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No matter how long you’ve been in the industry, NBIA’s International Conference on Business Incubation is a can’t-miss event. Whether you need help in developing an incubator or want to refresh your established program, you will get insights from experienced practitioners in Orlando May 16-19.
Need a reason to attend NBIA’s conference? We’ll give you five:
1. Education
NBIA’s International Conference on Business Incubation is the premier training event for incubation professionals, with more than 60 educational sessions formatted as lectures, panels, roundtables and forums. Our six in-depth Preconference Institute workshops cover topics such as creating effective policies and procedures in your program, developing an incubation program and managing your clients’ sales process. The sessions and workshops are led by knowledgeable presenters, many with years of industry experience. Our experts are ready to guide you so you can make your program a success.
2. Keynote Speakers
NBIA’s conference features two outstanding keynote speakers. During Monday’s lunch, Jerry Ross, executive director of the Disney Entrepreneur Center, will talk about his program. And on Tuesday at breakfast, Alan Ladwig, the deputy associate administrator for public outreach in the Office of Public Affairs at NASA, will share NASA initiatives that can help entrepreneurs and incubators.
3. Networking
The conference draws a diverse audience of incubator staff, economic development professionals, educators, researchers and other entrepreneur support practitioners. By attending the conference, you will be exposed to best practices from around the world. Attendees are always friendly and ready to share advice and lessons that will help you provide excellent services to entrepreneurs. The conference offers the perfect opportunity to meet industry colleagues and form lifelong connections.
4. Incubator Tours
Seeing other programs in action is always inspiring, and this year you have two opportunities to visit great incubators. After sessions end on Tuesday, check out the Disney Entrepreneur Center, a unique program where entrepreneurs visit a shared facility to get assistance from a variety of service provider organizations or one of the community partners that reside there. Meet the service providers and find out how they help businesses.
On Wednesday afternoon, you can tour two facilities that are part of the University of Central Florida’s Business Incubation Program, NBIA’s 2004 Incubator of the Year. We’ll visit the Bennett Complex at the Central Florida Research Park and the Photonics UCF Campus, housed in the Center for Research & Education in Optics and Lasers (CREOL) facility on UCF’s main campus.
5. Orlando
After the sessions end for the day, sunny Orlando provides plenty of entertainment options to bond with people you’ve met in sessions and relax after a full day of learning. NBIA has arranged advance ticket sales for Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom parks at www.disneyconventionear.com/NBIA. If amusement parks hold no appeal, Orlando has plenty of other options to keep you busy beyond the conference. Downtown Disney, a local shopping and food hub, is a short walk from the conference headquarters hotel, the Buena Vista Palace.
Book your reservation at the Buena Vista Palace by April 20 to receive the special group rate of $199 per night for a single or double room. Space in the hotel fills up quickly, so make your reservation soon to guarantee a room. Call (866) 397-6516 or visit https://reservations.ihotelier.com/crs/g_reservation.cfm?groupID=168269&hotelID=6579 to reserve a room. Be sure to mention the NBIA group rate.
Visit www.nbiaconference.org for more information and to register for the conference. Questions? Call (740) 593-4331 or e-mail education@nbia.org.
