Web Directions Year round learning for product, design and engineering professionals

Summit 17 just got bigger.

Web Directions Summit 2017 is already a two-day, two-track, multiple international keynote, cream of the local crop, can’t miss conference extravaganza for Australian devs, designers and anyone working in web or digital.

We made it bigger.

We created two completely new one-day conferences that take place in Sydney on 8 November, the day before the main event starts. Take up one of our packages that bundle one of these with the main conference and you have yourself a THREE DAY PASS to a festival of exploration into web tech, while saving some serious dollars in the process.

So, what are these new conferences?

Culture 17

Teamwork, leadership, recruitment, management, productivity, communication, feedback, diversity, inclusion – the elements that make up a workplace culture are simultaneously simple and complex, straightforward and convoluted.

Culture 17 aims to help you build and nurture your design and engineering teams, and create a workplace culture that keeps your existing team members happy and productive while also attracting the best new talent.

Who’s involved?

Aubrey Blanche The day’s opening keynote will be delivered by the Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Atlassian, where Aubrey leads efforts to build and maintain a positive, diverse and inclusive workplace culture.

Elle Meredith Blackmill engineering practice consultancy co-founder, experienced developer, team builder, community organiser, trainer and speaker, Elle’s passion is helping people learn to work better.

Amélie Lamont A consulting designer and developer for ten years and currently a product design lead at The New York Times, Amélie is forging a path into the relatively new field of design anthropology.

Lachlan Hardy Extensive and wide-ranging experience as a developer, manager, strategist, mentor and organiser has given Blackmill co-founder Lachlan a clear perspective on recruitment and the web tech hiring process.

What happens?

Culture 17 is not simply a day of talks. Three sessions address specific aspects of workplace culture and are structured to help you develop your understanding by listening, questioning, discussing, role-playing and sharing your experience with a table of your peers, learning from them and with them.

We’ve deliberately limited numbers to ensure the greatest opportunity for participants to connect with one another and our invited experts. This is a day for minimum screen time, and maximum connection and communication.

Who’s it for?

Culture 17 is for those who create and influence team and organisational culture: design and engineering leaders, HR and Culture professionals, Learning and Development Managers.

Find out more now about Culture 17

Reality 17

We know by now that Virtual Reality and  Augmented Reality are going to play a role in the ongoing evolution of the web. It’s time for us to understand what those technologies are, what they can deliver, and how they will affect our work as developers and designers. Or rather, already are affecting our work.

Reality 17 will bring you up to speed with the current state of the technology, and design practices around Web AR and VR.

We won’t just be discussing these concepts and technologies, though – you’ll be workshopping to design and develop web VR and AR content, in sessions tailored for designers and developers.

Who’s involved?

Iker Jamardo Senior Software Engineer and Tech Lead for Google’s Daydream WebXR (Augmented and Virtual Reality) team, university professor and researcher into multimedia and video games, Iker can sum up the state of VR/AR.

Alex Young Involved in MR research and  development  for over 15 years and a regular speaker on UX, Alex is a co-founder of  awe.media, a way of creating and sharing Mixed Reality web experiences on multiple devices.

Rob Manson An invited expert on the W3C POI (Points of Interest) Working Group and a co-founder of awe.media, Rob is a highly experienced developer and speaks around the world on Augmented Reality.

What happens?

Reality 17 comprises two information rich presentation sessions:

• The State of Web VR/AR Technologies
• The Landscape of (Extended) Reality

and three 90 minute hands-on lab sessions (you choose two out of three) where you’ll explore:

• Using WebVR and AR browser APIs
• Capturing & creating 360° experiences
• Creating WebAR with Location, Image and Feature Tracking

At Reality 17, we won’t just be discussing the concepts and technologies. You’ll work hands on to design and develop Web VR and AR content, with workshops tailored to more design focused participants, and those with more developer-oriented skill sets.

Who’s it for?

Reality 17 is for those who want to explore the already fertile opportunities provided by today’s VR and AR technologies, particularly when delivered on the web: designers, product owners and managers, business decision makers, developers, researchers and more.

Find out more now about Reality 17

Pricing

Pricing works the same for both Culture 17 and Reality 17. You can attend either as stand alone events (but not both, as they’re on the same day), but our pricing is set to encourage you to consider a Three Day Pass.

Stand alone Culture 17 OR Reality 17

• Super Early Bird (ends 15 Sep) for just $699 (save $200)
• Early Bird (16 Sep-13 Oct) for just $799 (save $100)
• Standard (14 Oct to 8 Nov) for just $899

Three Day Pass – Summit 17 + Culture 17 OR Reality 17

• Super Early Bird (ends 15 Sep) for just $1599 (save $700)
• Early Bird (16 Sep-13 Oct) for just $1699 (save $600)
• Standard (14 Oct to 8 Nov) for just $1799(save $500)

To be clear, register for a Three Day Pass before 15 September and you will pay $700 less than if you bought separate standard tickets to each!

Two important points

First, please register for a Three Day Pass at the site of the event you want to add on to your Summit registration, either Reality 17 or Culture 17. You’ll find all the options there.

Second, if you have already registered for Summit 17 and you’d like to add on Reality 17 or Culture 17, we have you covered. You will receive an email soon (if not already) with a very special offer for you and a separate link to upgrade your registration.

Frankly, I’m very excited by the addition of Reality 17 and Culture 17 to our schedule, especially as add-on options to our grand Summit conference (full program coming very soon).

They each reflect areas that I think are of great importance to web professionals – in different contexts and for different reasons, but of comparable significance.

I do hope you’ll be able to join us this summer and remember that, whatever deal or combination you choose for our events, you’re welcome to register now and pay later.