AIM Heartland Developer Conference brings Midwest’s brightest together

  Post by Dave Vankat, director of events for AIM. Remember 2003? It was a big year in technology. iTunes, Myspace, WordPress and camera phones were all getting rolling while Des Moines, Iowa, was rolling out the first ever Heartland Developers Conference. Thanks to our sponsor Become an SPN sponsor »Meet our sponsors » HDC was…

 

Post by Dave Vankat, director of events for AIM.

Remember 2003? It was a big year in technology. iTunes, Myspace, WordPress and camera phones were all getting rolling while Des Moines, Iowa, was rolling out the first ever Heartland Developers Conference.

HDC was designed to give the region’s software community a forum to exchange thoughts, theories and philosophies on development and design. HDC has grown in the past 11 years with more than 500 software professionals attending last year.

Fast forward to 2014 and HDC stands as the region’s premier software design and development conference. The conference is Sept. 3-5 at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Convention Center in La Vista, Neb. The ultra-low conference price of $250 includes all keynotes, breakouts, meals, exhibition access and the lights out MESH party on Sept. 4.

HDC is an intensely rich three-day conference with hands on classes, peer presentations and expert demos, plus networking opportunities for everyone to share their ideas, opinions and experiences in software and web development.

The conference’s focus has broadened over the past few years to include web design, mobile applications, agile development, open-source tools, testing, deployment, .NET and much more. HDC 2014 features more than 30 breakout sessions, six hands-on labs and numerous networking events. All encourage real peer connections that help further careers and advance technological development.

Pre-conference labs are for those who want to get their hands dirty with responsive design, serious career management, angular or android jump starts, or ASP.net v.Next. The labs are scheduled for the morning and the afternoon of Sept. 3. The conference fee does not include the lab fees. The half-day labs are each $45. The majority of the conference schedule will be released in the coming weeks and will feature topics like mobile development, Angular JS, .Net, Javascript Frameworks and more. The full conference schedule will released soon and can be viewed here.

HDC has always recognized and valued the contributions of women in IT. Two of the six half-day labs at this year’s conference are led by women. In an effort to encourage more diversity within the conference, the deadline for presenter submissions from women was extended to July 18. Contact Dave Vankat for details.

This year, HDC is partnering with AIM, a local nonprofit community organization that promotes technology to create brilliant communities. HDC founder and Phenomblue president, Joe Olsen, partnered with the experienced AIM Events Team to bring new opportunities and ideas to the conference, from expanding the presence of open source sessions to new ideas for Thursday night’s blow-out social event, a conference highlight, The “HDC MESH”.

The award winning Embassy Suites La Vista is HQ for the conference. Your stay includes a free breakfast buffet and a free cocktail reception daily. Special conference rates are available through July 31.

A limited number of sponsorship options remain to anyone interested in connecting with the top 600 software designers and developers in the Midwest.

From the first HDC event in 2003, creating a sound body of networked, knowledgeable and accessible leaders has been our goal. AIM HDC will continue to take the lead in curating innovative software topics and scheduling expert presenters, presenters who know “what to do now” and “what to prepare for next” and continue to deliver a conference experience that supports practical learning, peer networking and play.

As technology’s use continues to spread and change in unique ways, AIM HDC keeps software designers and developers in touch so they are consistently one step ahead.


This sponsored post was written by Dave Vankat of AIM. You can contact Dave by email.

This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN’s origin »

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