Future FIRST Conferences & Non-Tournament Inspiration

[Siri]

This thread is to discuss proposals for making Championships (Worlds, Half-Worlds, or other events) more inspiring. In particular, it's sprung for the idea of "beefing up" the FIRST Conferences to make them into an destination in and of themselves.

Proposals here don't necessarily need to handle issues surrounding the 2017 Championship split, and they don't have to be for the Town Hall event at Worlds this year (2015).

Essentially, tournament-centric discussion aside, what else can we do to make these events as inspirational as possible? What inspires you about Worlds or other events, and what feels like a missed opportunity thus far?

Originally Posted by RoboMom

For many years I have volunteered to give conference sessions at the Championship with topics ranging from how to build community alliances to engaging parents to recruiting corporate volunteers. A couple of years ago there was a mentor who attended one of these sessions who shared with me that he obtained funding from his school system to attend the Championship BECAUSE of the conferences. Although these sessions have definitely gotten more polished over the years and expanded I continue to feel that "beefing" up the conferences held in conjunction with the Championship to be a destination in themselves has been a missed opportunity.

[Siri]

Straw Man Proposal for a beefier FIRST Conference
Main Issue: how do you get people to come, take off work/school, and pay to travel/attend something like this?
Potential Answer: There are some major conferences that high schoolers can get out of school for, whether for leadership studies or special topics like journalism or Model UN events. Mentors is harder, but for teachers at least, sanddrag has suggested making it eligible for professional development credit.

So, my straw man:

Eligibility: I have no idea what total numbers we're aiming for.

1. Students: every team to make (semi?)finals at a regional, and every next 25%? of a District's allocation (e.g. District has 20 slots for Champs, this is the next 5 points-ranked teams). Also to all EI and CA, last year's division EI, HoF, previous and this year's Dean's List finalists. For the team allocations, 5? students each.
2. Adults: teams above, plus all WFFA & WFA, and all Volunteers of the Year. For all team allocations, 3? adults each.
3. The addition of another optional judge's award, e.g. "Future FIRST Leaders", that allows regional (1 award) or DCMP judges (also 1?) to include a deserving team in this allocation.
4. Similar criteria for FLL and FTC. Details left to those versed with the programs. Caveats that content probably won't be applicable below high school.
5. There's also spots reserved for a waitlist (or waitlists, by session). All "open" events are, well, open. "Eligibility" is intended for credibility/recognition to schools for travel and for more space-limited activities.

Content:

• Open: guest speakers, college/scholarship/internship/career fair [already exists]
• Student Closed Sessions: career round tables, mixers, future of FIRST discussions, breakouts for team leadership and problem solving.
• Adult Closed Sessions: left to someone who knows about teacher PD, though preferably it's not limited to very teacher-specific things. Include future of FIRST discussions, which can be joint student-adult.
• Mandatory feedback survey for everyone that attends at least one session. (Maybe one closed session, since this is easier to track.) Collects actual data on what participants view as the inspirational opportunities in FIRST.

Timing: open sessions primarily on Thursday, closed sessions Friday. (Or is that backwards?) Schedule not too densely packed. Wednesday open to attend the normal FIRST Conference; Saturday open to watch elims.
Location: I'd like it to be that you're free to go to either city. Logistically, this may mean that you're setting up your own swaps, just so that we're not in a situation in Week 7 where, e.g. FiM students qualify and Detroit is full but they're not allowed to go to Houston. Note that the content cannot be guaranteed identical between each event regardless (e.g. guest speakers).
Cost: Free registration for students. Prefer free for adults, but maybe industry for PD cost. Bonus points for Regionals/Districts (or HQ) that sponsor competitive, need-based, or full scholarships for travel and lodging.

[Kate Muller]

I would love to see regional conferences that mentors could attend even if the team wasn't going. This would be a huge help to newer and struggling teams. I wish there were many more how to classes and seminars. My team has struggled with major student and mentor changes and all the new mentors are spending huge amounts of time reinventing the wheel.

[EricH]

Proposal:

Teams can register for "Conference Only" Champs spots as soon as registration opens. This offer would be extended to all teams (yes, I said ALL teams can register). Naturally, this would be a greatly reduced registration fee, say in the $100-$500 range/team at an early guess (teams pay travel and lodging). Teams that qualify for Champs or otherwise make it would get that fee applied to their Champs registration; I would also propose that any WFFA or Deans' list winners whose teams are attending get their fee refunded OR applied to airfare or lodging (AKA, free attendance), by FIRST. Other fee refunds/waivers/application to travel may, of course, be awarded at HQ's discretion.

For this fee, teams get: X mentors and Y students are given badges that allow them in the pits and stands and conference sessions and basically anywhere they want to go except down on the field (and maybe even that! HQ's call.) Conference sessions as noted above: professional development, leadership, student development, as well as the "standard" fare that's offered currently. Ideally, lunch would be supplied as well. And naturally, teams could bring more than their allotment, for an extra fee (say, a per-person cost of $50).


I could be way off on the pricing, but the main reason for having this be a paid thing at all is to 1) make sure attendees are serious about showing up, 2) give them a stake in their own development, and 3) help assist conference presenters with travel. (And, also, I recall hearing that a perception of "limited supply" or "good value" can also entice more people to show up--any marketing folks want to chime in?) Of course, I would anticipate that the scheduling allow for plenty of match-watching and pit-crawling, for some added inspiration; why not have one or more sessions on "design field trip"

[Siri]

Originally Posted by EricH

Proposal:

Teams can register for "Conference Only" Champs spots as soon as registration opens. This offer would be extended to all teams (yes, I said ALL teams can register). Naturally, this would be a greatly reduced registration fee, say in the $100-$500 range/team at an early guess (teams pay travel and lodging). Teams that qualify for Champs or otherwise make it would get that fee applied to their Champs registration; I would also propose that any WFFA or Deans' list winners whose teams are attending get their fee refunded OR applied to airfare or lodging (AKA, free attendance), by FIRST. Other fee refunds/waivers/application to travel may, of course, be awarded at HQ's discretion.

For this fee, teams get: X mentors and Y students are given badges that allow them in the pits and stands and conference sessions and basically anywhere they want to go except down on the field (and maybe even that! HQ's call.) Conference sessions as noted above: professional development, leadership, student development, as well as the "standard" fare that's offered currently. Ideally, lunch would be supplied as well. And naturally, teams could bring more than their allotment, for an extra fee (say, a per-person cost of $50).


I could be way off on the pricing, but the main reason for having this be a paid thing at all is to 1) make sure attendees are serious about showing up, 2) give them a stake in their own development, and 3) help assist conference presenters with travel. (And, also, I recall hearing that a perception of "limited supply" or "good value" can also entice more people to show up--any marketing folks want to chime in?) Of course, I would anticipate that the scheduling allow for plenty of match-watching and pit-crawling, for some added inspiration; why not have one or more sessions on "design field trip"

I like it. I will just say that my only interest in having "eligibility" criteria is so that teams can go to their schools and say "look, we got into this leadership conference!" The major objection I've heard to strengthening the conferences in general is that teams can't get permission (and maybe sponsors/fundraising) to go just to watch and listen in St. Louis. Saying "we qualified" might really help with that, but I'd expect to have a lot of wait list spots--far more than Worlds/Half-Worlds does.

Even on it's own, I love the idea of "design field trips". I'm run off my feet at Worlds, but even I'd try to free up some time to browse around an (optional) poster session where students can present their team's design process, and their pit ambassadors repeatedly take small groups back to see the real deal. Dibs on 1114.