Shaking hands remotely

This year’s edition will be special in a way, because due to the pandemic, we decided to move the event from in-person to online. For the first time since 2014, we will not meet you face to face. That said, every cloud has a silver lining! As distance is no longer an obstacle, now literally everyone can take part in the conference. It is a great opportunity for an even wider exchange of knowledge from the mobile world!

What to expect?

The line-up of this year’s Mobiconf is filled to the brim with strong players. They will be covering the topics in the area of three theme paths: iOS, Android, and the most extensive one – Everything Mobile, which will be focused on the field of product ownership and development, project management and leadership in the mobile world. 

Excited to know more? Check the sneak peek below!

“5 counterintuitive things to speed up your development cycle”

Maria has over 10 years of experience delivering software and managing products which meet real user needs. She worked successfully as a product leader for both European tech giants such as Zalando and Yandex as well as for promising startups like Smartly and Supermetrics. Maria believes in product-led growth and a customer-centric approach to software development.

At Mobiconf, Maria will share the practices that dev teams can look into to improve the velocity of their work. Her talk will cover various aspects that can be improved before, during and after the delivery cycle. Don’t be discouraged if they don’t sound like something you’d do. Real-life examples will completely change your point of view.

“The future of agile: Remote and asynchronous”

Molood Ceccarelli is a remote work strategist and agile coach. Her work has been published in places such as Forbes, Huffington Post and Inc.com as well as Scrum Alliance, Happy Melly and Shiftup. She is often referred to as the queen of remote work.

It would truly be hard to find a hotter topic than that. Molood talk about aspects of remote work that you had probably no idea about: you will learn how to communicate and collaborate effectively while working remotely. This talk will challenge some of the assumptions about remote work, inspire you to upgrade your mindset and get ready to adapt to new ways of communication and leadership.

“Is winning about luck, art or preparation?”

A manager with 20 years of experience gained in England, the USA and Poland. He has managed in such firms as SKK S.A., EPAM System, IBM, Amazon and SolarWinds. A former American football player. He is oriented towards the achievement of goals through teamwork. Currently head coach of the Krakow Kings u19 team, having in the past won the PLFA1 (Polish league of American football) championship with the senior team.

David’s speech will be a unique opportunity to look at leadership from a completely different angle. His presentation will tackle the challenging topic of winning and how we accomplish it. You’ll see practical examples of building winning teams in sports and business, as well as the tools we can use when defining and driving success in business.

Other than that?

You’ll have the opportunity to listen to Lessons Learned based on moving from NY to Poland in search for developers, learn what crisis management strategy to implement when a project does not go your way, and listen to interesting facts about cognitive and communication pitfalls. 

Ready to join us? Get your Mobiconf tickets here!

The post Everything Mobile: this year “everything” takes on a new meaning appeared first on Mobiconf.

Therefore, having access to a stable internet connection is a must-have. Sadly, Poland has one of the highest digital exclusion rates in Europe.

What are the main reasons for digital exclusion? 

First, there’s the lack of the necessary equipment. Up to 70,000 students have no suitable equipment to stay connected, as stated by the Polish Federation of Consumers, which in today’s age basically means having no access to education. 

The second reason is the lack of basic computer skills. Learning platforms used at schools can often seem intimidating for less tech-savvy users. According to this report, even students who regularly use social media have problems handling the basic digital tools (like e-mail) necessary for modern-education.

Recurring lockdowns have made digital exclusion an even more prominent problem.

How to fight digital exclusion

Luckily, there is an organisation actively working against it – the Sarigato Foundation. With their “Hakersi” project they aim to shape a better future for children and teenagers from orphanages, care institutions, and community centres by teaching new technologies and providing them with suitable devices. 

But what is the “Hakersi” project actually about?

Providing access to the Internet, by handing out devices

Since the lockdown began, children have been forced to switch to learning from home. However challenging it has been, most of them have managed to adapt to the new conditions. 

At the same time, the same cannot be said about children from disadvantaged environments. The lack of suitable equipment, internet connection, or having to share devices with other family members – together, all these factors create a big gap between students from different economic and family backgrounds. 

Electronic devices are becoming less expensive as technology advances. And yet, a lot of families or childcare homes still can’t afford them. 

