NOTE: The Expert Channel at SAS Professionals

Next year's SAS Professionals Convention will be in Marlow, 10 - 12 July. If you're in the UK, or able to travel to the UK, it's one of the most valuable training events you can attend in 2013. And very reasonably priced too (£150 for three days in 2012). However, the SAS Professionals web site offers a lot of valuable information year-round, including the Expert Channel. The Expert Channel offers expertise direct to you on-demand and via interactive live sessions.

If you're not already a member of SAS Professionals, get yourself over to the web site and sign yourself up (for free) immediately! Members should take themselves to the Expert Channel group page and make sure they have joined (for free). And once you're in the group, click on the large blue "To Access the Expert Channel On Demand Click Here" graphic and get yourself to the Expert Channel Navigator page.

From the Navigator page, there are videos aplenty to view and learn from. One of the most popular series is SAS In 60 Seconds. This series is sub-divided into Base SAS, SAS Enterprise Guide, and SAS Web Report Studio. In each sub-division there are plenty of short (60 second) videos on key topics. The bite-size videos are a great way to pick-up new information.

Much of the other On Demand material on offer is derived from the live web sessions that are offered on a monthly basis. These recordings are usually closer to an hour in length. There's a large set of recordings in the  SAS Certification Tutorials sub-section. If you're planning to sit for any of the SAS certifications in 2013, you should check these out.

Depending on your circumstances (and your time zone), the live sessions might be more difficult to access. But it's good to know that the sessions are recorded and made available on demand. Yesterday's session was "SAS Certified Advanced Programmer for SAS 9 Tutorial", next Monday's will be "SAS Certified Base Programmer for SAS9 Tutorial", and this will be followed by "SAS BI Content Development for SAS 9 Tutorial" on Monday 26th November. Events continue into December with topics including Data Integration and Platform Administration. You can see the full programme in the Events section. If you plan to attend any events, be sure to register (it's free).

So, all-in-all there is a wide variety of quality material available. It's worth taking the time to get through the multiple steps required to join SAS Professionals and then join the Expert Channel group. And don't forget to make sure you've budgeted for SAS Professionals Convention 2013!