There’s only a couple of weeks to go until Arena’s flagship event, Outsourcing in Clinical Trials West Coast returns to Burlingame. The must-attend event brings together over 700 clinical professionals from the Bay Area and beyond, to discuss clinical outsourcing strategies and overcome key challenges within clinical operations. From sessions to booth activities to after-hours events, there will be lots to do while you’re in San Francisco. Whether you’re a first-timer or a seasoned attendee, here are 6 things you can do to make sure you get the most out of this year’s conference:
Find out Who’s Going
Following #OCTWestCoast on Twitter is an excellent way to find out who will be at this year’s event. Tweeting your plans to attend and getting involved in conversations ahead of time is a great way to make your presence known as well. You may also want to follow @CluePoints for live updates during the event.
Plan Ahead
Arena International provides the full conference schedule in advance, so it’s easy for you to build your personal session schedule before you head out to Burlingame. Take advantage of the agenda to decide on sessions that you would like to attend.
Learn
Preparation is key. Think of the questions you would like to have answered and don’t hesitate to ask them during the Q&A’s for the sessions you attend. If you don’t feel like asking your questions in front of an audience, you can have a chat with the speaker afterward.
Socialize
Attending outsourcing in Clinical Trials West Coast isn’t only about attending sessions, it’s also about networking. More than 700 people from the clinical operations community are expected to attend the event, which leaves lots of opportunity for learning from peers. We highly recommend attending after parties to get advice, exchange ideas, and make those all-important connections with members of the clinical operations ecosystem.
Strike While the Iron is Hot
Don’t wait to follow up until the conference is over. Use the momentum of the event and send follow-up emails and Linkedin requests while the conference is still fresh in people’s minds. Take notes on the business cards you collect so you don’t forget the most important points of discussion. Even better – use business card apps such as CamCard to store all of the information digitally.
Share what you Learn
Make sure that you share your key takeaways and learnings. Set up informal meetings with your colleagues and managers to share your newly acquired insights. Use social media – whether it’s Twitter, Linkedin and/or Facebook to share what you learned at the show for a more immediate impact.
If you’re going to be in Burlingame, be sure to stop by booth #31 to meet our Risk-Based Monitoring and Data Quality Oversight subject matter experts!
