The 15th of October, last Thursday, we attended the professional exhibition SIMO 2018 on Technology for Education (htttp://www.ifema.es/simoeducacion_01/). This was the first time we participated in professional exhibition about this specific field of expertise (education & technology). We had attended other conferences and exhibitions before, but none of them dealt with such an specific topic.
We value the exhibition as a positive and interesting experience. So, we strongly recommend people to attend this exhibition next year and here, we are going to examine the pros and cons:
- Researchers are used to attend conferences and congresses where research is a priority, but in this exhibition innovation was the real deal and this is highlighted at all levels: stands, products, facilities and lectures.
- There were simultaneous lectures that addressed several topics; experiences, projects, proposals… isolated from the scientific framework and poor conclusions that are often restricted by the parameters of prudent methodological strategy that are demanded in research papers. Particularly, I would like to mention interesting conferences that were given by: Patry Santos, Jose Carlos Ruiz y David Álvarez.
- Since it was a profesional exhibition, there was a vast amount of businesses whose main aim was to sell their products and services. Is it bad? Of course, it isn’t. I am supportive about the connection between universities and businesses, mainly due to the fact that often researches are oblivious in the cloud and have no practical application.
- In the end, it is an event where education and technology are the main focus of attention. However, the whole exhibition was too focused on the formal education system (till university), and we do not work on this area (we are involved in non-formal education addressed to adults and seniors).
What I know for sure is that next year I will repeat this wonderful experience, maybe, also as an expositor.
