6 replies to this topic

[frax]

Ok,

I have been to the ESRI UC three times in the past, and that is something that I really enjoy: interesting sessions and a lot of interesting people (a lot of old friends). And the sun is nice.

But... If I should get back to my superiors and ask them to fund me for one major conference for staff development purposes (i.e. more technical), are there any other that could be good? How interesting is the ICA stuff?

[Mike H]

frax - thought I'd ressurect your inquiry since no-one responded. Not sure exactly what your staff wants/needs regarding technical development, but my understanding is ICA focuses on much more theoretical issues with a strong academic contigent, but I've never been to an ICA.

Perhaps NACIS would be valuable - next year is in Madison, Wisconsin, USA in October. Probably not as sunny as ESRI UC but it is total immersion in the craft of mapmaking.

m.

[frax]

thanks for the feedback.
It would be mostly for personal inspiration and networking, not so much for technical development

[Mike H]

"Inspiration and Networking" You just described NACIS!

[David T]

thanks for the feedback.
It would be mostly for personal inspiration and networking, not so much for technical development

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I find the ESRI UC to be all three of those things. Each year, I come back recharged, with new ideas, and ready to charge into some projects that I've been putting off. I get reenergized at the conference.

I also get the technical side, and learn some pretty cool and amazing things at the conference. The trick is to go through the pre-conference schedule, and zero in on those technical meetings that you want to attend. Be sure to schedule more than one for each meet time - that way, if the one you keyed in on as you 'primary' technical session is falling flat, or not up to expectations, you can quickly move onto the next one.

As for networking, I do a lot networking at the conference, meeting up with quite a few people. However, I should say that I'm based in San Diego, so it's another opportunity for me to network with other GIS professionals in San Diego, so it might not be as good an opportunity for you.

[frax]

sure, I have never been dissapointed with the UC, but I could try something new for a change...

[Hans van der Maarel]

FWIW

I really enjoyed NACIS and walked away with a lot of inspiration to try out new things. The crowd was fantastic, not too large but still very diverse.