STC India Conference 2009

– Rajdeep Gupta

In the years to come they will say great wine must age like STC India conferences. There is a sense of excitement as you uncork another bottle. Over the last 11 years, the sparks seem to be flying high, higher and it seems it will reach the highest pinnacle in some time, if not already. A conference, with all its grandeur and colors, is not just a ‘conference’ anymore, but gets transformed itself into a carnival. A carnival, which witnessed knowledge transforming into valuable assets, and experienced and not-so-experienced writers flocking together to share and learn new things. They do all this but with fun all along the way.

But, the question is how do you award a conference the tag of ‘success’ or ‘failure’? Is there a need to categorize it as successful? What are the metrics for evaluating the success of a conference? There may be many and it may differ from person to person, but from my perspective, I would keep at the top ‘quality content topics specific to domains and catering to the various sections of the technical writing fraternity’. The 11th Annual Conference provided something for everyone, and most importantly, people had the options to select the topic sessions based on their medium of work experience and likeness. The pre-conference learning sessions illustrates my point – for technical writers had the option of attending sessions on editing to tools, and project managers and program managers had workshops on document program management and Zen workshops!

Though STC India organizes learning sessions and workshops all through the year, there are always folk who miss attending those events. Important topics on Dita, localization, internalization, and so on are again presented in these conferences in a detailed manner, so that attendees get another chance to make the most out of it. Feedback is solicited during the conferences, and not just trashed. This feedback is taken seriously, and the results are showcased in the next conferences. For example: the feedback I had during the 2008 conference in Pune was addressed and made the conference a huge success.

Every year the STC India conference witnesses a big turnout – not only the first timers to the event, but also people who are conference regulars. It means that the previous conferences have been quite a hit with the people and they see value in attending the conferences.

Every year, STC India arranges for a panel discussion with eminent personalities from the field speaking to the gathering. The discussion facilitates the following:

• Define and communicate the value of the profession of technical communication.
• Improve the practice of technical communication globally.

STC India conferences advance the theory and practice of technical communication across all user abilities and media so that both businesses and customers benefit from safe, appropriate, and effective use of products, information, and services. I have been attending the conferences for the last four years, and every time I have learnt something new that I can add to my resume and boost my professional development.

About the author:

Rajdeep Gupta is a writer for the last 5 years and is presently working with Misys. He is presently the Vice President of the India Chapter of STC and the Assistant Organizer of the Bangalore Technical Writers Meetup Group. He loves quizzing and is an avid blogger.

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