Highlights from Ascend 2023 and Kscope23
The Spring 2023 conference season was a blast, and we’re excited to wrap it up for you. Returning to in-person events was extra special, following the virtual and smaller events of recent years.
The AuraPlayer crew started off in Orlando, Florida to attend an action-packed Ascend, along with our friends and customers from Oracle Applications & Technology Users Group (OATUG) and Oracle HCM Users Group (OHUG).
We were so honored that our very own Mia Urman was awarded 2022 Speaker of the Year, in a ceremony recognizing award recipients from Ascend 2022. Shortly after Ascend, AuraPlayer crossed the country to attend Kscope23 in Denver, Colorado hosted by Oracle Developer and Technology User Group (ODTUG).
We like to kick off a conference by hosting an executive dinner for our friends and clients. We love hosting dinners that foster discussions on Oracle innovation between users from different verticals. It’s a perfect opportunity to learn about the platforms people are using, their experiences, innovation strategies, and issues they are looking to solve.
We were so pleased that the AuraPlayer dinners at Ascend and Kscope were great successes! Over the following days, we continued the conversation with the many Oracle business users and customers that stopped by our booth.
As always, there were many fantastic sessions and opportunities to learn at the conferences, and we are so proud that AuraPlayer’s CEO, Mia Urman, takes an active part.
Mia hosted several well-attended sessions on Oracle RPA, UI/UX, and modernization at both conferences. A high point was Mia’s joint session at Ascend with Guy DeFlorio from Mutual Materials Company, showcasing Mutual Material’s modernization journey. If you weren’t able to attend Mia’s sessions, but want to get the slide deck, let us know.
A highlight for us was to see the growing interest in the subject of women in technology (WIT). The AuraPlayer team attended several WIT sessions at Ascend 2023, and were inspired by the amazing speakers and the wisdom shared. And at Kscope23, we were honored to sponsor this year’s WIT luncheon, marking its 10th anniversary. This was especially meaningful, as Mia was involved in the launch of the WIT luncheon and mentorship program at Kscope a decade ago.
As part of the sponsorship, AuraPlayer was in charge of providing the content for meaningful table discussions. To do this, we did a deep dive into current research on girls and women in STEM, identifying the biggest challenges and surveying people attending the luncheon. Their survey responses helped us to create discussion topics that tables could choose from – ranging from pay disparity to mentorship to self-advocacy. In addition to facilitating engaging conversation, we wanted to ensure that the 100 luncheon attendees would leave feeling uplifted, inspired, and empowered.
We ended the luncheon with a presentation featuring a selection of WIT trailblazers, past and present, who have inspired us and shaped the world we live in. Some of them are familiar, while others are less known. Take a peek at the list and see who you recognize:
- Ada Lovelace
- Grace Hopper
- Hedy Lamarr
- Katherine Johnson
- Annie Easley
- Anita Borg
- Radia Perlman
- Susan Kare
- Safra Catz
- Susan Wojcicki
- Sheryl Sandberg
- Fei-Fei Li
- Mandela Schumacher-Hodge Dixon
- Mira Murati
We loved seeing how engaged everyone was in the discussions and how much they enjoyed and appreciated the presentation. Take a look at the complete slide deck here.
Of course, you can’t wrap up a conference without a party. As usual, the Ascend and Kscope teams seem to have nailed down the art form of party planning. Ascend’s Havana party, and Kscope’s 50s-themed party at the Denver Aquarium, had the whole AuraPlayer team dressed up and on the dance floor.
We look forward to seeing everyone again at conferences later this year.
