Networking In-Person and Virtually: The Hive at 3DEXPERIENCE World 2022

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Any time you’ve gone to a conference, what are the sorts of things you’ve looked to get out of it? Most people might say:

  • Knowledge
  • Experiences
  • Connections

On this third point: connections have long been a hallmark of the full conference experience. It’s what makes getting out to World every year such a ‘save the date months in advance’-style affair! Meeting new people who work in your industry, tackle similar challenges, and share personal and professional interests is both productive and enjoyable.

At SOLIDWORKS World 2019, we started The Hive – which, back then, was solely a community gathering and hangout space intended for first timers who wanted to meet up with event veterans.

In 2020, with our rebranding and transformation to 3DEXPERIENCE World, we introduced Hive-located, speed networking sessions that allowed like-minded professionals to meet others like them. Designers got the chance to meet other designers in a space just for designers! Same for CAD admins, Makers, and more. And when we went fully virtual for 3DEXPERIENCE World 2021, we brought these sessions with us!

 

For 3DEXPERIENCE World 2022 (February 6th-9th), we are expanding our offering of community enablement sessions available to attendees. One of the best parts is: we will have events for both virtual AND live event attendees, as part of this year’s hybrid proceedings.

WELCOME STATION (in-person)

It’s likely been a while since we all attended a conference. For those of us who will mark this as their first-ever 3DEXPERIENCE World, this event will be even more unique!

It can be difficult to know things like: what are the sessions I should be sure to catch? Who are some fellow attendees I can connect with who can give me some tried and true attendee-to-attendee advice?

We want to ensure your onsite experience gets off on the right foot. As such, we are planning on having a Welcome Station area by The Hive where you can introduce yourself, ask questions, and get answers to start the event!

HIVE HANGOUTS (in-person and virtual)

We’re merging the spirits of both 3DEXPERIENCE World 2020 (in-person) and 2021 (virtual) to bring you a full, hybrid flight of networking sessions in 2022, whether you’re with us in Atlanta, GA (hope to see you there!) or tuning in for the virtual experience.

During these hangouts (formerly called Hive Mind Meetups), attendees have the opportunity to partake in speed networking activities with the goal of making connections at the event – which will stem far beyond it! When we last did these sessions in-person back in 2020 (when we introduced them!), we were at max capacity. So many attendees nicely came up to me and mentioned that it was their favorite part of the event.

In 2021, we gave attendees the opportunity to meet an even wider range of contacts by bringing this ‘meetups’ (now ‘hangouts’) virtual. This opened it up to a much greater pool! Counting live attendees and on-demand viewers for these virtual meetups, we were well into the thousands. We’re excited to bring these back as well for our hybrid event.

LIVE FROM THE HIVE PODCASTS (in-person and virtual)

And now, to the brand new stuff! Podcasts have been booming in recent years, and we are planning on welcoming both The CORE Podcast (hosted by Kirby Downey and Jonny Harrison) and Mavens of Manufacturing (hosted by Meaghan Ziemba) to The Hive. They will interview guests and speak on special interest topics to the attendee base at 3DEXPERIENCE World as well as their own audiences, live from Atlanta!

Whether you’re planning on attending in-person and/or virtually, you can register for 3DEXPERIENCE World 2022 here today!

Sean O'Neill

Sean O'Neill

As an Industry Process Consultant, Sean's role is to help amplify the 'best of' both our products and our community, via the stories we showcase on our livestreaming programs (like SOLIDWORKS LIVE) and other digital outlets. Sean is also the creator of both the SOLIDWORKS Champions Program and the SOLIDWORKS Influencer Program.