The Sarigato Foundation acquires equipment either by buying it or by getting and refurbishing used devices from various businesses. Throughout their action, they not only support those in need but also reduce e-waste produced by companies.

Sharing knowledge to increase the digital competence of disadvantaged children

According to the Sarigato Foundation: 

“New technologies are the future of the job market, not only in the IT-Industry”. 

However, the access to new technologies is limited for children from disadvantaged environments. So is the opportunity to increase their digital competencies. As a result, it is significantly more difficult for them to enter the modern job market.

That’s why the Sarigato Foundation is organising workshops on such topics as programming or graphic design, helping children get a grasp over new technology. 

According to the 2015 NIK report, up to 82% of children in orphanages are not able to become independent after they leave the facilities. To bring this number down, the foundation is going to organise intermediate courses for those willing to enter the IT industry. 

Arranging internships in tech-companies is yet another means of helping those leaving child care homes to become more independent.

A Successful Mission

Since 2016, almost 1000 children have increased their digital competence thanks to Sarigato’s efforts.

Tech-related skills are not the only ones being taught, as limited access to study materials makes school much more difficult for children from difficult backgrounds. The foundation has an extensive nest of tutors-volunteers providing free extracurricular classes on basic school subjects.

The right tools and knowledge make education more accessible. Giving children from disadvantaged environments a chance to explore the world of new technologies allows them to enter the job market on an equal footing.

But what does it have to do with Mobiconf?

At Mobiconf, we believe that the IT industry can not only shape the digital world for the better, but also solve real-world issues such as the social inequality among children and young adults. 

That’s why we want to support the “Hakersi” by donating 20 EUR from each ticket to the Sarigato Foundation. 

Our goal is to fund 35 scholarships for digitally excluded children.  The cost of one scholarship is 1,200 PLN (263 EUR) – this amount is required for organising workshops and acquiring the necessary equipment for community centres and orphanages.

It may sound like a lot, but we can surely reach this goal with your help! 
Grab your ticket now and promote digital inclusion for children!

The post Promote digital inclusion for all children – buy a Mobiconf ticket! appeared first on Mobiconf.

Would you like to speak at our conference but you’re still not convinced if online events are the right thing for you? Here we present the key benefits of joining virtual events. Let’s dive right in!

6 Pros of Speaking at Virtual Conferences

1. Easy interaction with your audience

During in-person events, you would probably be presenting in a huge conference room in front of hundreds or even thousands of people. It definitely doesn’t make interacting with all your audience any easier. When speaking at a virtual event, things are quite different. 

Now you can exchange knowledge, motivate your audience, start a vibrant discussion and get some insights from other industry experts. How? Well, there are so many great ideas that can be applied in your online speech. Use live texting, plan a Q&A session or include chat (just remember: audio and video chats are great, too) where your audience can ask questions, make some comments and participate in real-time conversations. Believe me, most of them would simply not be possible (or at least much more challenging to arrange) during a live event.

2. Immediate feedback

Speaking of interactions with your audience, let’s stop for a moment on receiving feedback. In conferences held offline, do you really have the possibility to get quick feedback from all participants? That would be extremely challenging, wouldn’t it?

When it comes to online events, they offer significantly improved attendee feedback. And I don’t just mean verbal comments, but other valuable metrics as well. Here you can verify, for instance, how many people attended your session, who left it during your speech and compare the engagement rate of you and other speakers. All this will give you valuable information on how to become an even better speaker!

3. Expanded professional network 

Without a doubt, this is one of the main benefits of speaking not only at virtual events, but any event: to promote yourself, expand your professional network and boost personal branding. If you want other experts in the industry to know your name, then being present and active at numerous events is absolutely a must for you. 

Share knowledge, insights, tips or interesting facts and you will definitely create a good impression as someone who knows things.

What’s more, speaking at various events is just a great opportunity for you to promote your business, which over time will translate into more leads generated and fresh projects.

4. Speech available… for everyone!

One of the undeniable advantages of online events over live ones is the ability to record all speeches or workshops in high quality. Don’t get me wrong, your live presentation held in a conference room can also be recorded and distributed but their quality often leaves much to be desired.

