Attending for the first time?
Everything you need to know before your first Leadership Summit
Whether you’re a laboratory manager, director, safety professional, scientist, or executive leader, your first Leadership Summit is designed to be welcoming, engaging, and immediately valuable.
From collaborative workshops and networking events to educational leadership sessions and peer discussions, you’ll leave with new ideas, new connections, and new strategies to help move your lab forward.
More than a conference
What makes the Leadership Summit different?
The Leadership Summit was intentionally designed to be different from traditional conferences.
Instead of spending three days sitting in lecture halls, you’ll participate in discussions, workshops, roundtables, networking events, and collaborative learning experiences that encourage conversation and idea sharing.
Attendees consistently tell us that one of the most valuable parts of the event is the opportunity to connect with people who understand the unique challenges of leading laboratory teams.
Interactive workshops
Work through real leadership and operational challenges in hands-on sessions designed for active participation. Gain practical skills and approaches you can apply in your lab.
Peer discussions
Exchange ideas with lab leaders who understand the challenges you face. Hear how others are approaching similar situations and learn from experiences across different laboratory environments.
Networking events
Build meaningful relationships through receptions, meals, breaks, and other opportunities intentionally designed for connection. Meet peers you can continue learning from long after the Summit ends.
Practical takeaways
Return to your lab with actionable ideas, tools, and strategies—not just pages of notes. Apply what you learn to strengthen your team, improve operations, and tackle real challenges.
Leadership development
Build the skills and confidence to lead more effectively at every stage of your career. Explore new approaches to communication, decision-making, people management, and organizational leadership.
Industry connections
Connect with solution providers, technology innovators, and service partners who understand the needs of modern laboratories. Discover resources and solutions that can help your lab operate more effectively.
Who attends?
You’ll be in good company
The Leadership Summit attracts professionals from a wide range of laboratory environments, including:
- Clinical laboratories
- Research laboratories
- Academic institutions
- Government laboratories
- Pharmaceutical organizations
- Industrial laboratories
- Environmental laboratories
Whether you’re leading a small team or overseeing large-scale operations, you’ll find peers facing many of the same challenges you encounter every day.
- Laboratory managers
- Laboratory directors
- QA/QC leaders
- Safety professionals
- Research scientists
- Operations managers
- Technical leaders
- Executives and decision-makers
what your summit experience might look like
What can I expect?
Three days. Plenty of opportunities to learn, connect, and grow. From hands-on experiences and meaningful conversations to practical sessions you can put to work back in your lab, each day builds on the next while leaving plenty of room to make the experience your own.
Day 1
Connect with fellow attendees, participate in expert-led workshops or tour ARUP Laboratories, and kick off the event at the networking reception.
Day 2
Attend leadership-focused sessions, engage in discussions, explore new ideas, and build relationships with peers and industry partners.
Day 3
Dive deeper into operational challenges, leadership strategies, and emerging trends before heading home with ideas you can put into action.
Making connections comes naturally
Networking without the awkwardness
One of the biggest concerns first-time attendees have is networking.
The good news? The Leadership Summit is intentionally designed to make networking easy.
Through workshops, roundtables, meals, receptions, and collaborative discussions, attendees have opportunities to connect throughout the event without the pressure of formal networking environments.
Many attendees arrive without knowing anyone and leave with valuable professional connections that continue long after the event ends.
What will I take back to my lab?
Leave with practical ideas you can use immediately
Every session, workshop, and discussion is designed to help attendees solve real laboratory challenges.
Topics frequently explored include:
- Team leadership
- Communication
- Operational efficiency
- Effective decision-making
- AI and emerging technologies
- Compliance and risk management
- Organizational change
- Strategic planning
You’ll leave with actionable ideas, practical tools, and fresh perspectives that can be applied immediately within your organization.
First-time attendee tips
Make the most of your experience
A little preparation can go a long way toward helping you get the most value from your first Leadership Summit.
Many attendees arrive wondering how to make meaningful connections, which sessions to prioritize, or how to turn three days of learning into lasting impact back at their organizations. The good news is that the Summit is designed to make participation easy, whether you’re naturally outgoing or prefer a more structured approach to networking and learning.
Here are a few simple ways to maximize your experience:
Attend the networking receptions
One of the easiest ways to meet fellow attendees. Everyone is there to connect, and many lasting professional relationships begin during these informal gatherings.
Participate in roundtables
The most useful takeaways often happen during group discussions. Don’t be afraid to share your experiences or ask questions—chances are others are facing similar challenges.
Download the event app
Connect with attendees before you arrive, build your schedule, and stay informed about sessions, activities, and networking opportunities throughout the event.
