Attendee Checklist

Last Revised May 20, 2022

Once you have made the decision to attend DEFSEC Atlantic in-person, please review the following checklist:

1. Registration for all attendees this year will be completely online and on an individual basis.  The process to follow is:
    
   
   1. Review the information on what the attendee categories are this year and figure out which you should register under. Click here to start getting the information you need.
       
   2. Once you have started your registration, fill out the basic contact information (and other info screens depending on your category) and then decide on options being offered as part of the registration process.  It is important to note that this year that no attendee passes of any kind automatically include any meals. Hence options are:
       
      1. Lunch Options
         There will be no on-site lunches this year. There are well over 20 restaurants just within a 3-block radius of the Halifax Convention Centre and even more just outside of that distance. We also expect to again have Partner Restaurants where if you show your DEFSEC Atlantic name badge, they will offer a discount.  Click here to view the list of participating restaurants.
          
         The only option we will offer for food service is for Exhibitors who will be given the option to have a "box lunch style" meal delivered directly to their booth.  This option will be available to exhibitor employees when they register in the Online Registration System.
          
      2. Official DEFSEC Atlantic Receptions
         Both of our official receptions will be taking place in-person this year. Your attendance at the receptions will be determined by the type of attendee pass you have. If your pass allows for you to attend a specific reception, it will appear as a screen in your registration process and will also be available for you to add to your itinerary. If you are eligible to attend, we would ask that when coming to these screens in the registration process that you indicate (to the best of your knowledge) whether or not you are planning to attend that particular reception.
          
      3. Atlantic Canada Aerospace & Defence Association (ACADA) Dinner & Awards Presentation
         A popular event that takes place the Wednesday evening each year alongside DEFSEC Atlantic that creates a platform for Atlantic Aerospace and Defence member businesses to be showcased. Attendees typically include key national and international industry members, military and government representatives and delegates.  The evening typically features a reception, high-quality meal, speakers & entertainment and presentation of the ACADA Industry Excellence Recognition Awards (AIERA).  You will have the option to purchase an individual ticket for this event directly through our registration process this year. Click here for more details.
          
2. Make arrangements for transportation to the venue: Depending on where you are coming from, this could be as simple as driving and parking OR as complex as flying and getting transportation to downtown Halifax upon arrival.
    
   
   1. If you are travelling from outside of Canada, make sure that you are aware of the requirements for entering into Canada: https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/covid-vaccinated-travellers-entering-canada
       
      
   2. If you are travelling from within Canada, but outside Nova Scotia, there are no longer any restrictions.
       
3. If necessary, book your accommodations as early as possible to ensure availability. To find out more details about our partner hotel and to book your room, click here.
    
4. The next steps all involve our integrated technology platforms.  It should be noted that once they have launched, ALL technology platforms EXCEPT the B2B Meetings Platform will have their content available right up until the end of October. The technologies are:
    
   1. One feature that is available right away as part of the Online Registration System & Presentations Web Platform will be the Itinerary/My Schedule module.  This feature allows you to choose from a variety of "sessions" listed in the master schedule which you can then add to create your own personalized schedule which you can continue to update and eventually access in multiple ways including on-site at the event. You can continually update your content in this module all the way through the dates of our event.
       
      As with ALL of the modules built into the web platform, you will have access to them as soon as you register online and at the same time create a login/password combination in order to log back into the platform. This platform is optimized and highly recommended to be used and viewed on computers (PC or MAC), but can also be viewed on mobile devices such as phones and tablets, however the viewing experience is not ideal on portable devices.
       
   2. The next portion of our technologies that will launch shortly after will be the Digital Exhibit Hall and Floorplan module.  This is built into the Online Registration System & Presentations Web Platform.  It will essentially be a planning tool that lists ALL of the participating exhibiting and sponsoring companies, as well as their corresponding locations within the two exhibition halls. You can use this tool to review information on each company, access any downloads they have available and "put them in your briefcase" so you can create a list that you can then either print off or e-mail to yourself for easy reference while at the live event.
       
      
   3. The last section built into the Online Registration System & Presentations Web Platform is the Video Presentations module. All presentations this year are planned to be in-person in the ACADA Presentation Pavilion. However, to give presentation access to all of our attendees (including virtual), we will also be recording all of them and then making them available shortly after as on-demand videos via this module. There may also be on-demand ONLY videos, which we would make available using this module.
      
      To use this module, you will have the ability to add them into your personalized schedule.  In fact, in order to view any presentation, you MUST first add it into your personalized itinerary.  Once we have made a particular video availabel to be viewed on-demand, you will see a link appear to the right on that video title that will then open and play that video for you.
       
   4. The next technology platform to launch will be the B2B Meetings Platform.  If you plan to participate in our facilitated B2B/B2G Program, whether online or on-site, it is critical to make sure that you register for this online platform.  Just as the system is launched, all registered attendees will be sent an invite e-mail to register and setup their own personal account on the B2B Meetings Platform. Any attendees that register after the launch date should receive their invite e-mail within a business day of completing their initial registration.
      
      The platform combines matchmaking, scheduling, and browser-integrated video conferencing (for virtual meetings) all into one site.  As well, the platform will facilitate the in-person meetings at our event.  Besides being able to video conference online through the site, we will also have three large rooms inside the Halifax Convention Centre dedicated to B2B/B2G meetings known as the "ACADA B2B Zone". Inside them are 20 dedicated 10' x 10' divided spaces which will be setup for both in-person and hybrid meetings on Wednesday, October 5 and Thursday, October 6.  This platform is planned to be launched approximately 4 weeks before the event week, so attendees will have a chance to find each other, make connections and plan arranged meetings using the system on the event days.
       
   5. The final technology to launch will be our Mobile Event App. Once this is launched, you will be able to download this app and then log into it using the same e-mail and password combination that you use to access our Online Registration System & Presentations Web Platform. 

      For many years, we always had a printed version of our Show Guide, which was the central document we handed out to everyone that contained all of the details of our event and was a useful tool both during and after the event. However, being printed, small portions of it were often out of date due to last minute changes that can happen at virtually every event. A big advantage of going digital is that it can be constantly updated in terms of its content right though the event dates and include real-time messaging and announcements during the event week itself.

      Our Mobile App is designed to run on mobile devices (both Android and iOS based). The app is fully featured and provides more resources and tools than its historical counterpart. The other added bonus of this technology is that it can be used by both those people attending in-person AND by those attending ONLY virtually. Along with the Web Platform plus all its modules and the B2B Meetings Platform, it creates a powerful trio of tools to help attendees communicate and collaborate.

      A full list of the available tools can be found by clicking here.
       
5. Correspondingly with the technologies we make available, then plan your activities taking place while on-site at our event. These can include:
    
   
   1. Visiting both of the exhibition halls and viewing the exhibiting company booths.
       
      
   2. Participating in networking opportunities and social events.
       
      
   3. Attending the presentations and panels in-person, and watching what you missed or would like to view again via the on-demand videos.
       
      
   4. Meeting with other attendees, both in-person and virtually to conduct and develop your business.
       
      
   5. Take note of several peripheral/related activities taking place during the week of DEFSEC Atlantic and participate in those that interest you.
       
      
   6. And enjoy the warm hospitality of the people of Halifax and Nova Scotia in general!
       
6. If you have any specific questions about the event that this attendee checklist does not address or require further clarification, please contact the DEFSEC Atlantic Registration Desk. We will do our very best to assist you and answer your questions!

If you have any questions, please e-mail registration@defsecatlantic.ca.