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Save the Date!
2024 Annual Conference will take place November 18-20 at the iHotel and Conference Center in Champaign!
Connect. Collaborate. Network.
Annual Conference is a great opportunity to connect, collaborate, and network with colleagues from across the state, participate in personal and professional development sessions, learn about exciting and innovative programs happening throughout Extension, and be inspired by amazing guest speakers.
2023 Annual Conference Photos
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There's an app for that!
This year, in-person and virtual attendees to the 2023 Annual Conference can participate and stay connected to sessions, schedules, and messaging through the Learn @ Illinois Extension platform using our Moodle app.
Online Experience Features:
- Conference schedules
- Keynote presenter information
- Within each breakout session module:
- Presenter information
- Session materials (some sessions have provided this in advance, other sessions may use this space to post materials after the conference)
- Zoom link for sessions being offered virtually
- Links to the breakout session evaluations
- Notifications for conference announcements
- Messaging for certain conference groups
Staff will need to have an existing Learn @ Illinois Extension account to access the online experience. Verification and access information can be found using the buttons below. If you have not enrolled in Learn @ Illinois Extension previously, you will need to create an account before you can access the Annual Conference Online Experience.
2023 Breakout Session Highlights
Building Authentic Connections
Establishing trust by promoting connections among team members which facilitates engagement, improves employee retention, and increases overall team productivity and goal achievement. This session will demonstrate research-based and practical methods for building highly productive teams based on trust and member engagement in both real-world and virtual settings.
Reversing the Exodus: Strategies for Attracting & Retaining Young Adults
Based on the new census data (Hill, 2021), 87 of Illinois’ 102 counties experienced population decline between 2010 and 2020. Almost every rural county in Illinois has experienced an outmigration of its youngest and brightest talent and unfortunately, the trend appears to be continuing. This session will cover several research-based strategies that communities can implement now to help reverse the trend.
Developing Effective Evaluations: Lessons Learned from the Field
Ever ask yourself: What did the audience really learn? How do they plan to use this information? Was the learning level too basic or too complex? And maybe more importantly, did this program meet our overall goals? Evaluations are an important tool to help us answer these questions. Come learn tips and tricks to strengthen your evaluations to better provide useful and applicable information, take feedback and apply changes to your programming, and assess and update your evaluation tools over time to keep them relevant. Examples from virtual and in-person programs of various scales will be discussed.
Good things take time…but how much time should they take? How Extension is Enhancing Our Search Processes
It is no secret, the search process takes time, and we certainly want to take the time to find the RIGHT candidate to fill our positions. In this session, you will learn how Extension is implementing asynchronous video interview technology to enhance the efficiency, accessibility, equity, and quality of our search processes. Participants will have an opportunity to see the technology in action, ask questions, and take away useful tips and tricks for identifying top talent to join our teams.
2023 Keynote Speakers
University of Illinois Extension had the privilege of inviting Jason Kotecki from Escape Adulthood and Dr. Nia Imani Fields from University of Maryland Extension to be our keynote speakers for the 2023 Extension Annual Conference! If you missed these great speakers or want to learn more, visit their pages and checkout their bios and current work below.
For more information
