have the opportunity to attend classes taught by experts in a multitude of disciplines. There are “hands-on” sessions so you can actually follow along with the instructor. Then there’s the vendor fair where you can check out a huge selection of partner products. Lastly, there’s the networking. You’ll meet people there who can assist you when you get stumped, who can provide a different point of view on how to accomplish different tasks or help you overcome various challenges in your designs.
   

Josh Mings – SolidSmack

1. Without a doubt, if you have a goal to go there and find out about something that will benefit yourself or your company – a process, a program, or technique – you will learn more than you originally thought possible. You will come away with more ideas about how that process can be used and you will benefit from conversations with others about how they use SolidWorks. Set a goal. Make sure your company knows. Find out everything about it when you go.

Brian McElyea – CADFanatic

1. Attending the SolidWorks World conference has major benefits not only for the attending users, but also for their respective companies.  There is a tremendous return on investment; companies receive not only an increase in the users’ skills and knowledge of the software, but also can benefit from the networking aspects associated with this sort of event.

   Users can network not only with other users, but with SolidWorks employees, third-party developers, and potential vendors and customers.  The wealth of information that can be gleaned from just strolling through the Partner Pavilion is worth the cost of the conference by itself.  Couple that value with all of the sessions available, access to the entire conference session presentations after it is over, and the potential business opportunities, and it is easy to see the benefits far outweigh the costs of attending.

   I have personally never went to a SolidWorks World conference where I did not learn something new, be it functionality of SolidWorks I was unfamiliar with, new modeling techniques, or answers to some engineering problems that my company was facing.  And seeing other’s designs in the Partner Pavilion always helps inspire me to be more creative in my designs.

Matt Lorono – SolidWorks Legion

1. I found the diverse type of breakout sessions to be very valuable.  They do not just cover SolidWorks how-to or hints/tips/tricks.  Business appropriate topics are also covered.  On such as session last year covered project management in the context of a 3D CAD environment.  Another session I enjoyed discussed how to handle file management and SolidWorks within a regulated industry.  I learned lessons from these particular sessions that immediately benefited my company upon my return.

   Also, having employees attend can raise the profile of one’s company, generating interest on the part of others who may not otherwise discover your company via other means.  This can help attract both clients and potential highly qualified new hires.

As you can see, this event is a must attend for any level of SolidWorks user. Whether you are a beginner or an advanced user you will be sure to find an unbelievable amount of information that will help you do your job better and more effectively. So talk to your management, let them know what you can bring back for yourself, for your fellow engineers and for the rest of your company.