Once the event is over, organisers can simply upload the recording on various online platforms, such as YouTube or Vimeo, or the event’s official website. And what benefits does it bring you? You can easily distribute such recordings from your online presentation among your clients or fellow experts. Keep in mind that they are mostly evergreen (although this often depends on the topic of your presentation) which means that users will show some interest in watching your speech for many months or years to come. 

So if you want to be more recognised as an expert in your industry and increase your reach, then speaking at virtual events is the perfect way to achieve that.

5. Virtual means global

Let’s face the truth, live conferences are not accessible to everyone. The related costs are usually too high for many people. Why? The cost of the ticket is one thing, but attendees still need to consider a budget for accommodation, travel restrictions or visa issues. All this combined makes it difficult to attend events or conferences, especially for those coming from other parts of the world.

Online events solve most of these problems: they are much more accessible so more people can participate from literally anywhere. That’s why at virtual conferences you have the opportunity to speak to a much more diversified audience. What’s more, there are no restrictions or limited seats, so more people can join your session. 

And once again, you increase your reach and recognition in the industry. Not only locally… but even on a global scale!

6. Less costs, the same value

Speaking at a live event would certainly require some extra costs and long-term planning from you. When it comes to virtual conferences, most of these issues disappear completely. You don’t need to buy any plane ticket, book a hotel or plan your food expenses just to attend an in-person event and give your speech.  Unfortunately, quite often, as a speaker at offline events, most of these things are on your shoulders.

When preparing for a conference held online, you can just focus completely on your presentation and on what you want to say. You don’t need to worry about the hotel, flight or the time away from your family.

Want to become a virtual event speaker?

Virtual events are taking the world by storm, which isn’t surprising at all. Thanks to advanced technologies and various tools, we can effortlessly attend the best online conferences or events organized in different parts of the world. And yes, the coronavirus pandemic has forced us to move in-person events to the online world, but this sudden change brings so many new possibilities to all of us: hosts, attendees and speakers.

So, why are you still waiting? Don’t miss the chance to become one of the speakers at the 7th edition of Mobiconf! You can still participate in the call for papers for our conference. Fill out the Papercall form – the application deadline is July 12th.

Want to participate in Mobiconf as an attendee? Save your seat here and see you in October!

The post 6 Key Advantages of Speaking at Online Events. Why Going Virtual Can Be Beneficial For You appeared first on Mobiconf.

Meaning, you’ll be able to enjoy all the regular perks of our one-of-a-kind conference – such as networking with the industry’s cream of the crop or priceless insights on mobile development – from the comfort of your very own living room!

Before you decide that it’s not quite what you’ve signed up for – stick around. For even though you don’t get to visit the historical capital of Poland this year for obvious reasons, you can still get a whole juicy bunch of opportunities online. 

Today, we’re looking at the most exciting benefits of joining virtual events and how, with the right attitude, they can easily outshine the good-old live conferences. Buckle up, and let’s get straight to it!

Online events perks

1. Superior lineup

While after parties and labeled merch play an important role at any professional conference, the main reason why we join them year after year are the speakers. It’s always a great challenge for an organizer to connect with the right industry leaders, work around their schedules, and not end up with an eaten budget at the end. Taking an event online solves most of the issues, resulting in much more impressive lineups for the participants.

2. Higher accessibility

Speakers are more willing to participate in virtual conferences simply because it’s more convenient for them. No travel hassle, no extra time in the airplane, no jet lag – you get the gist. But the same is true for every single attendee of the event as well! Thanks to online accessibility, literally everyone with a high-speed internet connection and a mobile device at hand can learn from the best. Even if they feel like cooking dinner at the same time.

3. On-demand content & recordings

Another perk similar to accessibility is that thanks to the mechanics of digital events, there’s no pressing need to choose between two different talks scheduled at the same time on different stages. Neither do you have to stay up at 3 AM ETC just to catch up with your personal hero’s presentation. Moreover, most of the events’ organizers allow for a limited-time access to all of the conference recordings.

4. Limitless seats 

Have you ever taken an extra day to talk yourself into joining a conference just to discover that it’s sold out? With virtual events, this will never be an issue because most rooms literally have to limit. You’ll always be in the front row, feeling as if the keynote speaker was addressing you personally. And, at the end of the day, isn’t that why you’ve committed to the experience in the first place?

