Making the Case for Attending

DIRECTIONS – Dawn Brehm

The conference is shaping up to be another record-breaking event.

All around the country – even the world – LTEN members are getting ready to come together for the 48th LTEN Annual Conference (June 3-6 in Grapevine, TX). As usual, the event will host a wide variety of life sciences professionals from different companies in different segments of the industry. Our event planners and LTEN leadership have worked hard to ensure there’s something for every niche in an industry full of people with particular areas of focus and interest.

Are we going to see you there?

The conference is shaping up to be another record-breaking event and it’s an outstanding opportunity for training professionals to come together to learn and share valuable information that helps develop skills and careers. The conference will have a variety of workshop tracks, as well as the chance to network with peers and learn from the shared experiences of industry colleagues.

As in past years, the more than 70 workshops will be organized in tracks. If your interests are focused on a certain subject, you can stay in one track or skip between tracks for a smorgasbord of content and experiences. The tracks are:

Career Success
Customer Engagement & Selling Skills
Field Trainer
Global Learning
Market Access
Instructional Design & Delivery
Impact & Measurement
Management & Leadership Development
Medical Device & Diagnostic Training
Mobile & Digital Learning
New & Innovative Technologies in Learning & Development
Non-Commercial (Clinical/Technical) Training
Partner-Sponsored
Strategic Insights

Our Learning Labs microlearning sessions are also back in the Learning Village exhibit hall this year. By popular demand, they’ll be presented concurrently with workshops, giving conference attendees another venue for learning.

You can visit www.LTENconference.com to view the current agenda and be sure to check back often for updates. It’s important to plan the sessions you’ll want to attend.

Elsewhere in this special issue we’ll introduce you to the great keynote speakers we selected for this year, because of their relatable messages for all trainers. You’ll also want to meet our LTEN Talks speakers and the Learning Labs presenters. Perhaps most importantly on the agenda, the workshops will be built to align with the specific needs of life sciences learning professionals.

Of course, attendance to any professional event typically starts with securing approvals from supervisors. Most of you find it’s an “easy sell” to convince your boss to take advantage of the value for professional development at a conference targeted specifically for life science trainers.

But, if getting approvals is a challenge for you, I’ll again point you to the LTENconference.com website, where you can find a sample letter you can use, or customize, to share with your leadership. There’s also a worksheet available to help you calculate the cost of attendance and an additional worksheet to help you plan your time and ensure travel objectives are met. Look for those materials under the Registration tab (“Justify Your Visit”).

While the conference is filled with new ideas and learning opportunities, it also offers attendees a chance to network, build relationships and have fun. The receptions offer you a unique opportunity to relax and enjoy the Texas atmosphere.

If you talk to any of your colleagues or network members who have attended the LTEN Annual Conference, I’m confident you’ll get a strong endorsement of the value it can offer. Be sure to look at the LTENconference.com website to arm yourself with the information needed to close the deal, and follow #LTEN2019 on Twitter for all the latest news. We’re looking forward to seeing you in Grapevine this June!

Dawn Brehm is executive director of LTEN. Email Dawn at dbrehm@L-TEN.org.

Conference Webinar

If you’re planning to attend the conference – or thinking about attending – be sure to check out our upcoming pre-conference webinar. Starting at 12:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, May 7, the webinar will share information on the conference and tips for making the most of your time. Register for the webinar at www.L-TEN.org/webinars.

Thanks to Our Committee Volunteers

A lot of specialty committees helped pull together the 48th LTEN Annual Conference, volunteering time and energy to create events, workshop tracks and the annual awards program. We’ll recognize some of those committee members at strategic places throughout the magazine.

Here, we thank members of three specialty committees who helped keep certain content tracks on target for members.