Description and Content for all the Certificate

MODULE 1

Introduction and Industry Overview

(Estimated time: 30 minutes)

Welcome to the multibillion-dollar meetings and events industry. This module presents the big picture of the global meetings and events industry and how the industry impacts destinations, tourism and business through people gathering and meeting.

The business is about people and how the power of meetings and events influence, inspire and effect change in the world.

MODULE 2

Business Theory and Application

(Estimated time: 1 hour 30 minutes)

No More Useless Meetings!

Meetings and events are integral to any business and, because of this, understanding and applying business theory and concepts is a best practice for the planner in working with various stakeholders.

From concept to completion, utilizing steps and procedures to support the purpose of the event helps keep everyone focused on successful outcomes.

Learning different business terms, and how analyzing and strategizing prior to the event gives direction and purpose to gain maximum results, is the basis for any successful event.

MODULE 3

Sourcing and Site Selection

(Estimated time: 2 hours 30 minutes)

Finding the Right Fit Affects Everything

Where the meeting or event is held is critical to its success. The venue is the stage and, to create a successful production, the hotel or space must meet certain criteria to meet the needs of the event.

Sourcing and site selection is a detailed and legal process involving contract negotiations. To find the right location, the planner must be organized, know the agenda and the content, to maximize the benefits of a well-structured sourcing and site selection process.

Learn the steps, including the request for proposal (RFP), of sourcing and site selection to find a suitable location. Options for virtual site visits are presented, along with the role they play in big picture design and room setup.

MODULE 4

Freelance Staff

(Estimated time: 1 hour)

Creating Your Onsite Support Team

Well-executed events cannot be done solely from a logistical and risk management viewpoint. Fortunately, along with a generation of well-trained, experienced planners, the rise of professional freelance staffing in the meetings industry has grown exponentially to meet the planners' need for highly qualified professionals to perform specific tasks and contribute to the success of the meeting or event.

Learn the steps, guidelines, pitfalls to avoid and what is required to working with a professional company to manage freelance staff.

MODULE 5

Volunteerism

(Estimated time: 1 hour)

Consider Yourself One of Us!

Volunteers are the very essence and workforce behind many associations, non-profits and major events. Learn how to develop solid volunteer programs to recruit, manage, retain, and recognize this important labor force.

Examine the value that volunteers add to your program by decreasing staffing costs, being brand ambassadors, building a loyal community for those involved. Whether a high-level sporting event, political event or a non-profit, how you develop, manage, and recognize volunteer staff is important to its success.

MODULE 6

Sustainability and Green Events

(Estimated time: 1 hour)

Repurpose, Reuse, Reduce!

The importance of sustainability in meetings and events is important and is a growing requirement for companies and business operations. In meetings and events, from ballroom to exhibit floor, choosing venues, partners and stakeholders who share mutual values and vision is vital to smart business decisions.

The awareness of how sustainable and green practices play a vital role in meetings and events is growing, and planners have the responsibility to make choices that affect our future together.

MODULE 7

Registration and Data Responsibility

(Estimated time: 1 hour and 30 minutes)

Let Me Know if You're Coming

A first impressions and marketing tool for the planner, the attendee registration process is operative and front-facing from pre- to post-event. Registration provides countless opportunities for engagement as planners use registration tools to streamline processes from logistics to event marketing.

Registration must also ensure data privacy while tracking key performance indicators (KPis) to prove impact to key stakeholders. From strategy to logistics of an onsite Registration area, this important element of planning can make or break an event's impact and success.

MODULE 8

Food, Beverage and Catering

(Estimated time: 2 hours)

Let Thy Food be Thy Medicine

If Hippocrates were alive today, he would be excited to see how food commands the attention of the meetings and events industry based on its qualities, effects on behavior, and core purpose of nourishing people for energy and sustenance. People have broken bread together since the beginning of time. Food plays critically important roles in any gathering—it is deeply connected to the social and physical well-being of every attendee. Food serves multiple purposes.

In meetings and events, food is a brand and theme component, can entertain, and provides memorable and lasting sensory experiences. It creates opportunities for attendees to meet and to share ideas and fellowship. Not only is it a planner's responsibility to create balanced menus, but a planner must also be sensitive to the dietary needs of all attendees. All of this applies to beverage, too!

MODULE 9

Transportation

(Estimated time: 2 hours)

Let the Wheels Keep on Turning!

From the Silk Road to the High Road, transportation has always played a big role in bringing people together for meetings and events from old-time carriages to today's space tourism initiatives. Bringing people together to enjoy a specific destination requires much coordination on many levels from the executive level to all attendees, from local travel to international travel. Effective transportation management is the process of managing moving people from point A to point B safely, efficiently, and dependably.

It also involves moving meeting and event equipment and materials. The planner has a responsibility to understand how to manage transportation and all the details involved from chartering and booking vehicles, what vehicle choices exist and how to work with transportation management companies to reduce risk. This subject is not something to skip learning about and it will surprise you.

MODULE 10

Audio Visual and Production

(Estimated time: 2 hours 30 minutes)

See Me, Hear Me, Teach Me

Welcome to the Theater of Meetings and Events! When the curtain goes up and the lighting and sound are subpar, then the audience is distracted, chaos blows up, and the success of the event is instantly jeopardized. Behind every curtain (or monitor) is a team of seasoned professionals who specialize in audiovisual production comprising both services and content.

It is important for the planner to understand the AV team's needs and to work with them throughout the entire event planning stage. They know that what you see and hear, and how, are vital to an event's success. Audiovisual production is a major component that conveys a message, establishes mood, creates the desired effect in a meeting or event environment.

