Organizing an online workshop by Benkei

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Organizing an online workshop by Benkei

A workshop represents a great opportunity to work together in a collaborative project. Such an event is also the place for external skateholders to gain knowledge about the project’s results and provide feedback.

Organizing an online workshop on photovoltaic recycling is a timely and significant topic, given the increasing focus on renewable energy sources and the need to manage their lifecycle sustainably.

We will give here an overview of the different steps to prepare a workshop.

Workshop organization: resource and schedule

Select your team

Start with assembling a dedicated team to handle different aspects of the workshop, including content creation, technical support, and participant management. Assign clear roles and responsibilities to streamline the process.

Budget and time

Be aware of the available budget and the quantity of time you can allocate to the organisation of the event. Time can easily slip when working on this topic, before or even after the event. It means being sure to have enough time before the event to prepare it and make sure everything works as smoothly as possible. If you have a small budget, it is not the best solution to organise it in a big venue with a cocktail at the end.

Duration and location

Choose the duration (one hour, half a day etc.), the date (e.g. in parallel to a dedicated event?) and the location (online, in premises to show a pilot unit…). Between 2 and three hours are acceptable online and do not mobilise too much attendees. On the contrary, if you organise a whole day on site, people should be targeted carefuly to ensure they will be available to attend – including travelling. This will determine the constraints on your agenda and the potential people you will reach.

Practical tips

Objective and target of the workshop

Why are you doing a workshop? Do you want to raise awareness, educate or inspire? Do you seek feedback from specific people? This objective will help defining the structure of your agenda and find your speakers. Directly related, who should attend to your webinar? What do you want to tell them? This is an opportunity to speak up, and also to discuss with people you do not already know. Well followed up, it can even participate in developing your network.

Develop your agenda

Develop a detailed agenda that outlines the workshop’s flow, including speaker sessions and panel discussions. Ensure the content is engaging and informative. It should follow a “logical” structure, to take your attendees to the understanding you want, or to finish with a Q&A session. Engage speakers early, and involve them in the planning process to ensure they are comfortable with the online format and technology.

Choose the platform

Choose a reliable online platform that supports the interactive features you need (e.g. live polling, Q&A sessions…). Ensure the platform can handle the expected number of participants and is accessible across various devices.

Finally plan a technical rehearsal with all speakers and facilitators to troubleshoot any potential issues. This includes logging in the platform, testing audio and video equipment, internet connectivity and platform functionalities. It’s not mandatory to have every speaker on board and do a complete rehatsal, but it is useful to anticipate technical difficulties.

Marketing and communication

The marketing strategy aims at promoting your workshop, and define the way you will do so. Utilize email campaigns, social media, events and partnerships… You are not alone in this, so count on your consortium and other networks to spread the news! It may be useful to communicate regularly with registered participants, providing them with all necessary information and updates (link to access the workshop, reminder, postponment…). But not too much, you do not want to spam them!  

Participant engagement

Remind your speakers to make their slides clear and brief. They should know how much time they have so that they can follow the schedule as a courtesy. if there is an important number of participants, it is easier to limit the interactions during the presentations and to encourage the use of the chats and Q&A sessions.

Workshop’s aftermath

Follow-up and feedback

After the workshop, you can send out the presentations, recordings and additional resources with the participants to extend the value of the workshop. You can also ask them if they have comlpementary questions and continue the discussion.

And then…

You did it! Whatever happened, it will work differently the next one. Be prepared, support your team and everything should go smoothly!