MVP Community Connection 2017: Belgrade

MVP Community Connection 2017 is in full swing around the globe, and so far it’s been a total success! Formally known as MVP Open Days, the events are an opportunity for MVP communities to gather together, learn new skills, and celebrate everything being an MVP has to offer.

At the beginning of this month, the MVP and RD communities in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) gathered for their own Community Connection event Belgrade, Serbia. More than 100 MVP and RDs from the CEE region - as well as many more Microsoft leaders - came together at the beautifully architected Falkensteiner Hotel in Belgrade to participate in the inspiring community.

This year’s event focused on soft skills rather than technical ones, and gave community members the opportunity to share their experiences as technical experts, participate in team building activities to develop new skills, and learn about Microsoft DX priorities. Participants even got to play with some lego, and go on an evening boat cruise around the city. 

The full-day event was jammed packed with informative sessions and discussions, and featured a total of 12 MVP and community leader speakers from around the world - topics ranged from an overview of the IoT scene in CEE, to how to organize a successful hackathon. Even more, participants had the chance to gain insights from Global MVP Program Manager Karen Juhl, CEE DX Lead Alexander Lozhechkin, and CEE TE Lead Laurent Ellerbach.

The following day, the CEE community was also invited to join in on a Diversity & Inclusion/Women in Tech meeting, as well as attend the Tarabica #IT Conference - a huge IT-community conference driven in part by MVPs.

All in all, MVP Community Connection 2017 in Belgrade got some amazing feedback - one participant even called the event ‘a paradise for the brain.’ If that’s not a great reaction, we don’t know what is!