Convincing your boss to send you to linux.conf.au
Introduction
So, you've heard about how awesome linux.conf.au is and want to register? Great! But, there's a downside. You don't think you can afford to send yourself, and would like to get your work / organisation / company to fund your attendance?
NOTE: If all else fails, you might want to check out our hobbyist and student registrations. All the same amazing talks at a great low price, they might be what you're looking for.
Perhaps you have an amazing boss who understands the learning, connections and motivating experience you'll have spending a week with other like-minded technical enthusiasts. Unfortunately some of you have Pointy Haired Bosses. We empathise.
In either case you might have to put together some form of justification - like a business case - that then has to be circulated to the HR and Management peeps before you can book out 16-20th January in your calendar, pack your bags full of awesome and join us.
So, to help you out and reduce the amount of tedious paper-pushing you have to do to be part of linux.conf.au, we've produced a few paragraphs below which we encourage you to re-use or re-purpose to appease those Pointy Haired Bosses.
Example Arguments
linux.conf.au hosts over 70 presentations from well-regarded speakers in the free and open source software (FOSS) community. Topics range from deeply technical investigations of particular architectures, programming languages, software packages or hardware components - to broad strategic issues such as copyright and patents and partnering with media and government to foster innovation.
Special interest sessions - known as Miniconfs - are also held on one day of the conference. These allow delegates with a deep interest in a particular field - such as open hardware - to share knowledge, build connections and network with others.
The full session details are also available online.
The learning and hence competitive advantages delivered to the funding organisation by delegates who attend linux.conf.au include the following:
- Greater access to the wealth of knowledge and experience represented in the Linux and FOSS community through networking, exchange of contact details and relationship building
- Greater awareness and understanding of both mature and nascent/emerging technologies, allowing delegates to identify which technologies may be worthy of further exploration or adoption by their parent organisation
- Greater awareness and understanding of issues affecting the Linux and FOSS community, such as patent and copyright legislation
- Enhanced technical competence and capability through attending sessions which are run as tutorials
Other events which could be included in a trip to Victoria, Australia
If you're travelling a significant distance - such as overseas - to be with us at linux.conf.au, well then you're pretty awesome! It's also a lot harder to get funding to go overseas, so we've listed some other events which you might want to include in a trip to Victoria, Australia around the same time.
- Drupal Downunder: Drupal Downunder is the premier Drupal conference in the Southern Hemisphere, and will feature a raft of exciting keynotes, including Dries Buytaert - the original creator of Drupal and project lead.
- PHP Melbourne User Group: PHP Melbourne User group meets on the third Monday night of each month, and hosts talks by local developers on a wide range of topics.
- Melbourne Perl Mongers: Melbourne Perl Mongers meet on the third Wednesday night of each month, and host talks by local Perl developers on a range of topics.
- The Eighth Asia-Pacific Conference on Conceptual Modelling (APCCM 2012): The Asia-Pacific Conferences on Conceptual Modelling provide an annual forum for disseminating the results of innovative research in information modelling and related areas.
Tax deduction
Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you choose to view the situation, we're not qualified accountants. This means we can't give you tax advice. If you would like a professional opinion on whether you're able to claim linux.conf.au and/or related expenses as a tax deduction, you will need to consult with your accountant. We can advise you however to ensure you retain all your receipts for tax purposes!