Many non-business entities partner with companies to enhance their grasp on a topic. In doing so, they increase their relationship with big-corp-x.
Now, big-corp-x benefits by getting new recruits and publicity. But they give their vision of things, squashing when needed competitor references which might have benefited their audience.
That’s why as an organiser of events for your company or university club, if you want to get insights on a topic, look for people in that field. Prefer technology over company promotion.
You will benefit financially if you partner with big-corp-x but you will grow in a particular field if you are technology-specific. Your range of speakers will most probably outnumber what you would have got with big-corp-x. And the speakers will be from many companies, getting insights from a number of resources.
At the end, it will be speakers employed somewhere but the scope will be different. It’s more work on your part to find people to speak but you can customise your upskill path. The upgrade you get is tradable well beyond big-corp-x.
Big-corp-x offering money for you to organise events does not mean you should do it. Anti-monopoly law does not apply yet for this particular scenario.
Many organisers do not realise they are being gobbled up by one single company. And companies prefer their well being over yours. When big-corp-x organises a hackathon, it will be on topics he needs, not necessarily on techs you need. And poor students think they won’t get jobs if they don’t partner with big-corp-x.