10 reasons to attend EARL

The reasons someone might attend a conferences differ from person to person so we crowdsourced the top 10 reasons you should attend EARL San Francisco.

1. Learn something new.
This is a pretty obvious one and we’ve got an excellent agenda that covers a range of industries and R projects, including:

• Gabriela de Queiroz from SelfScore talking production data science and engineering with open source tools
• David Bishop from Hitachi Solutions talking about R in the clean energy industry
• Dr Mohammed Zakaria from Catapult Sports talking about using R to apply machine learning techniques in sports
• Luke Fostvedt from Pfizer talking about the pharmaceutical industry’s polyamorous relationship with R

You’re bound to find a number of speakers and topics that can help you improve what you’re doing with R or inspire you to do bigger and better things, so take a look at the agenda.

Plus, see what these organisations are up to:

2. Get out into the R community.
It’s easy to find out online what’s happening with R in the academic world, but not so easy to see what people are achieving in a commercial sense. EARL focuses on the commercial side of R so you’ll see how open source software is making real changes in other organizations and how it can be applied to yours.

3. Talk to fellow R users.
We won’t try to disguise this because it’s definitely networking. But, don’t let networking be a chore and don’t be afraid of it because it’s not just about exchanging business cards and connecting on LinkedIn (though, they’re important too!). EARL is the perfect place to meet like-minded people. By like-minded, we mean people who’ve been through the same experiences using and learning R as you have (and survived). Exchanging approaches, getting tips and making connections in other organisations and industries are just a few of the benefits you receive from talking to other R users.

4. Show your appreciation.
One way to show your appreciation for your team is to help them upskill. Plenty of organisations use conferences and training to increase employee engagement. Not only do staff feel valued when they’re sent off to learn something new to bring back to the team, but your organisation also benefits from the inspiration and knowledge they bring back with them from the event.

A full conference pass is only $1,100 for three full conferencing days (including lunch and breaks) and the conference evening reception. If you can’t give staff three days away from their desk, one and two-day passes are also available.

5. Get away from your desk.
Speaking of getting away from the desk, sometimes you need to get out the office and ‘get amongst it’. The best way to get inspired and learn something new is to talk to people (including some amazing R influencers) face-to-face and attend a few conference sessions and ask questions. It will refuel and refresh your mind, ready to achieve great things with R.

6. Get yourself a Mango Cat.
This point popped up a few times. Who doesn’t want a cute fluffy cat they don’t have to feed or wash or clean up after. Though, they do like a bit of love every now and again.

7. Meet the future you.
We honestly believe that all the wonderful things speakers will be presenting about, you can do too. As they say, stand on the shoulders of giants!

8. Promote what you do.
It’s not just the speakers sharing their R stories. You can too. Every time you talk to someone at EARL it’s an opportunity to promote what you’re doing with R. For example, non-profit organisations have found EARL to be a great space for promoting their datakind-style volunteering opportunities and to see how other non-profits are using R in a cost-effective way.

9. Boost your career.
With knowledge gained from workshops and sessions, and the connections you’ve made, you’re setting yourself up to grow your career; whether that’s within your current organisation or a new one.

After attending a conference, people often return to the office motivated and keen to apply new approaches or try different methods. Your newly gained knowledge and enthusiasm can give you the leverage you need to move up in your team or company.

10. Stay up-to-date with R.
Data Science is fast-paced. New packages are released often and your fellow R users are always innovating to make R even better. Sometimes it’s hard to keep track of all the trends, so coming to EARL will help you focus on what’s changed since you started using R, what you can take on board in your organisation, and how your organisation is going compared to others in your industry.

BONUS: You’ll see San Francisco
If you’ve never been to San Francisco, we can recommend taking a couple of days before or after EARL to see the sights and immerse yourself in some culture. We will be!

Tick off your top 10 and buy your tickets now!