Introduce yourself to someone new
A simple introduction during the lab tour or over a meal can lead to valuable insights, new perspectives, and professional connections that continue long after the Summit ends.
Ask questions
Speakers are accessible and encourage interaction. Taking part in Q&A sessions often leads to deeper learning and more meaningful conversations.
Take notes with action in mind
As you attend sessions and workshops, jot down ideas you can implement when you return to your lab. Small changes often lead to meaningful improvements.
Visit sponsor and exhibitor areas
Industry partners often provide valuable insights, solutions, and resources that can help address challenges you’re facing in your organization.
Bring business cards—or connect digitally
You’ll meet people you’ll want to stay connected with. Exchanging contact information makes it easy to continue conversations and build your professional network after the event.
Follow up after the Summit
One of the most valuable things you can do is reconnect with the people you met. A quick email or LinkedIn message can turn a brief conversation into a lasting professional relationship.
meet the experts
Meet the people you’ll be learning from
Leadership Summit speakers bring real-world experience leading laboratory teams, solving operational challenges, and navigating change. Get to know the experts, practitioners, and experienced lab leaders who will share practical insights, lessons learned, and strategies you can bring back to your own organization.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions from first-time attendees
Have questions about attending your first Leadership Summit? Find answers to some of the most common questions about planning your experience, registration, workshops, lab tours, and what to expect.
Absolutely. The Leadership Summit attracts laboratory professionals at many stages of their leadership journey, from first-time managers and team leads to laboratory directors, executives, and decision-makers. Attendees come to learn from one another, share experiences, and gain practical strategies they can apply within their own organizations.
Yes. Many attendees come on their own and quickly build connections through workshops, networking events, meals, and roundtable discussions. The Summit is intentionally designed to encourage interaction, making it easy to meet people and build your professional network.
Attendees come from a wide range of laboratory environments, including clinical, research, academic, pharmaceutical, environmental, government, industrial, and commercial laboratories. This diversity creates valuable opportunities to learn from different perspectives and approaches.
Networking is a major part of the Summit experience, but it happens naturally throughout the event. From workshops and roundtables to meals, receptions, and discussion sessions, you’ll have many opportunities to connect with peers without feeling like you’re attending a formal networking event.
No. The Summit is designed to provide flexibility, allowing attendees to choose the sessions, networking opportunities, and optional add-on experiences that best align with their interests and goals.
Business casual attire is appropriate for most Summit activities. We also recommend comfortable shoes, as you’ll be moving between sessions, networking events, and other activities throughout the day.
Six optional workshops are offered on Monday, April 12, before the main conference program gets underway. Choose from three morning workshops from 9:00–11:15 a.m. and three afternoon workshops from 1:30–3:45 p.m., covering topics such as capital planning, safety culture, Lean Six Sigma, knowledge management, incident learning, and collaborative decision-making.
Workshops are $189 each and require a separate add-on ticket. You can attend one morning and one afternoon workshop, or pair a morning workshop with the afternoon ARUP Laboratories tour. Space is limited, so we recommend reserving your preferred experiences early. Explore workshops
Yes. One of the things attendees consistently appreciate about the Leadership Summit is the accessibility of speakers. Many presenters participate in networking events, discussions, and informal conversations throughout the event.
The optional ARUP Laboratories tour takes place Monday afternoon and gives attendees behind-the-scenes access to Building 4, ARUP’s 220,000-square-foot laboratory facility. You’ll get an up-close look at advanced laboratory operations and automation, including a 1.4-mile automated track, high-speed specimen processing, the Automated Core Lab, sort-to-light technology, and a two-story robotic freezer capable of holding more than 2 million specimens.
The tour is a $50 add-on and takes place at the same time as the afternoon workshops, so attendees can participate in a morning workshop and then choose either an afternoon workshop or the ARUP tour. Explore the ARUP Laboratories tour
Workshops are optional add-on experiences available for an additional fee and can be selected during registration. These interactive sessions provide deeper exploration of specific leadership, operational, safety, and management topics through discussion, exercises, practical examples, and direct engagement with instructors and fellow attendees.
Because workshop space is limited, we recommend registering early if there is a particular workshop you’d like to attend.
Most attendees leave with practical ideas, leadership strategies, operational improvements, new professional connections, and actionable takeaways they can implement immediately within their labs.
Yes. Many attendees receive support from their organizations because the Summit focuses on practical leadership development, operational improvement, and professional growth. Resources such as justification letters and group discounts are available to help make the business case for attendance.
Absolutely. The Leadership Summit is designed to be approachable and welcoming for both experienced attendees and those attending a leadership-focused event for the first time. Many attendees tell us their first Summit experience exceeded their expectations and led them to return in future years.