5. Lower costs

Not only are there more places to fill, you can only do it for a much lower price too! The previously mentioned lack of merchandize and partying budget allows organizers to charge less for the entrance. This, in turn, makes virtual events so much more accessible for young professionals in search of experienced mentors.

To make things even more interesting, we decided to spread the goodness and donate money from the Mobiconf ticket sales to a great cause. We’ll give away 20 EUR from each ticket to the “Hakersi” project by Sarigato Foundation. “Hakersi” aim to shape the better future of children and teenagers from orphanages, care institutions, and community centers by teaching new technologies and developing digital competence. You can read more about the charity here.

6. More networking opportunities

And in case you’re worried about missing some priceless networking opportunities due to the virtual nature of the event – don’t. Most of the organizers of online conferences and workshops are well aware of the importance of communication and relationship building during these experiences, which is why they introduce a variety of possibilities for doing just that. Be it Q&A sessions with the speakers, online chat rooms, or even face-to-face sessions for the higher packages.

7. Environmental consciousness

Last but not least, there’s a green initiative that seems to be overlooked, yet cannot be ignored. Hosting a live conference comes with a price, which is usually a substantial amount of waste and carbon footprint. At the same time, running an event online reduces the environmental threats to the minimum. As a socially responsible host, we find this a particularly strong advantage of virtual conferences.  

So, why do a virtual event? 

Because everyone’s a winner! What are you waiting for? Remember to grab your ticket for this year’s virtual Mobiconf edition and tell your friends about it. The more the merrier, especially when it comes to online events!

The post 7 Undeniable Benefits of Virtual Events appeared first on Mobiconf.

After a small break in 2020 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re ready to bring you the 7th edition of Mobiconf, which will be held online for the first time. Our main focus this year is the exciting world of mobile, which we’ll explore on three conference paths: iOS, Android and Everything Mobile.

Last time, Mobiconf gathered more than 550 attendees and 44 speakers who shared their knowledge on mobile development and product design, and we want to go even bigger in 2021. We’re currently looking for speakers for the Everything Mobile path. 

Thinking about applying? See what’s in it for you!

Benefits of speaking at Mobiconf

Make connections

Mobiconf is one of the biggest mobile conferences in the CEE region, and makes for a great opportunity for networking with developers, managers and other experts. As a speaker, you’ll be able to attract lots of attention and make many new connections.

Improve as a professional

By giving a talk, you’ll be able to dive into the details of a mobile-related topic of your choosing, but also test out your public speaking and teaching skills. The crowd at Mobiconf is always helpful and active, so you can count on some valuable feedback as well. 

Boost personal branding

Stand out from the crowd! Giving a speech at a conference is a wonderful way to promote your work and expertise. And since Mobiconf is an event exclusively made with fellow experts in mind, it really gives you an opportunity for making an impact on the industry.

Share the knowledge

Have some interesting ideas about mobile development that you’d like to share? There’s no better place to make them known than a conference dedicated specifically to the topic. It doesn’t matter if you’re an experienced speaker – your ideas will speak for themselves when it’s your presentation’s time to shine.

Gain valuable insights

Sharing the knowledge is the most obvious perk of becoming a speaker, but it’s also a great way to gain new insights about the topic. At Mobiconf, there’s always lots of questions, comments, and discussions among the attendees, all of which can prove to be especially useful to speakers. 

How to participate in the Call for Papers

This year’s edition of Mobiconf will take place on the 7th and 8th of October, with five talks per track, each day of the conference. In order to participate in the call for papers for the Everything Mobile path, fill out the Papercall form. The application deadline is July 12th. Keep in mind that the application, as well as the presentation, should be made in English. 

We look forward to hearing you speak at Mobiconf!

The post The call for papers is open! See why it’s worth speaking at Mobiconf appeared first on Mobiconf.

Current pandemic has been bad for the event management sector.

So bad, in fact, that almost 30% of businesses believe it won’t be until 2024 that they’ll be able to rebounce to pre-Covid levels.

Yet, it’s not all gloom and doom. At Mobiconf, we don’t despair and look at the opportunities rather than setbacks created by the outbreak. 

