FAQs

_DSC9369.png

CampusEnergy2021 is 3 days of education, exhibits and exchange of ideas for anyone who owns, operates or optimizes a campus energy system or serves the needs of those who do.

Get Ready for CampusEnergy2021


CampusEnergy2021 is finally here. And while we wish we could say hello, shake your hand and thank you for coming in person, we are glad that we are finally together, albeit virtually.


Over the past year, this industry has faced unprecedented challenges and met them head on. The conversations we have at CampusEnergy2021 will shape the future of district energy - and we're glad you will be a part of it. We feel confident that this year's virtual conference will still deliver the content, access to new technologies and opportunities to connect that you've come to expect from CampusEnergy conferences. If this is your first campus event, welcome!
Should you need assistance or have questions about the conference, please contact us via email at conference.idea@districtenergy.org or call us at +1 (508) 366-9339.

And don't forget - if you miss a session, everything will be archived for 90 days after the event closes. That means you can 'binge' sessions for the next three months!

Haven't registered yet for CampusEnergy2021? There's still time - visit our registration page and join us!

How to Access the Conference Website

At previous Campus events, you left your hotel room, followed the signage from the hotel lobby to registration, and IDEA directed you to where the meeting rooms are. With an online meeting, it will be a lot easier to get to the conference, with decidedly less strain on your feet.

To gain access, you simply need to visit the CampusEnergy2021 Attendee Hub. You can get there by clicking the link below.

Login To Live Event

LOGIN INSTRUCTIONS

Once you click the link, you will be sent to a single-page login screen. There you will provide:

 - First name
 - Last name
 - The email you registered with

After doing so, hit the next button. The screen will refresh to an "Almost Done" page, with a box to enter in a numeric verification code. This personalized code will be sent to the email your registered with and/or cellphone with a code to authenticate your registration. Once you receive the code, enter it, hit enter and you're in!

If you do not receive this code, contact us at conference.idea@districtenergy.org. We highly recommend you login PRIOR to the event to test your login capabilities.

Please note: You may be asked to login daily, depending on how active you are within the hub (your access expires within 24 hours if you have not been active in the site). To regain access, you will simply need to follow the login instructions again).


Picture5.png

The Conference Website

When you login, you will see a screen that will look like the one you see below.

You will notice that there are menu tabs at the top left of the screen. These links and the information on the home page are all you need to get you where you need to go. The menu tabs are explained below:
My Event - gets you back to the home page screen shown above with quick links to featured sessions, scheduling appointments and more.
All Sessions - a list of the entire program, broken up by day. No sessions are live yet, but you can view the schedule and click the "Add" button to the right of any session you plan on attending (which will be added to the My Schedule tab).
My Schedule - If you've added any sessions to your schedule from the 'All Sessions' page, they will all show up here.
Exhibitors - an alphabetical list of the 70+ exhibitors that have a booth in this year's Virtual Exhibit Hall. Simply click the company name to access their booth (more on that later).
Sponsors - a list of our event sponsors. Please thank them for their support of you and this event.

PLEASE NOTE: We highly recommend using Google Chrome as your browser to access the Attendee Hub. ALSO - setting up appointments, participating in meetings with exhibitors and our Virtual Happy Hours will require you to also have Zoom configured on your computer (which most of us do these days). It is also highly recommended to use a desktop/laptop computer to access the Attendee Hub to maximize your enjoyment of the event.

What a Session Will Look Like

As an attendee you will be viewing the presentations in the CampusEnergy2021 Attendee Hub, a virtual conference platform similar to viewing a Zoom webinar. When you click on the title of a session you want to attend, your screen will look like the image you see below.

Five minutes before a session goes live, a red "Join Session" button will appear in the photo of the San Francisco skyline. Click that button (if you are in early, you will see a slide show of initiatives) and once the session begins, you will see a video screen with the presenter(s) and their slides, a PDF of their presentation and a section for you to pose Q&A questions to the presenters.
For most presentations, Q&A will not be answered live, but your question will be sent to the presenter who will answer them post-event (you will be notified when questions have been answered and/or they will contact you directly). To submit a question, expand the Q&A button on the right of the screen of the session you are in.
Please note that when you are watching a session, the presenters cannot see you and you cannot interact with them like you do in a traditional Zoom call. Also, when you ask a question, the default setting is to ask anonymously. If you are looking for a direct response from the presenter, we encourage you to uncheck the anonymous box when submitting.

