SPE Strong: Strengthening Our Core: Strengthening the SPE Conference Experience
Authors: Noonan Shauna 
Published: August 2020

Of all the programs that SPE offers, the most rewarding and enjoyable ones for me personally are the conferences. I love walking the floor of an exhibition hall, discovering the latest technology advancements, and listening to the various product demonstrations. I look forward to running into fellow SPE members in the vast conference halls and catching up on what they’ve been doing since we last met. When exiting the room of a technical session, I like being able to turn to the person next to me and ask their opinion about the presentations we just heard. Finally, I relish being able to attend the receptions and luncheons to network with industry colleagues. I attribute most of my career achievements to those moments of connecting with others and learning from them during SPE conferences.

For good ideas and true innovation, you need human interaction, conflict, argument, debate. - Margaret Heffernan

As much as I yearn for our conferences to return, I suspect they will be different as we incorporate more social distancing and other protective measures; however, how this will affect the experience is unclear. There have been many opinions shared by our members on whether SPE should fully convert to virtual conferencing. We have been asking ourselves: Can attendees and exhibitors realize the same amount of value at a virtual event when compared to a physical one?

Let’s examine this from several perspectives, starting with the exhibitors’. Over the years, some of our exhibitors have expressed that they were not satisfied with the value of having a traditional exhibit booth. The cost for exhibitors to have a booth can be quite high when considering the shipping of booth materials and manpower required. Exhibit booths are a tried-and-true method to connect to potential customers; however, recent advances in digital marketing are proving to be very effective as well. Perhaps virtual exhibition halls will bring value to exhibitors and provide a broader platform from which they can educate potential customers about their products and services.

For many authors, the coveted opportunity to present a paper at an SPE conference is a career goal, especially at ATCE. I will never forget being at the 2003 ATCE in Denver, Colorado, to present my first ATCE paper. I vividly recall feeling proud yet nervous while standing at the podium and seeing my mentor, James Pappas, at the back of the room to show his support.

At the conclusion of my presentation, I remember the rush of adrenaline and sense of accomplishment upon hearing the applause from the audience. If I had been using a virtual platform, I do not believe I would have felt these same emotions. Giving a virtual presentation can be less engaging due to being unable to “read’ and hear the audience. Still, it does offer the advantage for authors to present their work when they cannot be there physically. The recent pandemic has prevented our authors from presenting in person, but historically, there have been other challenges for authors such as being unable to attend the conference because of delayed or denied entry visas or lack of funding for travel. A significant advantage of virtual events is the removal of such barriers.