Tips for technology conferences: My experience in AWS Summits Mexico and Colombia
Published: 2022-11-28 11:28:49

Last month, I attended **AWS Summit in Mexico and Colombia** thanks to [Percona](https://www.percona.com/), who sponsored my trips. This blog is oriented to share tips that will encourage you to participate in a similar tech event, and if it is not your first time, this article will help you to better prepare for your next adventure in a similar summit.

Remember, these tips are optional. Feel free to take the one you feel comfortable with it.

I have categorized it into three parts: before, during, and after the event.

## **Before the conference**

I will start with what we should do before an event; things I learned that are essential

**Prepare an agenda**

Many of the tech conferences I have participated, they have apps you can download before the event. All the details about the sessions are available there, like category, topic, speaker, and session level.
Take some time to select the talks you will attend during the conference so you arrive on time and avoid conflicts in your agenda.
AWS has an app you can easily download from the App Store and track all your sessions.


![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/5427zy3ec0wjqyrherkn.png)

**Let your connections know you will be at the event**

Let your network on social media know that you will be at the event and will be available to chat with them. It could be an excellent opportunity to start a business, offer or find job opportunities, or have someone to hang out with during the event.

**Have a virtual card ready for you**

There will be plenty of time for networking. You will want to share information about yourself or keep in touch with the people you know. Here are some ideas:

- Use the **LinkedIn QR code** to share it, so people can quickly add you to LinkedIn.

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/qshgznd5r1c3zk6sdrpe.png)

- If you prefer to avoid printing physical cards and distributing them. You can print the LinkedIn QR code once and paste it on your conference badge.

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/mx9rtg4j1rrp5wlgbop0.png)

- If you are going to represent your company, you can bring swag or stickers to share with the attendees.
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/fm84ebtosbw2z2gfz0yz.png)

## **During the conference**

**Arrive on time!**

Arriving soon is also a good habit, even at tech conferences. You will have plenty of time to collect your credential card without queuing. Also, you can take time to identify the places of the talks, network with the attendees, and even enjoy a delicious breakfast offered by the organizers.

**The heart of the conference**
AWS Summit is for people who have run workloads on AWS. But it is not limited to that! It is an excellent opportunity for people who want to start in the world of the cloud with AWS.'

The AWS Summit was categorized as follows:

- Parallel sessions

It was one of my favorites. They displayed multiple stages with different themes in a single environment. If you are one of the people affected by the environment's noise while you are in a conference, the headphones they put at your disposal will suffice to isolate other sounds that are not from the current chat.


![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/hmtzid6qelb6udtua6u1.png)

- Dev Lounge

AWS Dev Lounge series, where developer specialists and subject matter experts; will answer your questions about the entire AWS ecosystem. Make sure you don't leave the conference with doubts, ask them as much as you can.

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/ksv0iocw1daazkad3omb.png)

- Training and Certification in AWS

AWS has space for training and certifications where you'll find all the ways to get started with AWS and improve your skills in the AWS cloud. You will find free courses and training discounts. Talk with the people at that booth who will explain how to get these benefits.

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/eca0k4y6gx6ya9qxv9p8.png)

- Liga AWS DeepRacer

AWS DeepRacer League is an ML competition for developers worldwide; if interested, register here. 

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/aztlmjdsncelaiho0ko7.png)

- Exhibition

It is a space where many cutting-edge products and solutions for AWS partners show you how they can help your business. It is an excellent opportunity to learn from them.

- Networking

Enjoy meeting colleagues and interchange ideas with them. One of my favorite things in an event is talking with people and knowing their experiences.


![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/i19nwkazv6qsn0vs2pws.png)


Sessions have a bit of everything. Beginning the keynote speeches, they highlight how many companies worldwide are using AWS to transform their businesses and have competitive advantages. Also, AWS global infrastructure networks, security, identity and compliance, startups, artificial intelligence, machine learning, containers, servers, and many more categories.

If you want to know more about the technical sessions at the last AWS Summit in Mexico and Colombia, visit [Mario Garcia's post](https://percona.community/blog/2022/10/19/aws-summit-mexico-city-back-to-in-person-events/)
and check the link to the recorded [talks](https://amersummit.awsevents.com/home-full/). 

**Take notes/photos**
Taking notes day by day will help you remember the key points of the talk.

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/ao4t8b8tw3w192t9dcf4.jpg)
Bring a small notebook to take quick notes, or take pictures of essential parts of the presentation that you can share later with your team.

## **After the conference**

- Writing a post about the topics you attended will help you to remember and bring back again the things you learned.

- If there is a specific topic you want to listen to again, you can access the recording of sessions.

- You can also write an internal blog post to share your experiences with your team.


In conclusion, participating in local AWS events and technology conferences is a great opportunity to share knowledge and experiences and get updated on the beneficial Amazon cloud ecosystem. It is also a perfect opportunity to increase your network of contacts. Use this article to help make this journey more fruitful.

Thank you for reading! :)