Virtual Solve at MIT
Solve at MIT, the flagship meeting of MIT Solve, was hosted virtually on May 12, 2020. Nearly 800 Solve community members gathered together on the virtual meeting platform, Hopin, to engage with each other and work to solve global Challenges using technology based solutions. In the last three years, Solve and its partners have brokered commitments of over $25 million in funding for social entrepreneurs. At Virtual Solve at MIT 2020, they announced $1.7 million in prize funding available for 2020 Solver teams.
The closing plenary was live streamed to the Solve website and drew thousands of viewers from around the world. The day-long event featured a performance by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, an exercise break led by Olympian Pita Taufatofua, and discussions with notable speakers including General Motors Chairman and CEO, Mary Barra; MIT President L. Rafael Reif; and former Astronaut Cady Coleman. In the virtual environment, guests attended a series of plenary and breakout sessions. Facilitated sessions and social entrepreneur expo booths allowed the community to share ideas on-camera, while the networking function of the site paired event attendees and Solver teams together for one-on-one discussions.
In the wake of COVID-19 shuttering campus, Empire worked with the Solve team to shift quickly from an in-person to wholly virtual event. Empire’s scope of work included consulting on run-of-show development, speaker advance, graphics package build-out, Hopin system buildout and testing, staff training, how-to video creation, technical production, broadcast, simulcast to multiple outlets, and the guest’s virtual experience.
Empire is a leading producer of virtual and digital events and we strive to deliver the same high production value, immersive and interactive qualities we are known for in live events to virtual audiences.
Please contact us for more information on Virtual Events and to request a copy of the Empire Virtual Events Guide.
Guests received their first taste of technological innovation at registration, where they were welcomed by name on a reactive LED screen installation covering the full width of the entry wall. A large lunch café was created with a décor scheme that incorporated custom-built, ceiling-high steel LED frames draped with foliage to create smaller, intimate restaurant-style spaces that displayed both technology and nature.
A series of breakout sessions presented content targeted to attendees’ varied interests, while imagery displayed throughout the venue showcased real-life applications of how products designed to empower developers help to unleash the power of data and reimagine possibilities that will improve our world.
Every element of Microsoft Connect(); from registration, breakfast and keynote, to lunch and evening cocktails, were custom-designed to communicate exacting brand messaging and to deliver a high-touch guest experience to this important audience. The keynote and breakout sessions were livestreamed through an onsite studio built for this purpose and content was watched online by millions around the world.
Empire is proud to collaborate with Microsoft on this annual, top-tier business communication event.
To view excerpts of Connect(); 2017, please visit https://www.microsoft.com/connectevent
