SOLIDWORKS User Group Network (SWUGN) at 3DEXPERIENCE World 2022

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3DEXPERIENCE World is the single most important event of the year, as it relates to the SOLIDWORKS User Group Network (SWUGN). It is our chance to collect as many people as possible and help our community learn more about our products. It also offers a chance for SOLIDWORKS users everywhere to network and collaborate with each other. This event has taken us all over the continental US, including Boston, LA, Orlando, San Diego, Dallas, San Antonio, Phoenix, and Nashville.  We made the decision to make 3DEXPERIENCE World 2022 an all-virtual event. Although we could not meet with our community in-person, SWUGN was still front and center through the entire event. Let’s recap this amazing week and cover some of the main highlights.

SWUGN Summit

On Monday afternoon, we held the annual SWUGN Summit. This event is typically a chance for us to gather together all the SOLIDWORKS User Group Leaders who are attending the conference. Since this year was virtual, we held the Summit via Zoom and we welcomed any SWUGN community member who wanted. We had nearly 100 people in the session. The agenda was jam-packed and the main session lasted just about 2 hours.

During the summit we…

    • Recapped all the major events with regard to SWUGN in 2021. Check out this video see pictures from some of these amazing events.
    • Chatted with Suchit Jain, Gian Paolo Bassi, and Manish Kumar. They dropped in to say hello to the SWUGN community and to talk about the coming year.
    • Saw a preview of the Awesome Women in Engineering painting, done by Mark Algar, which featured User Group Leader and Committee member Betty Baker. Check out this recent blog by Marie Planchard which details this awesome project
    • Got an update from the SLUGME team on what we can expect from SLUGME7. To learn more about SLUGME, check out this article. To join the SLUGME7 Community, fill out this form.
    • Delivered the annual SWUGN Choice Awards. More on that below….
    • Broke the group into regional breakouts, where SWUGN members could chat directly with their local committee leader and other group leaders in their area.

 

SWUGN Choice Awards

SWUGN is run by the users for the users. For the second year in a row, our community was faced with significant challenges. The SWUGN continued to grow and expand, despite these challenges. Our network grew to 235 known groups and over 20,000 members. We on boarded 61 new groups in 19 countries. This incredible growth would not be possible without the amazing people within our network.

The choice awards give us a chance to recognize the people who continued to support us in a time when we needed it the most. Here is a quick look at all our amazing winners. We delivered five of these awards live during the SWUGN Summit. We delivered the remaining two, very special awards Live on day 3 of general sessions. You can check out the live stream recording to see firsthand.

 

SWUGN Leader Sessions

Various sessions were led by or featured a SOLIDWORKS User Group Leader. Here is a quick look at these sessions. You can go back and watch all of these on the 3DEXPERIENCE World Website and on the SOLIDWORKS Youtube Channel. We also want to give a special shout out to the first 2 presenters on this list, Kameron Smith and Craig Lalumiere. They were in the TOP 5 most attended sessions at the entire conference!

  • Kameron Smith – Maniacal Modeling Methods 2022 (TOP 5)
  • Craig Lalumiere -Top 20 SOLIDWORKS Settings You Need to Know! (TOP 5)
  • Tom Cote & Joe Lance – Who’s Driving Your SOLIDWORKS File Management and References?
  • Dhanachezhian Duraikannu – Wednesday General Session: From Connections to Relationships I Community
  • Kirby Downey – Design for 3D Printing
  • Eric Beatty – Life After School: a Panel Discussion for Students
  • Adam Ebernickel – SOLIDWORKS Envelopes, Not Just for Sending Letters

 

The Core Podcast

Kirby Downey and Johnny Harrison are SOLIDWORKS User Group Leaders, based in the UK. Together, they run The Core Podcast. They recreated the “hallway hangout” atmosphere live on their podcast by welcoming in well-known faces in the SOLIDWORKS community and chatting about the day’s events. They did a great thing for the SOLIDWORKS community by providing a space for so many of our members to spend time together during 3DEXPERIENCE World.

They broadcasted for over 28 hours total over three days, featuring more than 50 guests. They also streamed the SWUGN summit live at the end of their day one broadcast. To top it all off, they raised over $2100 dollars for Magic Wheelchair. I think they have forever weaved themselves into the fabric of The SOLIDWORKS User Group Network and 3DEXPERIECE World as a whole.

Back to Nashville

 

As we brought the conference to an end with day 3 general session, 3DEXPERIENCE World had one in-person attendee after all. Joe Lance, leader of the Houston SOLIDWORKS User Group, surprised the entire community by crashing 3DEXPERIENCE World 2022. His presence and positive energy was exactly what we needed to bring a dose of community and realism to the final day of the event. Not only did we welcome Joe in, but GP gave him the distinct honor of announcing the location of 3DEXPERIENCE World 2023. In Joe’s words, we are going to finish where we started just two crazy years ago, back in Nashville. Click here for an exclusive blog from GP, detailing this epic moment.

Dan Wagner

Dan Wagner

Dan is manager of the SOLIDWORKS User Group Network (SWUGN). he has spent over 12 years in the reseller channel providing technical support to SOLIDWORKS users, teaching SOLIDWORKS classes, and delivering marketing & sales presentations to new and experienced SOLIDWORKS users. He is a Certified SOLIDWORKS Expert and is thrilled to continue serving the SOLIDWORKS community for many years to come.