The 2023 Salesforce Education Summit registration opened last week and this year is looking to be one of the best Education Summits yet! Taking place in Dallas, TX April 10th-12th, this will be the first fully in-person summit since 2019. As my 6th time attending the Education Summit (4th in-person), I can’t wait to reconnect with colleagues, meet clients face-to-face, and share with fellow educators the power of the Salesforce platform. If you’ve been to this event before or are thinking about attending this year for the first time, below are a few reasons to attend and things we at Elevation Solutions are looking forward to.
Keynote, Guest Speakers & Salesforce Product Roadmap
Traditionally Salesforce Education Summit has booked high-profile keynote speakers like Michelle Obama, Admiral William H. McRaven, and Magic Johnson. All have brought a unique and inspiring message on the importance of education and how we, as educators, can make a positive impact in our communities. This is a “can’t miss” session that typically is held on the morning of the first day.
In addition to the keynote, Salesforce uses this time to highlight specific schools and organizations that have made an impact by using the Salesforce platform. They usually cover a broad range of topics including higher education, K-12, student success, and admissions.
Perhaps one of the most important topics covered is the product roadmap. Salesforce.org leadership will typically spend a few minutes at the end of the keynote to review their product roadmap and provide exciting announcements on new innovations. In years past they’ve announced Student Success Hub and Admissions Connect. This is a great opportunity to see what Salesforce has planned for the education space and how your organization can adopt new technologies.
Education-Focused Sessions & Solutions
I may be a little biased having been in education for almost twenty years, but there’s something special about Salesforce’s Education Summit. Don’t get me wrong, other Salesforce events are a great experience and I strongly recommend attending the non-education specific events, but having three days focusing on education solutions using the Salesforce product I find is extremely valuable.
Salesforce’s ecosystem is expansive and sometimes it can be a challenge to connect with use cases showcased by corporates/for-profit organizations. At Education Summit, however, it’s all about education! This is one of the best opportunities to connect with peers and learn how they solved challenges using Salesforce. Many times you find that other organizations are looking to solve similar problems or it might spark ideas for future enhancements.
In years past, the summit had specific tracks to follow if you are interested in a specific functional area such as alumni/fundraising, student support, admissions/enrollment or a specific sector such as K-12 or Higher Education.
Vendors, Partners & Demos
When attending the summit, make sure to stop by the exhibit hall to meet with and see demos on 3rd party apps. These apps can be used to extend your Salesforce solutions, common apps include Event Management, Form tools, and Document Generation tools. Even if these 3rd party solutions aren’t specific to education, many times they have an education and non-profit focus and are happy to share use cases. They may be able to provide a demo of their product so that you can see it in action.
Of course – implementation partners will be at the Education Summit including Elevation Solutions. This year we’ll be one of the sponsors of the K-12 Block Party on April 11th at 5:00 CT. If you’re thinking about attending or just want to connect and share ideas, feel free to reach out to us on our website or via LinkedIn.
Connect with Peers
Last but not least, one of the biggest recommendations for attending the Education Summit is to connect with peers. The education industry is a small world and this is a great place to make new connections or visit old ones. Since everyone here is in education and is interested in/using Salesforce this is a unique opportunity to learn best practices, share success, and gather ideas. There are lots of ways to connect with peers at the Education Summit; everything from talking to folks at your lunch table or attending one of the many after-hours events.
The Salesforce Education Summit looks like it’s going to be another great experience and we are looking forward to sharing the power of the Salesforce platform with fellow educators. If you are interested in planning your Salesforce roadmap, have a specific implementation in mind, or just want to chat, let’s start a conversation. We can’t wait to see you in April!
