# How to go to a conference At Mattermost both personal and technical growth are highly valued, as is staying on top of industry trends. To support this we have budget to send staff to relevant conferences. The policy is as follows: * Each engineering staff member can request approval to go to one company-paid-for conference per year * Conferences should be regional to the staff member * Roughly this means not crossing oceans or flying 6+ hours * Exceptions can be granted on a case-by-case basis when there are no equivalent regional conferences * Content of the conference is relevant to the staff member's role * Keep the costs in-line with company policies (see [How to spend company money](https://handbook.mattermost.com/operations/finance/staff-member-expenses/how-to-spend-company-money)) * Only a limited number of staff can go to the same conference at the same time * Staff who go to conferences should share their learnings with the team From time to time, you may be asked to “work a conference” that Mattermost is sponsoring. This may include giving a talk, working our booth, etc. To be clear, this conference attendance policy is separate from working at a conference and has a separate budget. ## Getting approval Step 1: If there is a conference you would like to attend please send an email to your Manager and Director (where applicable) using the following template: ``` Subject: Request to Attend ​ Hi , ​ I would like to attend at from until because . ​ The cost estimates are: ​ * Flights/Transportation: $XXX * Accommodation: $XXX * Event tickets: $XXX ​ Thanks, ​ ``` Step 2: Your Manager, Director, and Team MLT will review the request and prepare a business case for attending the conference, aligning the learning opportunity with Mattermost’s goals and objectives. The business case will be shared with HR and Finance for approval. Step 3: HR and Finance will communicate the final approval decision to your Manager, Director, and Team MLT. If approved, then you’re good to go! Start booking your tickets, travel, and accommodations and expense it via Airbase. Once approved, **managers need to add the conference to the** [**tracking spreadsheet**](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Ff3OdeMMDJlokoMwu3IX0v0D3B-_w8QZR5-4enhhIXs/edit#gid=0). --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://handbook.mattermost.com/operations/research-and-development/engineering/how-to-go-to-conference.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.