Whether in-person, virtual, or hybrid, audiovisual production is essential to deliver consistent content on demand globally. Always make choices that reduce risk you do not want to be the planner in the room when the power or internet connection goes out.

MODULE 11

Event Design & Décor

(Estimated time: 2 hours and 30 minutes)

Event Design & Décor

Everything—absolutely everything—that takes place during an event, whether in person or virtual must be a deliberate choice that supports the overall vision. Visual dynamics and engineering are major aspects of effective event design and decor. The ability to put all the pieces and people together, to understand the big picture, the vision and process, and to transform them into a tangible sensory experience for measurable results is the responsibility of event design.

Effective design, choosing intelligently among the variety of experiential elements, delivers a stronger message through understanding the business strategy behind it, making it a vital part of communication.

MODULE 12

Music Entertainment & Speakers

(Estimated time: 1 hour and 45 minutes)

I Hear You, I See You, I’m Listening to You

We share in common languages of verbal and nonverbal communication, and nothing plays a more important and inspirational role in this in events than the use of music, entertainment and speakers (MES) to bring us together.

As powerful tools that shape a theme, drive a message, and add diversity to events, these have a dramatic effect on an event's outcome, attendee behaviors, team building, mental health and just plain fun and interaction. When they are strategically used for control and concentration, events can be managed to reap desired results.

MODULE 13

Event Marketing and Sponsorship

(Estimated time: 2 hours)

Eat Your Ps Please!

Regardless of all the time, energy and resources invested in planning and producing an event, without people, there is no event. Event marketing is a time-sensitive process that uses focused, purpose-driven strategy to communicate to a specific audience: COME, this is what we're promising.

Whether you are promoting a brand or launching a new product or service—it is a major responsibility to inform and influence, generate buzz and engagement, and excite and energize people to respond and participate.

MODULE 14

Production Schedules and Budgeting

(Estimated time: 1 hour 45 minutes)

The “Big Picture”

Regardless of what you do in life, it costs either time or money and it is no different for events. As communication tools, meetings and events have time constraints, real costs and a need to keep all stakeholders in sync. The planner needs to realistically understand time management, attendees and their expectations, and event content to make attainable decisions and appropriate choices.

Staying on task and on budget requires careful planning and strategic communication with all stakeholders involved in the production of an event so that tasks are completed in the most cost-efficient and timely manner.

MODULE 15

Risk Management, Safety and Security

(Estimated time: 1 hour 30 minutes)

Plan B: B Prepared!

STOP here. The planner's most important responsibility is to ensure the safety and security of all event stakeholders. From environment to vendors, the planner must devise a plan that anticipates and addresses anything that could go wrong.

Understanding the role that a professional security consultant and company play in meetings and events is critical for the planner, regardless of type or size of event. The planner must ensure a safe environment, and reduce any risk throughout the entire planning and design process—people, health and safety always come first.

MODULE 16

Legal Aspects

(Estimated time: 2 hours)

The Causes and the Clauses!

Be aware, and beware. Adhering to legalities and compliance is a major responsibility from the onset of event planning; sourcing a site, choosing vendors, etc.—all require contracts and agreements. Planners must know the legal implications of all tasks and activities for an event, and act according to the proverb “trust, but verify.”

From the request for proposal (RFP) onwards, proposals and contracts must be understood so that the planner can ensure that all parties are protected from harm to their person and their purse.

MODULE 17

Insurance

(Estimated time: 1 hour)

If Anything Can Happen … It Will!

At one time, the insurance industry didn't understand all the risks involved with meetings and events. Imagine describing some in-person events with exposed flames in candles, transporting people in vehicles in all kinds of weather, booking air, transporting heavy equipment, food and beverage, recreational activities like hot-air balloons and tug-of-war and so on. The role of insurance and the different types of insurance are not optional.

Liability is the planner's responsibility, period. Despite each event's inherent differences, there are common precautions that a planner must consider. Being prepared for “what if” will put your clients at ease and allow you to create with confidence.

MODULE 18

Tackling Technology

(Estimated time: 1 hour and 45 minutes)

Man or Machine—Who is in Control?

Whether to use high tech was once the choice; now the choice is which technology to use for maximum return and ease of use. Meetings and events play such an important role in collecting data from targeted groups of people for marketing and research purposes but, for the planner, technology is a tool to help market, manage and manipulate data during the planning and production process whether for in-person or virtual events.

Understanding the choices, and why and how a platform can serve the planner, is critical in every phase from pre- to post-event, from registration to surveys and follow-up. Knowing and acting on what is relevant, secure and appropriate is tantamount to an event's success and participant engagement.

The use of technology has elevated events to stratospheric heights. Gone are the days when events are confined within four walls. Learn how planners now use technology to reach massive audiences, to deliver a message and create memorable, impactful experiences.

MODULE 19

Fast Forward and Finale

(Estimated time: 2 hours and 15 minutes)

The Best Way to Predict the Future is to Create It

Technology is transforming the world, and how we do business, at an accelerating pace. More than ever, the planner must know what's new, what's next, and what's effective in planning and managing meetings and events. Evaluating the objectives and goals of meetings and events, and advising the best vehicle to use to implement and execute them, is requisite to maximize results. From employing artificial intelligence during planning to executing an event, our choices continue to grow.

Understanding the benefits and pitfalls of AI, AR (augmented reality) and virtual reality, and how they may impact our work and our lives, is imperative. Planners are responsible to think both dimensionally and realistically when designing an event in real-time while directing stakeholders to collaborate in decision-making. The managed use of technology and communications is a challenge that unlocks higher achievement and greater accomplishment when global stakeholders are empowered to jointly contribute to the outcome.

Additionally, we will offer a high-level review of all 19 module topics that are included in the Certificate program, to refresh your memory of key information and to spark fresh insights.