Ronnie Winter

Behind every successful planner is a foundation of continuing professional development, says Tim Luepke, president of the Institute of Meeting Professionals International (MPI).

The role of planners is changing, like a race car racing around a track. Technological updates, advanced data analytics, neurodivergent conferencing and artificial intelligence are entering the field, keeping planners on their toes.

Lupke said keeping up with the changes is almost a full-time job in itself.

The MPI Academy exists to assist planners on their professional development journey. He explained that the primary purpose of MPI is to serve the continuing education needs of community members. “Our certificate program leverages the insights we gain from strategic partners to educate industry and help planners do their jobs better,” he said.

“But things are changing so fast that we have to update content every time we deliver it, especially AI,” he said. “The fast pace of change in the industry requires us to quickly adapt and keep our approach to education delivery relevant.”

He cites MPI’s new Professional Certificate in Artificial Intelligence Enhanced Events as an example. Reposite, an AI-powered meeting and event planning tool, has launched a new program in partnership with MPI Academy. MPI offers this course approximately 10 times a year.

“Every time we hold a course, we have to update it and change it because things have changed,” he said. “In the past, we would develop a course and deliver the same content over two to three years. AI changes so quickly that we have to update the content with every delivery.”

He advised planners to maintain regular education on their education roadmaps as courses are updated very frequently. He highlighted artificial intelligence, data analytics and neuroscience as key educational destinations, noting that MPI is well-suited to advance knowledge in these areas.

Build new skills through coaching

“We had to find some way for event professionals to get education on a smaller scale that fit their busy schedules,” he said. “We developed a team of coaches to help event professionals develop professionally. We look at planners as individuals rather than saying these are the skills needed to become better planners.”

MPI has partnered with Visit Fort Worth to develop International Coach Federation (ICF) certified coaches with experience in the event industry to do this work. The coaches lead a group coaching effort that takes planners on a six-week journey to help them clarify their career vision.

“It’s an introspective effort to develop a vision that they can apply to their career,” he said.

Promote brain science

MPI also offers the Event Psychology Strategist Program, which helps planners apply behavioral science, neuroscience and psychology to event planning.

“This program can help planners understand attendee neuroscience and the way the brain and body receive information at an event, whether in-person, digital or hybrid,” he said. “We look at the science and ask, what is neuroscience? How does the science support the decisions we make as event professionals?”

Another certification course, Active Wellbeing Champions, focuses on the challenges faced by neurodivergent people, people whose brains develop or function differently, creating unique advantages and challenges compared to people with more typical brain development. This event is hosted in partnership with Megan Henshall, who leads Google’s global events strategy and leads Project Neu, a research effort exploring neurodiversity and how to create events that span all neurotypes.

Henshall said that for these people, events can be very onerous, leading some to avoid events altogether. When planners understand this, she adds, they can create better events that better cater to a variety of demographics.

Topics covered include helping planners differentiate between neurodivergence and common mental health conditions and developing empathy for neurodivergent individuals in event settings. Additionally, it emphasizes early intervention skills that can help planners identify signs of distress, overwhelm, collapse, and shutdowns. Planners learn practical strategies for welcoming neurodivergent individuals and people with mental health issues to more inclusive events.

“This course helps planners develop a keener understanding of how to lead and direct events so that all participants feel comfortable and safe,” Lupke said.

Develop data analysis skills

MPI also offers a course that delves into the role and importance of data analytics in the events industry.

The three-module event data analysis course explores the importance of data analysis as well as the tools and techniques of data analysis to help planners intuitively understand what is actually happening at events. It also looks at the data to collect and how to use it to gain actionable insights. This course is taught by Kyle Jordan,

Conference Director, Institute of Operations Research and Management Sciences (INFORMS). Meeting.

artificial intelligence activation

Luepke said MPI launched the Artificial Intelligence Enhanced Events Professional Certificate in November 2023 to meet the growing demand for artificial intelligence education among meeting planners.

He explained that artificial intelligence became the focus of the annual Thought Leadership Summit in August of that year. “People ask, what is this? How do we apply AI to our industry? How do we make planners feel comfortable using it?” he said.

As a first step, MPI developed a white paper on the topic of artificial intelligence and then worked with Reposite to develop a certificate program, which launched in January. The program is designed to provide event professionals with the necessary knowledge and practical skills to leverage artificial intelligence to create meaningful and immersive event experiences.

“We’ve had more than 500 planners take this course,” he said. “This is a great course that lays a foundation for those who are new to artificial intelligence or how to actually use it. We even dive into topics like the ethics of its use.”

Artificial intelligence offers plenty of opportunities to help planners make events more immersive, he said. “AI has the ability to help planners refine and come up with meaningful experiences,” he said. “It helps them be more thoughtful and make better use of their resources. It’s only going to get better over time so that they can better understand attendees so they can do their jobs better and connect with clients better. and achieve better success with our stakeholders.”

These and other courses are offered in both in-person and virtual formats. Luepke said planners can visit the MPI Academy at mpi.org/education/mpi-academy and register for courses that interest them.