The Newbie’s guide to enjoying and getting the most from the Exchange.
If this is your first Emerson Users Exchange, Welcome! You are going to have a wonderful time, meet a lot of new people (and some old ones you may have known years ago) and learn a lot of
new things. You will get a lot from your attendance at the Exchange, but with some planning in advance, you can really soar!
First things first. If you have not gone to the personal scheduler tool and set up your week—stop reading this right now and go get started on that. The personal scheduler is located on
the main page after you log in. It gives you the opportunity to select workshops and short courses that are of interest to you and will plan your schedule for the week. This saves you spending your breaks between sessions staring at the big board with
all the offerings and trying to decide where to go next.
While you are on the personal scheduler, be sure to look at the offerings from the Education department. You get the opportunity to attend two classes offered by Educational Services free
as part of your conference attendance. These classes are offered only by pre-registration and on a first come first serve basis. Pick two and sign up. If you wind up on a waiting list, you have the opportunity to pick a different class or be on the waiting
list. Chances are you will get into the class as other people change their schedules around.
Don’t forget to schedule your industry forum on Monday afternoon, the product roadmaps for the products you use and of course, the Meet the Expert sessions on Friday that give you a chance
to directly ask questions of the product managers on your favorite Emerson products.
Once you have your days scheduled, start working on the evenings. Monday to Wednesday we have technology exhibits. You will want to make sure you spend at least two evenings with the exhibits.
Start your first round of the exhibits by just strolling up and down the aisles and take in all the things that are there. Then you can start plotting who you want to spend your time with and what products you want to look at in depth. And while you are
strolling around, get that punch card you were given when you walked in all filled out and turn it in up front. Remember, though, you must be present to win, so once you turn in your punch card, stick around and see more things until the nightly winners
are called.
Other evening events include the Music Jam on Tuesday evening after the exhibits close and of course the networking event on Thursday night. Music jam gives our talented members a chance
to step up and show off a little. Maybe you are one of those people.
Once you get to the conference you will need to check in and pick up your badge. This is your key to admission for everything. Also, if you have a smart phone, make sure you download our
scheduler application at that time. Then you can just check your phone to see what the next class is on your schedule, what room it is located in and where it is on the map of the hotel.
Breakfast and lunch are part of your conference fee, so make sure you make it to both meals. This is networking time, so make sure you get find new people to sit with and meet new people
every day. Have a pocket full of business cards to trade along the way. Truth be known, we are a small community so it is always good to meet as many new friends as possible.
#EmrEx