7 Steps to Getting the Most From the 2021 Salesforce Education Summit

Salesforce’s first-ever Education Summit (formerly Higher Education Summit) in 2012 was my first professional conference in my career. The presentations showed me what was possible on the Salesforce platform and I learned how collaborative the Higher Ed industry is while meeting peers between sessions. In 2020, we had to adjust to virtual conferences and we all learned that it takes a different approach from an in-person event to fully benefit from the content. Now we sit in front of our screens all day and have mastered the art of jumping between virtual meetings, chats, webinars – and for some of us – our kids or pets demanding our attention too.

The 2021 Salesforce Education Summit is once again being held virtually. Here are my tips to take full advantage of this year’s Education Summit:

1. Register for the Summit. The Summit is free! Register Here >> 
2. Block off June 16 on your calendar. The Education Summit is a conference, so treat it like one! If you were at an in-person conference you wouldn’t be responding to emails and chats between sessions, and certainly not during a session. Do your best to do the same at a virtual conference. Responding to one chat or email can completely derail your attention and before you know it you’ve spent your day half-listening and only taking away half the value. Give yourself the 10:00 am to 5:00 pm CT block of time to learn and collaborate. Let your colleagues know you won’t be available on June 16, put the Summit on your calendar, and set an out-of-office reply.
3. Block off time on June 17 and 18. Salesforce has on-demand content planned and available to you on June 17 and 18. Put a few blocks on your calendar to give yourself time to watch those sessions too. And better yet use one of those blocks to review your notes and key takeaways from the event to share with your colleagues.
4. Plan your schedule ahead of time. The Education Summit sessions have been published here. Once you start planning the sessions you want to attend on June 16 you’ll quickly realize there are more sessions than you have time for. Get your colleagues to join you at the conference (remember the conference is free) and strategically split the sessions amongst yourself. And don’t forget your colleagues in other departments! For example, if you work in Recruitment and Admissions, ask your Marketing and IT colleagues to attend as well.
5. Visit the Expo Booths. Make sure to schedule some time to visit the Redpath booth in the Expo.  Redpath is pleased to be a Gold Sponsor along with other sponsors shown here.  As well as attending sessions, I’ll be at Redpath’s expo booth, stop by to say hello!
6. Take time to connect with colleagues and partners. At an in-person conference, you benefit from the connections you make. Give yourself time to still make those connections. Sign up for the Braindate sessions in the Networking section where you can interact and connect with industry professionals. Redpath staff will be here asking and answering questions on Salesforce solutions for Higher Ed applications. 
7. Plan your meals. After the informative content and networking, my next favorite thing about a conference is getting a good breakfast or dinner from a local restaurant in a new city. While you probably won’t be in a new city for the Education Summit, why not try a new (or old favorite) local restaurant? As mentioned before, the conference is a busy day so it is a good idea to make sure you have meals planned, why not enjoy something special? 

The Education Summit is a great time to learn more about what is possible with Salesforce to better serve students, staff, and faculty. Preparing ahead of time will allow you to get the most out of the one-day Summit. Register here and we look forward to seeing you at Redpath’s expo booth.