Changes to STC's Annual Conference

Technical Communication Summit

As you might be aware, we have made several changes to STC's annual conference (May 12-16) this year. Here's a list of the key ways we've re-designed this event to significantly strengthen its value to your professional development.

The name. We now refer to the event as the Technical Communication Summit, because it is a summit of the best thoughts and minds in the field.
The philosophy. As you might have noticed in our marketing literature, the primary purpose of the Technical Communication Summit is to serve as your primary source of learning about technical communication. In some cases, that learning is provided by peers in the field. In others, we've invited outside experts to broaden the base of knowledge.
Post-conference workshops are now pre-conference. This affords you several advantages: reduces the number of work days required for a complete conference experience and lets you participate in the in-depth learning experiences while your mind is freshest.
Added Certificate Programs. These programs let you explore topics in-depth, coordinate learning from seminars and the conference, and earn a certificate of completion. The initial response to this program has been enthusiastic.
Added "Institutes." These are conferences-in-a-conference that explore hot topics in the field in-depth. All of the speakers in these Institutes are invited, many are from outside STC, and all are regarded as among the top people in the area. This year, we've scheduled Institutes on internationalization, knowledge management, content management, information design and architecture, and Web 2.0 based on interest expressed by our members.
Added sponsored sessions. These sessions give you an opportunity to try out the latest products and learn about the newest services in the field in more formal and in-depth ways than possible on the Expo floor.
Added networking opportunities. These include an additional SIG lunch and springboards—which are intended to serve as venues for conversation during coffee breaks.
Opening Session Sunday night. This year's Sunday night event is intended to inspire you to learn and provide an overview of the content ahead.
Established an online conference community. We want the conference experience to begin before the event and the conversations to continue long afterwards.

STC's volunteers (under the leadership of Saul Carliner and Phylise Banner Klein) and staff (led by our Executive Director Susan Burton, Director of Education Lloyd Tucker, and Director of Marketing and Membership Mary Kabza) have collaborated to provide a dynamic learning experience for you. So far, it seems that the membership concurs—a record number of you have already signed up for the conference.

We hope to see all of you in Minneapolis.