– Education programme news; hot topics and speakers
– New: Networking Hub
– New: Research Pod
– New: Exclusively Corporate @IMEX Programme
– New: German education partnership plus Compliance Clinic
– Education highlights – by day
Eight education tracks which include ‘industry trends’, ‘personal development’ and ‘sustainability’ define IMEX in Frankfurt’s free professional development and education programme for 2013. Over 100 one-hour seminars, interactive workshops and informal ‘campfires’ (small group learnings which happen ‘in the round’ on the show floor) are scheduled for the award-winning trade show, starting Tuesday 21st May at 8.45hrs.
Based on current hot topics, some of the most popular sessions are set to include: “How to keep the lawyers out – Contract Management” by IAPCO and PCMA; a Strategic Meetings Management co-creation workshop led by Peggy Hemphill of Your Corporate Source and Betsy Bondurant of Bondurant Consulting; “How Bar Camps and Hybrid Events can enrich Meetings” by Brita Moosmann of Yieldforprofit and Wolf-Thomas Karl, Partner, Karl & Karl; “How to create a social media strategy” by Christine Fuchs and Gerrit Heijkoop of Casehunters and “You’re Hired! Powerful Interview Techniques to Get the Job,” by Avinash Chandarana, Global Learning and Development Director, MCI.
Shorter education sessions and campfires at IMEX take place on the Inspiration Centre, Sustainability Hub, Tech Tap or the new Networking Hub (which includes wellbeing advice) on the show floor. Longer seminars all take place outside core business hours and occur in dedicated rooms in Halls 8 or 9 of Messe Frankfurt.
New German education partnerships
A new shape to the German language education programme, which is delivered by founding partners the German Convention Bureau (GCB), sees speaker bureau, Speakers Excellence, providing the majority of German presenters. The German education content will be based on a different theme each day, with ‘compliance’ the key topic for Tuesday, ‘social media’ on Wednesday and ‘personal development’ on Thursday. As a part of the new programme, a German keynote session will take place each morning at 9.00hrs on the topic of the day. In addition, with the issue of compliance currently dominating the German meetings and events industry, IMEX will also be running a new Compliance Clinic in co-operation with Veranstaltungsplaner.de.
Two important and targeted education and networking events also take place the day before IMEX opens. The show’s hallmark Association Day, which provides tailored education and networking for association executives, is on Monday 20th May and runs concurrently with the new Exclusively Corporate @IMEX, which is a two-track private event for corporate executives and corporate meeting planners.
Says Carina Bauer, CEO of the IMEX Group: “The quality and variety of our education programme has become more and more important to the wider business value provided by IMEX and, for that reason, each year we devote a lot of resources to getting the mix and the content right. With the help and contribution of many excellent industry partners and experts we are proud to present a well-structured, appealing and also comprehensive programme which covers those subject areas that matter most for business success in 2013 and beyond.”
New education initiatives
• This year IMEX devotes an area of its show floor Inspiration Centre to a new Research Pod where in-depth discussions about industry research will take place twice daily.
• 45 minute education ‘bites’ aimed specifically at exhibitors – called ‘Lightening Learning Labs’ – will include “Compliance and Security for the Hospitality Industry” and, due to its relevance and popularity, a session carried over from IMEX America: “A View from Meeting Planners: Winning Strategies” presented by Karyl Leigh Barnes, Senior VP/Partner and Daniella Middleton, Director at Development Counsellors International.
• Responding to desire from buyers for enhanced networking opportunities, a new Networking Hub will offer a selection of networking and wellbeing events, such as “Qi Gong Energizers” at 10.00hrs, a networking “Healthy Breakfast Blitz” at 10.45hrs, 30-minute daily “Grab and Go” networking sessions at 14.30hrs and, rounding off each day “The Power of Meditation” campfires at 16.00hrs.
New shape to German education programme
Among Tuesday’s German compliance sessions will be “Compliance as an opportunity – The vision of an agency versus the reality of an auditor,” which will be a staged dialogue between Walter Schlegel, TÜV Cert Compliance Auditor and Dominik Deubner, owner of DOMSET Live-Kommunikation. Wednesday’s social media sessions will include business expert, Tim Cole, presenting on “Medium-sized enterprises 2020 – How to react successfully to the challenges of digitalisation and networking”. Come Thursday’s Personal Development day, well-known nutrition and exercise motivator, Patric Heizmann is bound to pull in a large crowd with “Easier than you think – The fit and healthy event.”
Tuesday May 21st
Amongst the education sessions currently planned for day one of the show, are “Itsy Bitsy Spider”, a sustainability motivation session by Amy Spatrisano of MeetGreen®; “Evaluating Meeting Technologies” by Ken Clayton, Director of RefTech; “Events are the new rock ‘n roll – The Amazing Transformational Power of Music” by Andy Sharpe of Song Division; “25 Strategies for Leadership Success – Regardless of Sex” by Susan Sarfati, CEO, High Performance Strategies and Liz Jackson, President, Jackson Consulting Inc and “Engaging Agents with Improved Incentive Practices” by Tom Wilson, Vice President and Financial Services Sector Lead at Maritz Travel.
Wednesday May 22nd
Wednesday morning education kicks off at 8.45hrs with an ASAE session, “Trends, Issues, and New Competencies: Implications for Today’s Meetings Professionals” by Claire Smith, CMP, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Vancouver Convention Centre. Later in the day comes Lindsey Rosenthal, Chief Strategist at Events For Good’s “Curating and creating bite-size content”; “From Cost to Investment – Monetising Mobile Apps” by Thorben Grosser, European Business Development Manager for EventMobi; “Aviation in the MICE Business – Facts, Figures and Trends” by Paul Walker, Business Development Director at Air Partner plc, and, a Lightning Learning Lab – “Sell, Sell, Sell, Tips for Trade Show Success” with Jonathan Cohen, Director, Azimuth Marketing Communications.
Thursday May 23rd
Education continues until 14.30hrs on the final day of IMEX and includes “A Great Deal – Using Negotiation to get Results” by trainer, Maxine Rie; “How to market your event for maximum results” with Kerrin MacPhie, Director of Sales at ACC Liverpool and a Sustainable Events Summit case study by Charlie Banks, Business Development Manager at Positive Impact.
IMEX in Frankfurt is well-known for the scope and diversity of its education programme, which is one of three core activities that drive the show’s value every year; the other two being business appointments and networking opportunities. All IMEX education is provided free of charge as part of the organisers’ commitment to helping the international meetings, events and incentive travel industry develop and grow. Many of the industry’s leading trade associations also use IMEX to share latest insight with their members, as well as providing informed education for all visitors.
Using the IMEX App allows visitors to save and view their personal list of events and seminars while also being able to check what’s coming up in the next hour. A ‘notes’ facility also give app users the chance to take notes during seminars and then email them back to themselves or share them with absent colleagues.
For registration information, see www.imex-frankfurt.com/register.php
