While nothing will truly replace the experience of attending industry trade shows and conferences in person, virtual events certainly helped to fill a void in medtech professionals' calendars in 2020, providing much-needed networking opportunities, educational presentations, and timely panel discussions.

MD+DI's parent company, Informa Markets – Engineering, hosted several virtual events for medtech professionals. In September, we hosted a unique virtual networking event where industry professionals formed meaningful connections via one-on-one and small group discussions about miniaturization in medtech. In November, BIOMEDigital offered medtech professionals a wide range of educational sessions, exhibitions, and networking activities to stay connected in the industry. Our event colleagues capped the year off with Informa Markets – Engineering's largest digital event to-date, Virtual Engineering Week. The five-day event brought together the close-knit manufacturing community through education, sourcing, and networking opportunities at a time when in-person connection was not feasible. The event included daily keynotes, expert panel discussions, and live Q&As.

Many other notable medtech events also went virtual this year due to the pandemic, including AdvaMed's annual medtech conference, and the North American Spine Society (NASS) meeting, both held in October.

While we'll all be glad for the return of in-person events after the pandemic, experts concur that virtual events are here to stay, which will help the industry stay connected in between those in-person events.