Networking is the biggest pain point with tech events.

Lining up for 30 minutes to speak with someone you don't know just for the chance at an opportunity, fumbling with your phone and trying to find someone's LinkedIn to connect, and then having to remember everyone after the fact makes these events exhausting.

We combined NFC technology with a mobile interface to facilitate meaningful networking, build community, and foster connections at our University's largest tech conference.

The issue is not just forming connections, but maintaining them long after the event is over.

In a research study with 10 students and 100 survey respondents felt as though it was difficult to navigate the overwhelming atmosphere of these events while having these conversations. Remembering who they have talked to and where to find them is a major pain point.

How might we reduce the friction of networking and foster more meaningful connection between attendees and networking delegates?

Using Vancouver's largest student-run tech conference as a platform to validate a solution.

BluePrint is UBC BizTech's flagship conference designed to empower students with the tools and connections they need to break into tech. It boasts 270+ attendees, 80+ partners, and attracting 40+ companies from the likes of Google, Tesla, and Meta annually.

It was the perfect setting to field test a solution that would help students remember who they have talked to and where to find them.

We made everything accessible through the tap of a card.

NFC technology presented an opportunity fit our product requirements while having an X-factor that got people talking. Each attendees nametag came with an NFC card inside, and holding your mobile device up to someone's nametag gave you instant access to a custom profile with their LinkedIn, company, intentions, and fun facts. We ingested event signup data into a backend service that generated these profiles automatically. Each NFC card was then mapped to a custom profile URL for each attendee.

We remember who you meet so you can focus on the present.

We developed a system that persists connections between two people, which we defined as everyone who visits your profile and everyone whose profile you have visited. This way, anyone could get a long list of everyone they met at the event.

After the event had ended, we launched a "BluePrint Wrapped" feature, where you could look back on your journey and check out what everyone else got up to. This was a fun way to wrap up the event and give attendees a sense of what they accomplished.

Our club was awarded multiple awards by our student body for our innovation.

BluePrint 2025 was a resounding success and was awarded Conference of the Year by the UBC Sauder Commerce Undergraduate Society. The NFC technology proved to be a hit, with attendees raving about how easy it was to connect with others and how they could easily remember who they had talked to. In total, the app facilitated 4700 unique connections among a group of 270 attendees.

What if we extended beyond the scope of a single event?

Coming off the resounding success of the BluePrint NFC cards, BizTech decided to start a new initiative - Membership Cards. Any individual who signs up as a member receives a membership card that keeps track of connections throughout every single BizTech event and also allows them to checkin at the door.