Workshops

[jboursiquot]

First thing we'll need is to find out what other conferences have done in the past in term of workshop topics, what their attendance numbers looked like with regards to the overall conference and what they charged. If anybody knows or has a relationship with any ruby/rails conference organizers, I'd love an introduction and I can take it from there.

We'll also need a place to hold the workshop(s). Let's explore the Emerson possibility among others. Ideally the location should be in town to facilitate access to public transportation.

Regarding the instructor(s), it'd be great to get  a well-known presenter or instructor to help draw in people. I'm also open to reaching out to local shops like Thoughtbot who put on workshops of their own and see if they'd be willing to donate a workshop or at least do so at a reduced price. I want to have a plan around what we expect to charge for the workshops before asking and adjust based on what they're willing to agree to.

[Chad Pytel]

The workshops at conferences we have been involved with typically pay the instructors for each person that takes their workshop, the workshops are not donated, but if they are an existing workshop, they're typically given at discounted price.

There is a regional ruby conference organizers google group that I am a part of where questions like this are often asked and answered. Is someone on this list a member of that list? I think one of the main organizers on this list should get on that list if they aren't already. Let me know and I can give you the info about how to get on this list.

-Chad

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Chad Pytel, Founder and CEO
thoughtbot, inc.
t: 617-482-1300 x113
f: 866-217-5992
http://www.thoughtbot.com
http://www.twitter.com/thoughtbot

[jboursiquot]

Thanks for the insight Chad. Good to know.

Question: Do you usually have a pre-set discount rate for the workshops in situations like these or is it based on some other metric(s)?

I would greatly appreciate getting on the regional organizers' list and educate myself a bit more. Thank you.

Johnny

[Chad Pytel]

No, the conference usually sets the cost of taking the workshops per attendee and the people giving the workshops don't have a say in it.

[jboursiquot]

Right, the conference definitely sets the price of the workshops per attendee.

To clarify, I'm assuming that thoughtbot would collect (from the conference) a flat fee per attendee regardless of how many signed up for it. Is that a safe assumption on my part?

Johnny

[Chad Pytel]

No, it would typically be X number of people would specifically register for our workshop and we'd get a per attendee fee for that number of people.

[Johnny Boursiquot]

Yep, makes sense.

So what I'm seeing as things to think about:

1. If we roll our own workshop, we
1. provide the instructor(s)
2. find an adequate venue
3. arrange for breakfast and lunch
2. If a shop like thoughtbot handles it than venue, instructor and food are taken care of
   

I think there's enough time between now and the conference date to explore option 1 and keep #2  in the back pocket so to speak.

Now that I think about it, Daniel Choi did help organize the workshop for women (and their friends) a few months back. I'll reach out to him as well.

Thanks again Chad.

Johnny

[Andrew Kuklewicz]

Hey folks,

Lurking a bit yesterday due to being swamped with some other issues, sorry.

I am one of the organizers/sponsors/TAs of those workshops with Dan, and I agree, that is also a good avenue to pursue.

(We are planning the next workshop for 11/6 at MIT, and will be continuing to hold them (roughly) quarterly.)

One question is what kind of workshop(s) do we want to have?

The Railsbridge Boston (i.e. Dan Choi and friends) workshop is very much targeted at beginners, and I think given the lead time, we could organize to have a beginner's workshop preceding the conf.

Generally, the Railsbridge workshops are free for participants, staffed by generous volunteers, and only seek sponsors to cover costs (e.g. location & food).  If WGRC (wicked good ruby conf) would cover the costs, so we don't have to compete for sponsors for related events, I think Railsbridge Boston could put on a workshop for beginners.  We'll have to figure out curriculum, as we usually do a 1.5 day event, but given the lead time, that and other sundry issues seem manageable.

I also think it would be good for this not to be the only workshop, esp. as most WGRC attendees will not be beginners.

I think we should have some mid-range & advanced workshops, like those Thoughtbot has held on TDD, intermediate RoR, etc.

Cheers,

Andrew Kuklewicz

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[Johnny Boursiquot]

I like the idea of having both beginner and mid/advanced workshops if at all possible. 

