The SharePoint Collaboration and Governance Masterclass took place in Sydney this week … Tuesday December 1 to be exact. 22 people from Sydney, Queensland, Perth, Melbourne and Tasmania converged on the beautiful Hilton on George Street, for a day of learning and exploration about using SharePoint effectively for collaboration. I had a great day … it was neat to have an opportunity to offer concepts and ideas, to facilitate discussion, and to encourage participation. And from the look of the feedback forms, the attendees had a great day too … and left with much to put into practice.

As I said, the masterclass was held at the Hilton Sydney on George Street. Wow, what a place! I hadn’t organized my own masterclasses before Tuesday, and I felt that the Hilton made me look really good in front of the attendees. The food, in particular, was outstanding! So … highly recommended! I’ll be working with them again, for future masterclasses in Sydney.

I took David, my 13 year son, with me. He’d never been out of New Zealand prior to this week, so it was a big step for him. David set up the registration desk on Tuesday morning, welcomed the attendees, gave out the masterclass packs, and then helped with various jobs during the day. He sat in the class for the entire day … which is a feat I’m unsure I could have done at 13. Well done David!

A couple of final points:
– There were a few tweets during the day. See #spcollab on Twitter.
– Given that I had to carry a laptop and data projector, as well as books to Sydney, I purchased the Timbuk2 Patrol back pack to make it work. It is a great bag, and it performed flawlessly. Highly recommended.
– David and I did some sightseeing on Wednesday, before heading back to New Zealand. The highlight for me was going to the National Maritime Museum, and getting the opportunity to walk through a Navy submarine. That was really cool! If was a bit more spacey, I’d suggest holding future masterclasses on board!