Professional Development Week 2025
Schedule of Events

Webinars occur daily Monday - Friday at:

11:00 AM ET
1:00 PM ET

Tuesday, January 21

11:00 - 12:00 PM ET

Session 1: Introduction to Organizational Change Management

Explore the fundamentals of OCM and its critical role in successful systems implementations and enhancements. We’ll discuss key concepts, frameworks, and the importance of aligning organizational culture with change initiatives. Participants will engage in discussions about common challenges and opportunities in managing change effectively.

1:00 - 2:00 PM ET

Turning Tough Talks into Productive Conversations

This presentation explores strategies for navigating difficult conversations effectively. It provides practical tools for approaching sensitive topics with clarity and empathy, helping individuals to communicate openly while maintaining respect and understanding. The focus is on balancing communication of difficult topics with active listening, managing emotions, and fostering constructive dialogue, ensuring that challenging conversations lead to positive outcomes. Participants will learn techniques to address conflict, provide feedback, and handle disagreements in a way that strengthens relationships and encourages mutual respect.

Learning Objectives: 

  1. Provide approaches for tough talks.
  2. Achieve positive outcomes.
  3. Express empathy while minimizing negative emotional behavior.

Presenter:

Susan Behn, Oracle Ace Director-EBS and Cloud Applications, CherryRoad Technologies

Wednesday, January 22

11:00 - 12:00 PM ET

Master the Stage: Secrets to Becoming an Exceptional Presenter

Our panelists are regular speakers at OATUG events. They will share with you tips and tricks that make them exceptional presenters. Drawing insights from Timothy Koegel’s Become an Exceptional Presenter and Simon Sinek’s groundbreaking lecture The Art of Presentation, this panel discussion unravels the principles that separate good presenters from truly extraordinary ones. You will learn actionable strategies to enhance clarity, confidence and charisma along with focusing on critical areas such as structuring content for maximum impact, mastering non-verbal communication and leveraging storytelling to captivate your audience.

Learning Objectives:

  1. Master audience-centric communication by aligning your message with your audience's needs and values, ensuring your presentations resonate deeply and drive meaningful engagement.
  2. Enhance delivery and presence by developing skills to improve confidence, clarity, and non-verbal communication, creating a commanding presence that captivates and inspires.
  3. Craft impactful narrative by understanding the power of storytelling in presentations and learn to structure content for maximum emotional and intellectual impact.

Presenters:

Mohan Dutt, OATUG Board Secretary
Lee Edwards, HRIS Analyst, EOG Resources, Inc.
Manish Naik, Director, Industry Solutions, Infosys Limited

1:00 - 2:00 PM ET

Assertive Communication

This presentation offers assertive communication strategies, focusing mainly on verbal interactions, to help individuals communicate in a way that is both respectful and direct. The goal is to achieve a balance between passive and aggressive communication styles, promoting clarity and confidence while maintaining consideration for others.

Learning Objectives:

Improve communication outcomes, increase confidence, reduce conflict and tension, achieve positive outcomes

Presenters:

Kate Bowden, Director, Enterprise Solutions-Tax Technology, Avalara 
Susan Behn, Oracle Ace Director-EBS and Cloud Applications, CherryRoad Technologies

Thursday, January 23

11:00 - 12:00 PM ET

Boost Productivity with Generative AI: Unlock Innovation, Efficiency and Work Smarter in the Digital Age

Generative AI is revolutionizing the way we work, offering unparalleled opportunities to enhance productivity, drive innovation and streamline work. This turbo talk explores how individuals can harness the power of generative AI tools to unlock new levels of efficiency and creativity. From automating repetitive tasks to generating insightful data analysis, content creation, and personalized customer experiences, generative AI enables smarter, faster decision-making. We'll discuss real-world applications, best practices, and strategies for integrating these tools into your daily operations. Join us to discover how generative AI can transform your approach to work, empower your team and redefine success in the digital age.

Learning Objectives: 

  1. Explore foundational concepts, capabilities, and benefits of generative AI tools to enhance productivity and foster innovation across diverse industries. 
  2. Learn how to integrate generative AI for content creation, data analysis, task automation, and personalized customer experiences to achieve efficiency.
  3. Gain insights into best practices and strategies to overcome challenges while leveraging generative AI in the workplace.

Presenters:

Mohan Dutt, OATUG Board Secretary
Divit Gupta, Oracle

1:00 - 2:00 PM ET

How to Kick Your Career into Overdrive – Benefits of Presenting with OATUG

This presentation will cover the benefits of presenting for a user group.  We will cover how it helps you build credibility and establish yourself as an expert in the Oracle field, enhancing your personal brand. It’s a powerful networking tool that allows you to connect with like-minded professionals, potential collaborators, and industry leaders.
You’ll develop valuable skills, such as public speaking, clear communication, and audience engagement. Presentations also offer a chance to receive constructive feedback, gain fresh perspectives, and stay updated on industry trends.
For partners and associates, it’s an excellent way to showcase consulting services, build trust, and generate leads. Sharing your knowledge also helps give back to the community, fostering goodwill and encouraging others to grow.
Lastly, presenting enhances your professional growth, adding valuable experience to your resume and positioning you as a thought leader in your niche. Whether for personal or business goals, presentations are a highly effective way to share, connect, and grow.
 
Learning Objectives:
  1. Understanding all the key advantages of OATUG membership.
  2. Learning a presenter “Roadmap” that makes sure you're covering all key aspects of what to do after you are accepted to speak.
  3. How to have fun while presenting.

Panelists:

Mike Jones, OATUG Director of Education

Friday, January 24

11:00 - 12:00 PM ET

Project Management in Today's Complex Cloud and On-Premise World

In this day and age, Enterprise Application projects should not be over-complicated - we have been there before and we will do it again! With the continued growth of Cloud SaaS, Enterprise Applications running on cloud services (lifts of EBS to OCI, Azure, Google, etc.) as well as on-premise, the activities and tasks required for a successful migration, upgrade or implementation to a "Cloud Service" should be clearly understood and success achievable! This presentation will focus on a project management method used to ensure a successful project. We will review and break down the Project Methods, Conference Room Pilot (CRP) Method phases, activities, tasks and work products to support cloud projects. Open discussion with highly experienced panel members.

Learning Objectives:

  1. Learn about the activities and tasks necessary to migrate your on-premise applications to cloud services (OCI, Azure, etc.)
  2. Learn about the setting strategy, using a project method, specifically discuss methods, typical phases, activities, and tasks to ensure a successful cloud services project
  3. Learn about validating requirements, testing iterations, user story/process definition, developing scripts and scenarios to validate product selection, as well as criteria to validate cloud services"

Presenter:

Bill Dunham, Oracle Ace, OATC, inc. 

1:00 - 2:00 PM ET

Networking and Thriving Through Change

In a rapidly evolving world, professionals face the dual challenge of managing change and advancing amidst shrinking budgets. Join us for an engaging networking session, starting with an interactive icebreaker to foster connections. We’ll then dive into a discussion on how to navigate uncertainty, build resilience, and drive progress even in resource-constrained environments. Connect with your peers and actionable insights and inspiration to adapt and thrive in your career.