New England Mentor Conference | August 3rd, 2024

FIRST General Forum
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New England Mentor Conference | 2024-08-03T04:00:00Z

Registration is open for the 2024 New England FIRST Mentor Conference held at WPI on August 3rd. This conference aims to encourage mentor growth, conversation, and connection across New England and beyond. This conference will feature mentor social activities on Friday and Saturday nights, technical and team-focused presenters from all over the United States, and opportunities to connect with teams of all sizes and experiences.

Who can attend?

Adult mentors (18+) from any FIRST team are welcome to attend! We strongly encourage mentors from all over to join. Registration is $35 per attendee and secures your attendance and meals for the event.

What topics will be covered?

Topics include team management, student leadership, software development, CAD, and more. Featured keynote speakers are @Michael_Corsetto and @Coach_Norm, with panels about Volunteering, Team Organization, Scouting, and Impact/Outreach. Full schedule will be out soon.

Will there be recordings?

Yes, mostly. Recordings will be up to the presenters, and those who elect to can share their recordings through New England FIRST or directly through their own channels.

Where can I find out more?

Details can be found at https://www.nefirst.org/conference. Further information about hotels, socials, and more will come in the next few weeks. Feel free to add any questions in this thread or email [email protected].

Looking forward to seeing y’all there!

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@Molly_Connolly and I should be there :slight_smile:

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Do you have to be a mentor in the New England are or can anyone attend?

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Everyone can attend! We’d love to have mentors from other regions!

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Looks like fun. Registered!

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I am so stoked for this event, thanks to the organizers for having me, I’m excited to participate alongside Coach Norm and many other great presenters.

Part of what makes this event valuable is connections with other like-minded adults, without robot competitions getting in the way. If you are attending and we haven’t met yet, please find me and say hi, I’m looking forward to this opportunity to share experiences and grow as a community.

I’ll see you in August!

-Mike

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Are event times and locations posted anywhere? Hard to plan travel and lodging without those; if Saturday starts early I may want to stay in the area Friday night and attend the evening reception, but if it starts later I may just take the train to Worcester the morning of

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I unfortunately won’t be able to make it this year, but that speaker lineup is amazing. Really hope that this becomes a yearly tradition, and I’m definitely going to suggest other mentors go.

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Massive W since I’ll be in Texas that weekend. Hope it’s a massive success!

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Myself and a delegation of 321 mentors will be in attendance - we’re looking forward to seeing everyone! I hear there’s some cool people on the Impact and Outreach panel (hint hint wink wink).

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That is a lot of mentors

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Everything on Saturday will be happening on WPI’s campus in Worcester, 100 Institute Road, Worcester, MA 01609.

The rough schedule will look like opening talks starting at 9a and the presentations going till about 5ish on Saturday. The post-event social will be from 5-9ish

The Friday event will start around 6:30p in Worcester as well but not on WPI’s campus.

Thanks!

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I thought I would be able to make the journey from NC, but I have a work meeting on the Friday evening before and its a 11hr trip… Maybe next year!

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When will the public schedule be posted? Looking forward to attending!

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Here’s some updated details for the conference! Check the dates below for deadlines to reserve your hotels and baseball tickets.

Friday Social

Friday, August 2nd: we’ve organized group tickets to the Worcester Bravehearts game, 6:30 p.m. at Fitton Field. Tickets are subsidized to $10 per person and include all-you-can-eat concessions and post-game fireworks. Email [email protected] by July 28th to hold your conference game ticket, or you can purchase tickets directly from the Bravehearts any time up to game start.

Saturday Schedule

The conference will take place on the top floor of the WPI Campus Center. Registration opens at 8am with a light breakfast available. Presentations will last from 9:00am - 5:30pm with a break for lunch at 12pm. At 6pm there will be a barbecue social on the Campus Center Patio for a chance to meet and mingle with other mentors.

Presentation List

The final schedule of presenters will be posted next week. There will be two tracks available, Team and Technical. Attendees can switch between the two tracks as they like. Here’s a preview of some of the sessions you can expect:

Session Preview:

  • FRC Data Logging and Visualization
  • Building Better Robots Faster with Altair Inspire
  • Onshape Best Practices
  • Encouraging Self-Advocacy in Students
  • Mechanical Design Tips For FRC Success & Reliability
  • Fundraising For FRC

Panel Topics:

  • Impact + Outreach
  • Scouting + Strategy
  • Team Organization
  • Inside Volunteer Interactions

Hotel Accommodations

Hotels are available within walking distance of WPI. You can find discounted rates for the Courtyard Worcester and Hampton Inn and Suites Worcester. Book by July 27th for these discounted rates!

Registration

Pre-registration ends on July 30! The conference price (not including the Friday social) increases to $50 for anyone who attends without pre-registering. Get started at nefirst.org/conference

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I would like to go but have blown my Robocation budget on IRI and the Mountain view conference. Maybe New England next year.

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Still working on finalizing the schedule, want to make sure we have everything locked in, should be out in the coming days! Thanks for your patience.

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Are there any plans for a Slack or similar for attendees to communicate?

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Working on this right now! We should have an email that goes out to all registered individuals by Monday that will have more information about that!

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Will there be any presentations or anything available after for those who can’t attend?