RAeS CONFERENCE AND EVENTS

Get set from anywhere in the world for RAeS virtual events take-off

The impact of Covid-19 has brought business challenges for all of us, not least in how we will continue to deliver the conferences and events that our members rely on for learning and development. We have been working hard to find solutions to keep our members up to date with sector developments and to ensure we continue to provide a space for connecting and networking with our global community. These unprecedented times have presented us with a steep learning curve but we have adapted our approach in order to provide value to our members and the wider aerospace and aviation communities. Our series of short webinars and online lectures have proved extremely popular and attracted large audiences from across the world many of whom are new to the Society’s events. Compared to events held in our London headquarters, we have seen recent online webinars such as the Secrets of the Battle of Britain (600 views) and the Flight Operations Group Boeing 777 accident (2,500 views) and the Alan Bristow Lecture on Lynx operations in Antarctica (900 views) attract record numbers of viewers. These figures represent audience numbers that would simply not have physically fitted into a lecture theatre. Once released to our YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/aerosociety), these figures continue to rise as more people, search for topics of interest, then discover the Society and its learned output.

These webinar attendees would most likely never have come to a live event in London, so we are delighted that we have been able to connect with them and share our body of knowledge in this way. Of course, we are equally pleased to have provided a way for existing members from our global network of Branches and Divisions to tune into content from the HQ. However, we know webinars are not enough and we are now ready to move to the next stage in our fast track to digital transformation.

We are therefore excited to announce the RAeS new virtual events platform that is launching in September 2020. This new virtual experience that we are developing has been the result of extensive research conducted at pace. New providers have quickly recognised the need for high quality, virtual events. We have assessed a wide range of potential partners and looked in detail at their capabilities to see what might be achieved through technology to meet the needs of our members. Key questions to be answered were: how can we deliver the same high-quality learned output for our members; how can we make the virtual experience engaging and worthwhile; how do we replicate the live experience of networking and engaging with sponsors; and how can we continue to add the value that our members would rightly expect?

A custom-designed platform

So, after much research, we have come-up with an exciting and creative solution designed specifically for the Society which will transform the learning experience for our members and our broader community. Our platform is not a typical ‘off the shelf’ offering with a bit of branding to make sure it looks like ours: rather, it is a custom-designed platform for the Royal Aeronautical Society which will have all the functionality of a live event (apart from the food and drink, unfortunately!) that will enable participants to have an engaging and interactive experience.

SO, AFTER MUCH RESEARCH, WE HAVE COME UP WITH AN EXCITING AND CREATIVE SOLUTION DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR THE SOCIETY WHICH WILL TRANSFORM THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE FOR OUR MEMBERS AND OUR BROADER COMMUNITY

We recognise that the value of conferences, especially for a multidisciplinary professional organisation like ours, lies not only in the quality and diversity of the top-level speakers and their content but also in the networking opportunities that industry and academic events can provide. This interaction greatly assists personal development and helps to forge relationships that advance ‘the art, science and engineering’ of aeronautics. The ability to pose questions and have them answered is also extremely important and can be missing in some formats of online webinars.

With this, we think we have the answer, which has so far been lacking in the majority of online webinars and events in bringing networking and interactivity to the virtual meeting space.

How will it work?

Put simply, once registered, delegates will be able to access the platform from their laptop, computer or mobile device via a private link that will be emailed to them. From there, delegates can upload their profile to start searching and networking with other delegates through live text or video chat. The conference/event sessions will be broadcast through the platform and there will be also be live Q&A sessions with the speakers.

There will be the opportunity to visit sponsor and exhibitor lounges and access the content that they provide, have one-to-one video chats and make those all-important connections. This will create new opportunities for Corporate Partners to advertise, sponsor or reach key decision-makers or recruit young people.

There will be interactivity along the way through digital polls, voting and gamification that delegates can choose whether or not to get involved in – creating a ‘buzz’ around online events and feeding back into discussion points and Q&As.

Delegates will have access to the conference content post-event as well, adding value to the overall experience. There will be chat functions so that the conversations can continue after the event, increasing the relevance of the event and helping participants to continue to engage with our broad community. This will assist in generating further learned content, output and follow-on events as well as potentially attracting new members.

Join us from wherever you are to experience high quality, informative content delivered by expert speakers
Interact with our speakers and ask questions live › Connect and network with other event participants from across the world
Meet our sponsors at our virtual exhibitor booths
Interact and engage through polls, voting and gamification
Continue conversations with industry colleagues and access the content post-event.

In the longer term, as we develop the virtual platform, we want to create a community where we can all share information, contribute ideas and generate continued high-quality content. We want it to be a space to provide information on RAeS member benefits, careers, volunteering opportunities and all that the RAeS has to offer.

In these challenging economic times, our aim is to provide support for all our members across all our sectors, so we have taken into consideration affordability and accessibility for everyone. By investing in this virtual platform, there are no travel or accommodation costs involved, so we hope you will join us for this exciting new chapter in the virtual environment. As we continue to develop the platform, we would like your feedback. This platform has been designed for our members, so come and join us and let us know what you think. A list of events for our Autumn 2020 programme can be found on p 55 or visit our website https://www.aerosociety.com/events-calendar/ for more information.

Summary

This does not mean, however, that the Society will be transferring all its events to the digital realm. Instead we see this virtual conference platform, driven by the necessity of Covid-19, as evolving side-by-side with our existing worldwide network of over 450 lectures, workshops and conferences that will gradually return, as face-to-face restrictions are lifted. We will also have the capability to offer hybrid events which brings the best of both worlds. For now, this crisis has accelerated a shift to virtual offerings to increase the Society’s global reach and connect with existing members and new audiences.

We look forward to welcoming you to the next generation of RAeS virtual conferences!

Keeley Scott
RAeS Head of Events