Exhibition Pros Hit the Books with UFI

The Summer of 2007 will go down in the records as a banner year for UFI education programmes. Not one, but three, independent education programmes were offered to eager exhibition professionals around the world UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, offered eager exhibition industry professionals in Bangkok, Cologne, and Dubai .with a variety of programmes to advance their trade show knowledge and skills.

Completing the first complete UFI Exhibition Management Degree (EMD), graduated 31 students from 10 nations at its closing ceremony in Bangkok on August 4.  The 150-hour course programme, hosted by the Thailand Conventions and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), transferred technical and management knowledge via a programme developed by the University of Cooperation Education in Ravensburg, Germany.  The EMD programme included on-site seminars and e-learning modules targeting exhibition and venue project managers.  Topics covered included event marketing, logistics, risk management, customer relationship management and market research techniques.    

The kick-off session of the second UFI Exhibition Management Degree programme was held in Dubai, UAE, from 11 – 16 August.  Hosted by the Dubai World Trade Center, this edition of the EMD education programme has registered 28 students from 13 countries. Students who successfully complete the entire programme will be awarded their EMD Certificate in January 2008.  The EMD’s strong appeal comes from its quality curriculum and its professional recognition across the global event industry.  .  The broad range of participants from East Asia, Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East reflects the substantial demand that exists for high level education in the exhibition and meetings sector. 

Rounding out this trio of educational opportunities, the second International Summer University (ISU) in Cologne, Germany, gathered 28 exhibition executives for five days of intensive information exchange on current challenges and trends in the trade fair industry.  

Organised by the University of Cologne’s Institute of Trade Fair Management in cooperation with UFI, the ISU has quickly earned a place among exhibition decision-makers as a forum for updating skills and knowledge in a context which focuses on their strategic applications.  In addition to providing information and data related to trade fair industry issues, the ISU dynamic built upon the exchange of ideas and concepts among colleagues and experts to develop insights into the international developments facing the exhibition industry today.

By providing these challenging education programmes, UFI demonstrates its strong understanding of the needs of the international exhibition industry.  Jochen Witt, UFI President, acknowledged the importance which UFI places on continuing professional education.  “Exhibitions are unique in their ability to bring together buyers and sellers, products and services, in a face-to-face forum”, Witt stated.  “At UFI we consider it one of our key responsibilities that we provide educational programmes which will ensure that our industry continues to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to guarantee that we remain the number one marketing media.”

In addition to the EMD and ISU education programmes, UFI regularly organises a number of seminars around the world on exhibition-related topics.  While some of these sessions are limited to participation by UFI members only, others are regularly open to participation by all exhibition professionals.  For the full programme of UFI educational opportunities please go to www.ufi.org.