Society of the Year Awards

All clients and students will have the opportunity to sign onto the plaform, Hopin, before the start of the event for some optional networking. Society members and clients can pop into 1:1 Networking to speak with one another.

Format: All 10 of the winning societies in their firm-sponsored categories, will have the opportunity to present for 5 minutes on their society on why they deserve to win the Overall Society of the Year Award. This will be followed by 2 minutes from the partner firm. 

Format: All 10 of the winning societies in their firm-sponsored categories, will have the opportunity to meet with the firm during a 20-minute session. This will be found under Sessions and we will have set up firm-branded booths for students and reps to click into. You can structure this as Q&A, presentation or a mix of both.

Format: The shortlisted Presidents, for President of the Year, will each have 5 minutes to present on why they deserve the award. 

Format: While the societies listen to an inspirational story from a Bright Network alum, firm representatives will complete their score sheets on the Overall Society of the Year and send them to Bright Network staff. 

The Bright Network host will present the Overall Society of the Year as well as the President of the Year

We are really looking forward to welcoming you to our Bright Network events. Here you will find all the resources you need to navigate our virtual event platform, Hopin.

Hopin tech troubleshooting (most issues with the platform are due to browser incompatibility or company firewalls)

What browser should I use? We recommend attending our online events through your laptop/PC on the most up-to-date version of Chrome or Firefox.  Please avoid Brave, Safari, and Microsoft IE or Edge as these are incompatible. We cannot guarantee it will work on mobile. If you’re having trouble, please have a look at this troubleshooting guide  and ensure your browser has been updated. You can check this here.

Note: Hopin requires recent versions of Chrome or Firefox. Please note, Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge are not compatible with the Hopin platform.

Is there a recommend internet speed? We recommend a minimum of 5mbps download and 2mbps upload. Ideally, we like to see 30mbps download and 10mbps upload or higher for the best quality - test your speed here. If you are having trouble accessing the event, ensure your device is not streaming from any other platforms and restart your computer. Please also review the troubleshooting guide.

Any other tech requirements? For the Networking sessions with Bright Network members, you will need a camera (if your computer has a camera, that will work great) as well as a microphone. We would suggest headphones to reduce echo during networking sessions.

My company has strict security regarding accessibility to certain websites, will this be a problem? We have found that some clients have trouble accessing Hopin, though, this is the minority. We highly recommend that you utilise the test event (link emailed to you/your internal team contact) to test your audio and video. We suggest you use your VPN as well as contact your IT department to whitelist Hopin (*.hopin.to *.tokbox.com *.pusher.com *.herokuapp.com *.mux.com *.twilio.com) if you are having trouble accessing Hopin or testing your audio, video or screen share (for speakers).

If you have whitelisted Hopin and are still having issues, please ask your IT department to open the following ports:

Minimum Requirement:

The minimum requirement is that TCP port 443 is open. Some firewall/proxy rules only allow for SSL traffic over port 443. You will need to make sure that non-web traffic can also pass over this port.

Better Experience:

In addition to the minimum requirements being met, we also recommend that UDP port 3478 is open.

If the above doesn't work, then we also recommend opening UDP ports 1025 - 65535.

Lastly, if none of the above options work, we would highly recommend that you use a personal laptop or smart phone to access the event.

Is there anything else I need in addition to the above mentioned tech? Please ensure you have utilised the test event link to test your audio, video and screen sharing (for skill session/workshop speakers). This will have been sent to you directly or from your internal company contact.

What do I do if my internet crashes during the event? Simply log back into Hopin and rejoin the session you were presenting in. If that doesn’t work, try restarting your computer. If you are still having issues, please review the troubleshooting guide. Additionally, you can always pop into the Bright Network Client Help Desk, which can be found on the Sessions tab on the left side of the Hopin platform or call the Bright Network team (details provided by email).

What do I do if my audio/video isn't working? In the following order:

1. Refresh your browser
2. Ensure your browser's permissions are granted to have access to your camera and microphone (in Chrome, type into the URL bar: chrome://settings/content). If you're on a Mac, ensure your browser has permission to record your screen (open your computer's System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Screen Recording > find your browser in the list and check the box)
3. Quit and relaunch your browser
4. Restart your computer
5. Join the event in a different browser (e.g.: switch from Chrome to Firefox)

What if I need tech support during the event? If this FAQ didn’t answer your question, please have a look at this troubleshooting guide. Additionally, you can always pop into the Bright Network Client Help Desk, which can be found on the Sessions tab on the left side of the Hopin platform or call the Bright Network team (details provided by email).

What is the dress code? We are very flexible on this as we understand each company will have a different company culture when it comes to dress code. Please feel free to wear what you are most comfortable in. Please note we ask students to attend our events in business smart.

What do I do if my internet crashes during the event? Simply log back into Hopin and you can navigate to rejoin the session you were presenting in. If that doesn’t work, try restarting your computer. If you are still having issues, please review the troubleshooting guide. Additionally, you can always pop into the Bright Network Client Help Desk, which can be found on the Sessions tab on the left side of the Hopin platform or call the Bright Network team (details provided by email).

What do I do if my audio/video isn't working? In the following order:

1. Refresh your browser
2. Ensure your browser's permissions are granted to have access to your camera and microphone (in Chrome, type into the URL bar: chrome://settings/content). If you're on a Mac, ensure your browser has permission to record your screen (open your computer's System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Screen Recording > find your browser in the list and check the box)
3. Quit and relaunch your browser
4. Restart your computer
5. Join the event in a different browser (e.g.: switch from Chrome to Firefox)

What if I need support during the event? If this FAQ didn’t answer your question, please have a look at this troubleshooting guide. Additionally, you can always pop into the Bright Network Client Help Desk, which can be found on the Sessions tab on the left side of the Hopin platform or call the Bright Network team (details provided by email).

How do the presentations work?

Format: All 10 of the winning societies in their firm-sponsored categories, will have the opportunity to present for 5 minutes on their society on why they deserve to win the Overall Society of the Year Award. This will be followed by 2 minutes from the partner firm

Presentation: Representatives are encouraged to prepare a 2 minute speech while will be streamed from Zoom. This can be pre-recorded or done live.

How does the networking work?

Format: All 10 of the winning societies in their firm-sponsored categories, will have the opportunity to meet with the firm during a 20-minute session. This will be found under Sessions and will have set up firm-branded booths for students and reps to click into. You can structure this as Q&A, presentation or a mix of both.

How does the Chat feature work? Chat allows attendees/clients to communicate with one another throughout the event. If you write a message in Chat, everyone at the event can see it. Messages in Chat should strictly be about content. During networking or sessions, you are able to toggle between the main event chat and the session/networking chat. The session/networking chat box will only be seen by those in that session or booth and is a great way to foster conversation during

If you would like to chat directly with someone, use the People tab and search their name.