If we go down the path of Railsbridge handling the beginner workshop, what do the numbers look like?

1. How many attendees can Railsbridge handle or has handled? (Understanding that venue will impact that as well)
2. Would the same MIT venue work for us and if so, what is its availability and cost for the dates we need?
3. If we needed to, could we or would we also hold the mid/advanced workshop at the same location (different rooms)? Thinking we'll need to talk to MIT to get answers if you don't already have them.
4. What did the cost of food look like for breakfast and lunch?

Johnny

[Andrew Kuklewicz]

Hey Johnny, 

I talked with Brian alot about this last week, and it's not going to work to have Railsbridge involved.

We should look at other options for the beginner's workshop.

Luckily, many folks offer multiple levels of training (e.g. thoughtbot).

I think the idea of having more of a well-known rubyist for training alot of sense for more advanced workshops.

For the beginners, I think it is more important to have a tested curriculum, experienced teachers, and enough TAs/support to make it work.  Local groups with that expertise might be able to provide that better than a 'visiting scholar' ;)

We did more meals for the last workshop, but are moving to only offer lunch, to keep costs down - this is typical of Railsbridge workshops in other cities as well.  We had about 40  students last time.  One big limitation for how we did it was to have enough TAs to keep the smaller groups within the workshop manageable.  We got stung on cost b/c the venue required using their caterers, and it was pricey, which is one reason we moved to MIT.

I also wonder, for location, if we can keep things closer to the Wilbur, just to minimize travel and confusion for those attending both a workshop and the conf.  I can talk to the Railsbridge folks and see who they knew at MIT, if we want to pursue that (or someone else in this group may well have a contact).

Cheers,

Andrew Kuklewicz

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[Chad Pytel]

I don't know if it will be the right fit, but I'll offer up the thoughtbot training space, conference rooms, and other facilities for the workshops. We are just a short walk from the Wilbur. We don't require using our caterers...

[Andrew Kuklewicz]

That is a very awesome offer; 

How much to have you do the cooking, Chad?

Cheers,

Andrew Kuklewicz

[Will O'Brien]

It sounds like the food would be a great thing to package for sponsorship. 

Something along the lines of

Intro to Rails 
with breakfast provided by Awesomeware. 

Then we cover food and kick some money back to the conference overhead. 

Eduardo and I can look into some catering prices for this as well, if you like. 

- Will O'Brien

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[Johnny Boursiquot]

That is very nice of you Chad. Many thanks! I've been at your offices during BostonRB Project Nights and think that's a great venue for hosting the workshops. 

Can you provide some specifics around cost, capacity, number of rooms available and also some info for your caterer?

Thanks again.

Johnny

[Johnny Boursiquot]

That sounds good Will. PDI.

Johnny

[Chad Pytel]

We have the kitchen/eating area, the large training room that can seat 30 people with desks and power, and the two conference rooms which can seat 8-12 people each.

For an event like this, we could also potentially use the rest of the office downstairs, which would have additional desk space for up to 50-60 people.

We have only rented the training room, but we could easily charge $5,000 to rent both the upstairs and downstairs.

We don't have a caterer, that was sort of a joke, but we can recommend/organize people and restaurants we have used in the past.

What I would propose is that we could offer our space, provide an admin to make sure everything runs smoothly, and provide meals for the workshops, in exchange for a sponsorship for the conference.

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[Brian Cardarella]

That works. As a heads up Jeff Casimir has reached out and I put him
in touch with Johnny and Andrew. Not sure if that would be a conflict
of interest there, I'd leave it up to you guys.

----------------------
Brian Cardarella
Principal at DockYard
Visit us: http://dockyard.com
Call us: (855) DOCK-YRD
Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/bcardarella
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/DockYard

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[Chad Pytel]

I was only saying we'd provide the space and food - we don't need to do any of the workshops if there are other people who will give them and they will be good.

[Brian Cardarella]

Makes sense.

----------------------
Brian Cardarella
Principal at DockYard
Visit us: http://dockyard.com
Call us: (855) DOCK-YRD
Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/bcardarella
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/DockYard

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