Virtual Exhibit Hall and Meet the Experts


Yes, we will miss the face-to-face interactions that take place in a typical IDEA Exhibit Hall. This year, IDEA will debut its interactive virtual exhibit hall, with over 70 exhibitors.

There are dedicated times within the program for you to interact directly with business partners via Zoom, but the hall is always open for you to browse their booth content, submit a request for information by clicking the 'contact us' button or set-up a call with them at a later date. Post-event, the exhibit hall will remain open for 90 days after the meeting has closed.
Each booth includes the following:
  • Key contact information and booth description
  • Exhibitor content - PDF and company links
  • "Contact us" button - to request more information (type in your request and the exhibitor will respond back to you)
  • Schedule an Appointment - schedule an appointment during the conference using our Appointments Module 
  • "Join Virtual Meeting" button - hop into a live meeting during dedicated exhibit times (shown on the schedule) or throughout the event. If you click this button and booth staff are not there, we recommend using the 'schedule an appointment' option to set up a personalized appointment.


As with our live events, we will also hold an Exhibit Hall raffle with some amazing prizes. By visiting the hall and engaging with exhibitors, you will gain entry in the raffle.

Meet the Experts
In addition to time in the exhibit hall, IDEA offers four sessions that we call Meet The Experts. There, you will hear from and ask questions of some of our key sponsors in a relaxed panel discussion about the key issues facing the district energy industry.

These 45-minute sessions will take place Tuesday, February 16 at 3:30PM and Wednesday, February 17 at 3:15PM. There are two sessions for you to choose from at a time. Check the schedule for panelists and companies represented. 

Networking


We will admit that connecting online is a little bit less personal than the handshake and smile you get when you meet with a fellow attendee at an in-person event. But that doesn't mean you won't have excellent opportunities to engage with your fellow attendees.

At the conclusion of each day, IDEA will have a Virtual Happy Hour where you can connect with attendees via Zoom in breakout sessions that correspond to the session tracks from the day's technical program,. We will even offer a tutorial on how to make some of our favorite cocktails.

Just added to our program is a new Appointments Module, a calendar and communications hub where you can send a personalized message to set up a Zoom meeting with fellow attendees. There you can select attendees and send them a personalized message and calendar invite to connect.

And, as always, if you work for a campus or university, CampusEnergy2021 will include our Campus Members Forum, an exclusive meeting for campuses to discuss the issues affecting them and crowd source solutions with one another. This event is by invitation only, if you are an attendee working for a campus you should have already received an invite, if not, please contact Jason Beal at jason.idea@districtenergy.org.

Miscellaneous Items


Question and Answer

As mentioned previously, most sessions do have the ability to submit questions through the Q&A. box within the session.

The Q&A box is located within the page for the individual session, on the right of the screen, a small icon with "Q&A" on it. When you click it, it will expand into a small box on the screen, where you can type  in your question and submit it. Please note - the default option to submit a question is to submit it anonymously. If you would like the speaker to know who asked the question, so they can respond to you directly, please uncheck the "ask anonymously" box.

Scheduling an Appointment in Attendee Hub

At CampusEnergy2021, you can schedule an appointment with fellow attendees and exhibitors (and, conversely they can schedule one with you).


Appointments are scheduled in Zoom through the Appointments Module, which is similar to a calendar invite with a few extra steps..


The link below offers you instructions on how to:


  • How to Schedule an Appointment with Other Attendees
  • How to Accept an Appointment from Another Attendee
  • How to Schedule an Appointment with an Exhibitor

Learn How to Make Appointments

CEU

CEUs can be earned during and after the actual conference dates.

So if you miss a session, you can go back and watch it later.

CEUs will be tabulated and submitted for CEU certificates at the end of the 90 days.