EA Connect 2025: (C)EA's largest event ever is in two weeks!

By David Solar 🔹 @ 2025-11-21T14:26 (+43)

EA Connect 2025 is two weeks away (December 5–7). We've hit 3,000+ registrations, making this likely the largest EA event CEA has ever run!

We expect more than 1,500 of these attendees will be newcomers to EA: people taking their first serious look at the community and trying to figure out how they might get involved. If you're an experienced community member who's attended EAG or EAGx before, we'd value your participation. One of the most important things we can do for newcomers is give them good first interactions with the community.

Two paths for the conference

EA Connect has two tracks:

Foundation Path (for people who've never attended an EAG or EAGx):

• Access to talks, speed friending, meetups, and the career fair
• Access to request 1:1 meetings with mentors (limited availability) who can provide guidance and next steps
• Can see all attendee profiles and message anyone

Collaboration Path (for people who've attended an EAG or EAGx):

• Everything from the Foundation Path (except mentors, which are prioritized for newcomers)
• Can book 1:1 meetings with other Collaboration Path attendees via Swapcard
• Can also book meetings with Foundation Path attendees if you want to reach out

If you've been accepted to an EAG or EAGx in 2022–2025, you'll be on the Collaboration Path.

How the booking system works

Both paths can see all attendee profiles. The difference is in who can request meetings:

• Foundation Path attendees can request meetings with mentors
• Collaboration Path attendees can request meetings with other Collaboration Path and Foundation Path attendees

We designed it this way so that experienced EAs, particularly those hiring, looking for collaborators, or who have resources to offer, can reach out to promising attendees on the Foundation Path.

Why this structure?

Our data from previous events shows that 1:1 meetings are what attendees value most about our conferences. We're trying to serve both audiences: giving experienced EAs the peer networking they value, while connecting newcomers with mentors who can provide guidance on next steps in EA.

We're prioritizing mentor capacity for Foundation Path attendees since we have limited mentor availability, while Collaboration Path attendees can network with each other and also reach out to Foundation Path attendees if they see promising matches.

We haven't run an event quite at this scale with this structure before. We think this approach has promise for serving both groups, though we'll likely learn things we didn't anticipate.

About the mentorship system

We've recruited around 120 mentors from across the EA community. Being realistic, this won't allow everyone on the Foundation Path to get a meeting if they all request one. We're using 15-minute meetings to allow mentors to meet more people, but some Foundation Path attendees might still not get a mentor meeting if schedules don't align or mentors' availability fills up.

We think of mentorship as one valuable component of the Foundation Path, not the only component. All attendees have access to talks, office hours with speakers, the career fair, meetups, and speed friending.

For those who want to request mentor meetings, we'll share guidance on how to craft effective requests that clearly communicate what you're hoping to discuss and why you'd like to connect with that specific person.

If you're interested in being a mentor, you can still express interest here:

How you can help (if you're on the Collaboration Path)

• Be welcoming. You'll encounter newcomers throughout the event: asking questions in talks, during workshops, at meetups. These are people taking their first serious look at EA ideas. Friendly interactions make a real difference in how they experience the community.
• Offer guidance when it feels natural. If you meet someone new to EA trying to figure out their next steps, you might point them toward resources like the Introductory EA Program, relevant organizations, or local groups in their area.
• Use the 1:1 booking system. It exists so you can have substantive conversations with others who share your context. We hope you'll use it to find potential collaborators, co-founders, or advisors for your projects. And if you meet a promising newcomer and want to offer additional support, you can book a meeting with them too.

What to expect

The conference runs December 5–7 with:

• Talks and fireside chats from Rachel Glennerster, Will MacAskill, Anthony Senanayake, Toby Ord, and others
• A virtual career fair with EA organizations hiring
• Office hours with speakers and cause area experts
• Meetups and speed friending sessions

A detailed schedule will be available in Swapcard once you register.

Can't make the whole weekend? That's fine! Drop in for a few hours when you can, watch a talk, join a meetup, or hop on a couple of 15-minute mentor calls. The event is designed to be flexible across time zones and schedules.

Register if you haven't already

Registration is open to everyone and takes about one minute. If you've attended or been accepted to an EAG or EAGx before, you'll automatically be placed on the Collaboration Path with access to book 1:1 meetings.

Registrations close December 3.

Looking forward

We're excited about EA Connect. Virtual events continue to be one of our most cost-effective ways to connect people across geographies who face barriers to attending in-person conferences, whether due to visa restrictions, funding limitations, or lack of EA context in their region.

This event attempts something ambitious: serving both newcomers and experienced community members on a larger scale than we've tried before. We hope you'll join us in making it work.

See you in December!

Questions? Contact us at hello@eaconnect.org

Questions you might have

What if I was accepted to an EAG/EAGx but couldn't attend?

Acceptance qualifies you for the Collaboration Path, even if you couldn't attend due to visa issues or other barriers.

What if I'm on the wrong path?

We use email addresses to match people to their EAG/EAGx attendance history. If you registered with a different email than you used for past applications, you might be placed in the wrong path. If you think you should be on the Collaboration Path but aren't, email us at hello@eaconnect.org and we'll fix it.

Why not run separate events?

We're considering this for 2026. For now, we see value in shared talks, organic meetup interactions, and giving newcomers a chance to see experienced EAs in action. We're testing whether benefits outweigh the complexity of serving both audiences at once.

Can Foundation Path attendees still message Collaboration Path attendees?

Yes. Everyone can see all profiles and message anyone. The difference is just in who can formally request scheduled 1:1 meetings through Swapcard.

What if I'm new to EA but work in a senior role or have hiring capacity?

If you think you should be on the Collaboration Path, but the system didn't automatically place you there, email us at hello@eaconnect.org and we'll review your situation. Please reach out sooner rather than later! We'll be busy running the event once it starts and may not be able to respond quickly to requests during the conference itself.