Last month, we held our annual CSM user conference in beautiful Washington D.C. Nearly 200 representatives from over 100 higher education institutions from all over the world joined for two full days of expert-led presentations, breakouts, trainings, and networking sessions.
CSM Symposium began the evening of July 7th with an opening reception at the Crystal Gateway Marriott where the event was being held. Attendees got the opportunity to introduce themselves to each other and network with Symplicity staff.
The following days were packed with networking sessions, best-practice sharing and learning opportunities for new and experienced users. In his opening remarks, Symplicity President & CEO Matt Small gave his own personal reflection about our product themes and what has been driving our decision-making for the last few years. Clients responded very positively to our efforts to partner with universities to elevate the career center and breakdown silos, as well as our continuous investment in all areas of our business – from product development to customer service and client management.
“We see it as our responsibility to help you make employability a strategic priority of the university. Career readiness and preparedness is no longer just your responsibility, it reaches across the entire university. As our clients, we partner with you to help you be successful and we view your students as citizens of our partnership.”
Matthew Small,
President & CEO,
Symplicity Corporation
We were also honored to have Eric Stoller, Digital Engagement Consultant and Blogger at Inside Higher Ed, deliver the keynote speech on the importance of leveraging technology and social media to support career services in higher education. He also served as a moderator for our featured panel around the evolution of campus recruiting. Representatives from Fortune 500 companies and career services professionals gathered in the main hall to give their perspectives about the current landscape and future of on-campus recruiting and employer relations.
Other standout sessions included best-practice presentations from clients like Penn State, Georgetown University, and Bronx Community College, as well as product updates and feature trainings led by the Symplicity staff. We were also excited to have representation from our first Brazilian client, Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná (PUCPR), who showcased the new VR technology that they launched to on campus to help students do mock interviews and resume reviews.
Before wrapping up the first day, we hosted a highly successful networking session in which attendees submitted the topics and questions prior to the event and were paired with clients and staff with a similar desire to have conversations around those areas. Following the networking session, we hosted our always popular Client Appreciation party at Tiki TNT at the new District Wharf in Washington, DC where clients enjoyed sips, appetizers, and more networking opportunities.
“Getting to know the Symplicity team and [attending] the sessions that they put together has been fantastic! I’m so impressed with the company culture and the knowledge that I’ve taken away.”
Dawnelle Prince,
Recruitment Manager for Employer Development and Relations,
University of Houston
This year’s CSM Symposium provided us and our clients with unmatched opportunities to build expertise and share best practices for furthering career services in higher education. On behalf of the entire Symplicity team, we’re very proud of what we have been able to accomplish in collaboration with all of our attendees and look forward to CSM Symposium 2020!
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