That’s why we’re glad to present:

5 ways Covid-19 has actually helped the event sector 

Without further ado, let’s jump straight to it!

1. Going digital

That’s probably the biggest shift on the event landscape. Both organizators and the potential visitors of virtual events express positive attitudes towards digital tools. In fact, most of the positive effects of the pandemic on event management are directly related to this very tendency.  

So, what’s with all the fuss with digitalization? First of all, it grants accessibility like never before. We’re talking global reach, cheaper speakers, and limitless audiences among other perks. In many ways, if it wasn’t for all the social restrictions imposed by Covid-19, we’d have a long way to go to the current level of technology available for virtual events organization. 

Stay tuned for a whole blog post about all the benefits of virtual events coming up soon!

2. Improved organisation

Another important aspect indirectly caused by digitalization of the event sector is the overall improvement of the organization process. You may not know it, but it takes a lot of nerve, time, money, patience and people to put together a decent live event. 

Covid-19 has forced us all to think outside of the box when it comes to team and resource management, encouraging optimization of the key organizational moments, like recruitment, planning, or staff onboarding. 

Coordinators can now save precious time on managing such routine tasks online, there’s no need to search for on-site volunteers, and most of your advertising can – and should – also be done online. A job that could previously easily require 20 people, can now be done by 5.

3. Adopting new solutions

Cutting the organizational costs and resources to such a tremendous extent essentially comes to one thing: better technology promoted by the pandemic. Not only is the virtual events’ software much more powerful now, but also internal solutions used by the organizators are much more advanced. 

This leads to a much more effective time management and project planning, resulting in more entertaining and productive experience during the event itself. 

As an aspiring leader on the software market, we’ve always tried to stay up-to-date with the latest tech solutions. It is particularly fascinating to us to see how technology is paired up with events. Covid-19 pushed things further than ever. Be it smoother live integrations, easier subscription mechanisms, or bespoke AI support. Not going to put all our cards on the table just yet, but keep an eye on our updates

4. More projects = more opportunities 

Another change brought by the pandemic was the decision of many coordinators to feature smaller-scale events instead of large live gatherings. Niche workshops, online Q&A sessions with the industry experts, deeper bootcamps, and more are now pretty common. 

Back in 2019, most of such small events would be treated as slightly more advanced promotional campaigns for a larger experience. However, the “new normality” we find ourselves in today also makes each of these supporting projects a fully-functional independent happening. 

This, in turn, means more opportunities for young industry professionals to learn, grow, and network across different sectors. Similarly to the brief raise of Clubhouse, each of shorter virtual events provide priceless ground for personal and professional development. Unlike Clubhouse, however, they bring long term value without causing the social split.

5. New consumer values & behaviors

Finally, there’s an entire paradigm shift in human consciousness caused by the year of lockdowns, restrictions, limitations, and stress. Today, more than ever, people depend on technology for interpersonal communication required for the sense of connection and belonging. 

How does it fit into the event sector? Quite neatly, actually. 

We’re currently in the position when supply finally meets demand, meaning that nearly every virtual event pays off for both the attendees and the organizers. Moreover, people have more time on their hands to finally catch up with the topics they’ve been postponing prior to the pandemic, not to mention the newly discovered conversations.

More possibilities to come

There’s no point in hiding that Covid-19 has been a huge bummer for everyone. Yet, as we’re getting closer to the end of the tunnel, it’s more important than ever to look for silver linings. 

One of the reasons we still believe the glass to be half full is that this year Mobiconf is back and powered up by a new format! 

We hope more people will be able to join and more professionals will have an opportunity to learn from each other thanks to digitalization. 

Our team is sure to have lots of surprises for you up our sleeves thanks to facilitated organization. 

We finally have a chance not only to speak about technology, but also to really bring the best experience to each of our attendees thanks to the latest tech solutions. 

The speakers we’ll have for you, will bring their audience even more value thanks to the countless conferences, workshops, and talks available earlier this year. 

And we know you will love each and every minute of Mobiconf ‘21, since it’s going to be a perfect opportunity to grow, and to socialize. 

Let us know what you think and save the date – October 7 & 8, 2021. We sure will be waiting!

The post Coronavirus and How It’s Changing the Event Industry appeared first on Mobiconf.