The Z Files: Record-Breaking National Meeting and a Can't Miss Summer Lineup

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The Z Files: Record-Breaking National Meeting and a Can't Miss Summer Lineup

May 27, 2024

A big salute to our fallen heroes as we celebrate Memorial Day! It is important to honor those who gave so much for our freedom.

Memorial Day also marks the kickoff to summer, and while you’ll hopefully have a chance to relax and enjoy the season, rest assured your FLC will still be delivering content. There’s no summer break for our programming, events and more, and we hope to see and hear from you.

First, let’s take a quick look back at the National Meeting held in Dallas in April. Those who arrived early were treated to a spectacular total solar eclipse. The celestial spectacle was followed by a different kind of phenomenon: Nearly 400 people attended Training Day courses and a record 553 people convened for the National Meeting, surpassing the previous year’s record of 523 people. The meeting was packed with top-quality content, which showed in the overall satisfaction scores in follow-up surveys.

We have heard from many members about next year’s National Meeting, and message received on the timing for the event. We will continue working on setting dates and a location, as we talk with hotels to book far in advance at a government rate.

With the National Meeting came the release of an updated FLC Business, the powerful search tool to find licensable technologies, patents, researchers and more. If you haven’t visited FLC Business in the last few months, it is definitely worth a look. The updated version contains more business analysis on related companies and some ecosystem mapping of adjacent areas that can be useful to the Office of Research and Technology Applications as well as partners looking at the site.

Another recent landmark was the launch of the FLC’s podcast, The Transfer Files: Inside the World of Federal Innovation. The newest episode features guests from a range of labs and agencies discussing a joint FLC effort at BIO 2024. New episodes will be available on the first and third Tuesdays of each month. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform, and look out for the next episode on June 4.

From our brand-new podcast to a longtime favorite, it’s time again to submit for the FLC Planner. The Planner spotlights our member labs and their successes in a vibrant 14-month wall calendar that took the gold in the 2022 AM&P Network EXCEL Awards. Submissions to the FLC Planner are open through July 31! Please check the FLC website for details on how to submit. The Planner is a very popular item that is sent to a wide and diverse audience, making it a great opportunity to show off your lab in pictures.

As for summer plans, we have quite a few FLC offerings over the next few months. Hopefully, you can find some time to join in. Upcoming events are featured in an email each Monday, which we recently consolidated to spare your inbox, and you can always find the events schedule and details on the FLC events page. A few highlights coming up:

Stay tuned for more events as the details are confirmed. We host monthly professional development webinars and Member Connect meetings. Please let us know if you would like your lab featured in a Lab Showcase.

I expect by the next column we will have information about the next National Meeting. There is certainly a lot of activity over the next few months, so hopefully you can still squeeze in a little rest and relaxation over the summer.

 

Paul Zielinski, Executive Director FLC