Impressions from the first visit

On October 26, ProIT Network Fest took place in St. Petersburg. This is my first visit to a regular event and I want to talk about what happened there. I didn’t receive any advertisements, so I will share my impressions sincerely.

Venue

Sevkabel Port is one of my favorite places in the city if you need a drink and a chat. It attracts with its spaciousness, many modern bars, each of which is unique, as well as architecture that combines the solidity of an industrial zone and the fashionable trends of public spaces. This is a modern place where young people often gather, and the view of the autumn bay is so beautiful and harsh that you immediately want to go to a cozy bar.

Bar? Yes, the format of the event was relaxed and businesslike, and everything in it was created for easy communication, so the event took place in a bar atmosphere. The festival took place in 4 bars, each of which had its own section on special interests. The food and drinks were excellent, as expected at such events.

Audience

The event is aimed at IT specialists at middle level and above. Topics are intended for specialists involved in the promotion of personal media, team and company leaders, as well as investors. The name of the festival clearly indicates the possibility of establishing business connections, which attracted many participants.

Sections

I started with Networking, with the goal of liberating myself a little and finding a company. While completing tasks aimed at improving my self-presentation skills, I met some cool guys from Habr Career, with whom it was extremely interesting to talk.

At a certain point, when the tasks became completely intrusive, and when we were instructed to look into the eyes of our interlocutors until some kind of “contact” was established, we went to the Hiring section where a section was held with tips on promoting publicity and how to build a conscious career in IT. The talk was inspiring and motivated me to work more in this direction, including trying new publication formats.

After lunch the sections became less formal; the speakers relaxed, and the speeches turned into friendly conversations both among themselves and with the audience. Despite the format, the information content remained high.

The Hyperload section featured short but intense reports. We talked about Chinese OpenSource and its specificity. The topic of CTO was presented easily and clearly; typical cases of software development planning and recommendations for solving them were considered.

I didn’t stop by the section on social capital, where they talked about its formation and increase. I didn’t stay long in the section, since the other one was a lecture about DevOps, which I thought was more useful.

The final event “DevOps Conversations for Life” was a discussion of speakers on current topics, including the opportunity to propose a problem from the audience. I took advantage of this by asking a question about the ban on publishing the results of ethical hacking described in the article and was pleased to observe the reaction of the speakers to this controversial topic.

Completion

The main part of the event ended with a prize draw from the sponsoring company, where three unequal prizes were drawn: a set for a system administrator, screwdrivers from a popular company and… a server. As often happens, the server went to the participant who least knew how to handle it. I got the screwdrivers.

After the drawing, participants and organizers were able to communicate in person in a relaxed atmosphere of the bar. People who attend such events often become excellent conversationalists, and this part of the event turned out to be no less productive – true networking originates in such places. I especially liked this part of the event.

So what's the bottom line?

If you are going to such events, it is important to clearly define for yourself what you want from them. Gain knowledge, make new acquaintances, or just have a good time – all this will influence your activity. However, even if you choose one goal, you will probably get all of the above, since the format and organization of the event are built successfully. Personally, I have achieved my goals, and therefore I am determined to attend the next major event, ProIT Network Fest.