Conferences in 2018

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I set myself a few goals this years. One of them is to visit more conferences in 2018. Preferable conferences in a few different countries. A so called web conference about the internet, design, UX, online marketing and everything in common.

If you don’t want to read the whole post, you can see the conferences I will attend or I am interested in attending by clicking this link. List will probably be updated over the year.

Conferences over the last years – thanks to my employers

Over the last years I mostly visited one web conference in Germany a year. This conference was always payed by my employer. Which means my employer paid the travel costs, the hotel and the conference ticket itself, sometimes combined with a workshop. I did not had to use my holidays for it. This is of course a very nice way to visit a web conference. I don’t have to worry about money and holidays. Awesome. But it also has downsides. And don’t understand me wrong here. I am very grateful, that my employer invest money in my further education. Of course an employer will benefit of the high education and the motivation boost of its employees if it send its people to conferences. So it’s a win-win for both sides.

The downside of employer-sponsored conferences

And here they are – the downsides of company-sponsored conferences. And I know it is maybe complaining on a very high level. As I said, I am very grateful my employer is investing in me by sending me to a conference.

First downside: I am not completely free in choosing a conference. Of course every employer likes you to visit a conference of which it is likely you carry home something which you can actually use in your daily work. Immediately. It’s very understandable.

Second: at least my current employer is only willing to pay for conferences in Germany. Maybe there are exceptions, but very few. Looking at the travel costs, it is very understandable as well.

Stepping outside my comfort zone ?

What I need in 2018: something to learn, discover new things. Be more independent and more confident. Practicing my English. And speaking about independence – planning and travel on my own. To be honest, I am not too comfortable about this. But it’s time to learn.

I am not sure, how much conferences I can attend in 2018. It depends on how much money and time I can spend. Even if the conferences itself are not overly expensive the travel and hotel costs are. And yes, I have a few standards. I won’t share a room at a hostel with strangers. I need my own little room + bathroom. And I only have a certain amount of days I can/want to spend for conferences. You know, I still need money and time for normal holidays as well. ?

Conferences in 2018 I attended/will attend

This are the conferences I attended already or of which I had bought the ticket already:


beyond Tellerrand Munich 2018 (de)

Volunteers at the beyond Tellerrand Munich 2018. Photo by Martin Kraft.
I was a proud member of the awesome team of volunteers at the beyond Tellerrand Munich 2018. Photo by Martin Kraft.

The beyond Tellerrand Munich in January was a very special web conference for me. I volunteered for the very first time at the conference. It was a great experience and I met so much great people from all over the world.


Legal Tech Hackathon 2018 Berlin (de)

Not a conference but a hackathon. This is one of the employer-sponsored events this year. I have no real idea what I can do there and what my co-workers and me will create … but it sounds interesting.

Unfortunately I cannot attend this one due to sickness. ? ?


Ampersand Brighton 2018 (uk)

A web typography conference! I am no specialist in typography at all. But I love it and I can’t wait to learn more about it. So I bought more or less spontaneously a Super Early Bird ticket.
Booked a flight already. No idea yet how to get from Stansted to Brighton. Oh… and I need a hotel.


Material Reykjavík 2018 (is)

I fancied visiting the Material conference already. But I was never brave enough to buy a ticket for a conference in Reykjavik Iceland! And again … I took the chance to by a Blind Bird Ticket (some are still available!) very very spontaneously. Right after buying it I had this “oh.. oh… what did I do? A conference in Iceland in November? Ughh…” feeling. ? Well, stepping outside my comfort zone, I said…

Update Feb 8th : booked a flight to Reykjavik. No return flight yet. ?

Conferences in 2018 I’m interested in

Here a further conferences I am interested in. It will be a matter of money and time, if I can visit one of them. And probably the help of my employer.


CSS Day 2018 (nl)

I am especially interested in the UX special of the conference. Very, very tempting. But probably a bit over my budget.

Update: I didn’t attend this one.


beyond Tellerrand Berlin 2018 (de)

The classic! I attended a few beyond Tellerrand conferences already and they are fantastic every time. I am not sure I can attend one again without volunteering though…

Update Dec 1st: I was attending! And I wrote a blog post about it.


Will I meet some of you at one of the conferences?

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By suzan

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