Category Archives: Gov/Mil News

Gov/Mil News on GovEvents Blog includes editorials and media pertaining directly to current events happening in Government & Military.

Predictions Check-in: Big Data

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In our predictions article, we highlighted Big Data as a hot topic for 2015. Looks like we were not the only ones pinpointing this topic as critical for the IT community. It has made a number of 2015 trends/predictions lists. One article though jumped out at us. An Information Week article looking at Big Data trends specifically called out the proliferation of education opportunities as a key trend in late 2014 and moving into 2015.[Tweet "Big Data education opportunities still a key trend"]

On our site alone we have 60+ upcoming events that are Big Data specific. As the Information Week article points out, many of these are offered by vendors looking to fill the void of big data expertise and academics. But it seems the lack of academic study of Big Data is being addressed in a number of online courses and degree programs.  Continue reading →

What happened with the GSA in Vegas stymies federal workers

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From time to time GovEvents will come across information we feel our members and audience would benefit from. Here's something we wanted to share:

Originally posted on washingtonpost.com By Lisa Rein

When federal employees get together for training and meetings, fancy lunches aren't on the menu anymore. In fact, food of any kind -- tuna fish sandwiches, green salad, oatmeal cookies -- can no longer be served by the government. Even coffee is off-limits.

Scientists at the Food and Drug Administration and other agencies say they can no longer travel to academic conferences to present their research.

And mental-health workers at military hospitals say they are in danger of losing their licenses because they can't attend refresher courses.

Three years after the Obama administration clamped down on travel and training in response to the uproar over a Las Vegas conference where hundreds of federal workers partied for four days at taxpayer expense, the restrictions are taking an unanticipated toll. Employees at a wide range of agencies say the rules are gumming up the machinery of government. Continue reading →

Firefighter, Soldier, Police Officer…Event Planner?

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Forbes recently released its annual summary of the most stressful jobs and coming in at number eight was event coordinator.[Tweet "Most stressful jobs... Number 8: Event Coordinator"] Those of us who have planned events, whether every day or once in a while, know there is a lot of pressure in making sure everything goes just right on event day. While errors are not life threatening as in the other professions listed, the adrenaline rush that comes from knowing you only get one chance to make it right is considerable. Add in the stress leading up to the event - are enough people registered? Why haven't all of the speakers sent in their slides? What if a giant storm hits right before the event? - and the ranking of the profession starts to make sense.

Continue reading →

How Millennials Are Changing the Meeting Industry

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As we highlighted in an earlier post, there is a clear desire in government to attract younger workers from the millennial generation. Whether the federal government is successful in attracting the best and the brightest remains to be seen, but the truth is [Tweet "Millennials will continue to grow in the workforce. What does this mean for event profs?"]millennials will continue to grow in number and influence in the workforce. So what does this mean for business event professionals?

This article does a decent job in breaking down the key elements that millennials expect in an event. Continue reading →

Millennials and the Future of the Federal Workforce

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There has been considerable coverage of the aging federal workforce and the desire to attract millennials (people born from 1980-1994) to a career in public service.

This generation is said to [Tweet "Millennials value a feeling of knowing the work they are doing is meaningful and making an impact."]value a feeling of knowing that the work they are doing is meaningful and is making an impact on the community or world at large. With this in mind, public service jobs seem tailor made for these eager and idealistic workers of the future. Why then, is the government struggling to recruit them? Much of it comes down to a culture change in how the government does business. From reporting across the web on this topic, we've pulled out what we feel are three of the most critical areas for change and focus. Continue reading →