The Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division, Keyport held the second annual Keyport Con community-building event Aug. 28.

Keyport-Con is festival-like day for the employees at NUWC Division, Keyport to share their projects, successes and challenges, and talk about the work that they do while also learning about their colleagues’ work in the command.

Anna Long, NUWC Division, Keyport’s strategic planning officer, organized Keyport Con and said there are many functions it serves in strengthening the bonds of community with in the command.

“Two primary factors drive the need for this event,” said Long. “The first is the high turnover that Team Keyport has experienced in the last few years. We have a lot of new faces in every layer of the workforce, and many have not had the time to be familiarized with the dynamic and diverse work we do here at NUWC Division, Keyport. The second factor is the rapid speed of technology, and how that changes our response to the Fleet and warfighters. It is necessary to reach out and connect with one another on areas that may have advanced, and look for ways to collaborate. Make no mistake, this is a High Velocity Learning event.”

High Velocity Learning (HVL) is one of the pillars of Campaign Plan 2.0, the strategic vision of Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), NUWC Division, Keyport’s parent command. HVL encourages all NAVSEA organizations to continually search for new ways to share ideas and foster innovation among their workforces.

The general theme of this year’s Keyport Con was a spoof of science fiction and comic book conventions, a theme Long said she believed would help make the event fun and engaging.

“We like the symmetry that sci-fi or comic book themes can provide for the creative process,” said Long. “As a Navy Lab and part of the defense innovation network, we are expected to provide inventive and creative solutions to the US Navy. Having our people use metaphor and allegory to explain their work to one another opens the dialogue for those connecting with the technology for the first time, and makes the information being showcased more accessible to everyone.”

The sci-fi-themed event brought out scores of NUWC Division, Keyport workers, and was popular with those manning the booths and representing their various work centers.

Kirsten Miskovich is a human-systems integration specialist with NUWC Division, Keyport’s human performance engineering team. She has only been on board for seven months, but found Keyport Con to be a great way to build both social cohesion and a sense of professional community at the warfare center.

“You get to talk to people you maybe never met and see what they do,” Miskovich said.  “It’s a great way to find out what other work centers are doing. If you’re having a problem, one of the other teams might have a solution, and you can start to find out those things here.”

Long said she is looking forward to next year’s Keyport Con, and believes the event will become a NUWC Division, Keyport tradition that lasts long after she moves on to other opportunities.

“K-Con is a way to discuss and demonstrate our technical work specifically, and share the passion we have for solving the Navy's problems,” said Long.

Get more information about the Navy from US Navy facebook or twitter.

For more news from Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Keyport, visit www.navy.mil/.