What can you gain by attending conferences in System Development?

There is a lot one can gain by attending conferences on system development. Many of these have already been mentioned in the article. Aside from gaining, there is a lot one can 'give' by way of sharing with the community. Deep insights, practical experiences, in-house tools developed, time/budget overrun incidents, managing customer expectations and funny stories can all be shared with attendees. Young and upcoming professionals stand to gain immensely from this.

This is important to increase our vision, knowledge and similar technical skills about specific topics. Most of the times these conferences bring us something we already know, but the way they share their knowledge can change or modify the way we were thinking and this is valuable because we are learning more about the same but with a different approach. Specially when attending other continents speakers. Do not hesitate to continue attending conferences, it’s for your own good.

Different people go to conferences for different reasons. My favorite reason is to be exposed to new ideas. I read the same newspapers, follow the same websites, talk to the same people, and read a similar style of books. This builds an information bubble. When I go to a conference, I pick a track that looks most attractive, and sit the whole day through it. I usually get one or two awesome presentations. There are a few which are mediocre. But the best part is there are some that are surprising. Sometimes I learn something new, or see a new way of looking at something. If I did not commit to sitting through a whole day in one track, I would likely pick and choose talks, and would miss these! I walk away with new ideas every time.

Absolutely! Conferences is always allowing us to connect with interesting people. It’s just as easy to introduce yourself or ask known ones to help you introduce with others. Maybe you can start a great professional relationship with someone that needs your knowledge or viceversa.

The fast pace of technological evolution requires developers to be adaptable. Conferences help developers understand not only what is currently cutting-edge but also what might be on the horizon. This foresight enables them to adapt their skill set and development strategies accordingly. Example: Imagine attending a conference where a new cloud-based development platform is showcased. Through hands-on sessions, you get to explore its features, understand its integration capabilities, and witness how it significantly reduces deployment times. This firsthand experience can be transformative, influencing your future development projects and making you an advocate for adopting this tool within your organization.