MPI Introduces MPI Academy

Meeting Professionals International (MPI) formally introduced during the opening general session of MPI’s 2015 World Education Congress (WEC) in San Francisco August 2, the new MPI Academy, an entity that encompasses and connects all of the education and learning experiences MPI delivers within the meeting and event industry and beyond. In addition, the association unveiled enhancements to its professional development offerings, including a variety of new certificate programs and experiential events.

The MPI Academy aligns with the Meeting and Business Event Competency Standards (MBECS) and is designed to provide multifaceted learning opportunities for meeting professionals at all levels. Its portfolio is comprised of training courses, certificate programs, streaming sessions from MPI events, webinars and tools such as the new MPI Professional Development Roadmap, which helps individuals map out their career, pursue continuing education and supplement their professional development.

“Our objective with the new MPI Academy is to centralize all of our educational programs and bring focus to the diverse career tracks available,” said Paul Van Deventer, president and CEO of MPI. “As we refine the way we deliver both our proprietary and partner offerings, we believe the academy will soon become the most reputable and valued source for growing one’s knowledge base and advancing one’s career.”

New and Expanded Programming

Earlier this year, MPI began launching new education programs and has more planned in the coming months — most of which are eligible for clock hours and are designed for both planners and suppliers. Recently launched programs include the following and the latter two were offered as pre-conference sessions prior to WEC 2015.

• Meeting Essentials. Designed for novice and mid-level professionals, this program will help participants enhance their skills and competencies. The courses cover fundamental knowledge needed to execute and deliver high-quality, relevant meetings, and are recommended in preparation for the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) exam.
• Sustainable Meeting Professional Certificate (SMPC). This intensive certificate course provides education, tools and applicable instruction to immediately begin practicing sustainable meeting planning. It is built around learning and using the Sustainable Meeting Planning Program (SMPP), which is the only sustainable meeting planning tool independently certified by iCompli Sustainability, a division of BPA Worldwide, the premier sustainable meeting planning audit firm in the U.S. for ISO 20121 and APEX/ASTM compliance. MPI delivers the program in partnership with Avila Government Services Inc.
• Meetings and Events at Sea Certificate. Presented in partnership with the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA), the certificate course explores the advantages of hosting events on cruise ships compared to traditional venues. This interactive session highlights which types of meetings or events should be conducted onboard as well as provides valuable cost comparisons.

New programs slated for release later this year include the following.

• Experiential Event Series. MPI is partnering with high-profile events in key areas such as sports, entertainment, culinary and mega-events to provide unique, intimate education experiences, including behind the scenes tours and discussions. These programs will include certificates in areas such as event production and sports event management. The first two events include the production of the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City this September and the Epcot Food & Wine Festival in Orlando in November.
• Sustainable Practitioner Certificate (SPC). The SPC Program is an interactive training session designed for individuals wishing to focus on sustainability within the meeting and event industry and covers the basics of sustainability, how to create a sustainability policy, measurement, reporting and more. MPI is partnering with Positive Impact, a UK-based not-for-profit corporation, to deliver the courses. Class dates will be published online soon.
• Healthcare Meeting Compliance Certificate (HMCC) Refresher. Launching in October, this webinar has been developed to keep MPI’s HMCC recipients abreast of constantly changing healthcare meeting compliance regulations, cross-border compliance and other healthcare trends. It is endorsed by Saint Louis University and is required every two years to maintain the HMCC and related seal of endorsement.
• CMP-Healthcare Certification (CMP-HC) Boot Camp. This MPI training is intended for meeting professionals working within the life sciences sector and will commence in fall 2015. It serves as a comprehensive, study preparation course for the CMP Healthcare Certification exam and will utilize an instructional design program that includes an implementation guide, instructor notes, participant workbook and an app.

“We have put a lot of thought and effort into strengthening our professional development offerings and look forward to expanding the depth and reach of the new MPI Academy as we continue to evolve and transform our association,” said Van Deventer.

Future WEC Locations 

At the general session, Paul Van Deventer also announced MPI’s WEC future locations and dates for its annual conference: WEC will be held in Las Vegas in 2017, followed by Indianapolis in 2018 and Toronto in 2019. “We are excited about each of these destinations and believe WEC attendees will enjoy them as well,” said Van Deventer. “Each year, MPI strives to enhance the education and programming we deliver at WEC, so we look forward to working with our host city partners to enrich the attendee experience in the coming years.”

Starting in 2016, MPI will hold WEC during the June to early July time frame. This strategic decision was made based on membership feedback regarding scheduling conflicts with summer vacation plans, school breaks, Canada’s Civic Holiday and other industry events. As previously announced, WEC 2016 will take place June 11–14, at Harrah’s Atlantic City Waterfront Conference Center, Atlantic City, NJ.

For more information about the MPI Academy, visit www.mpiweb.org/ProfessionalDevelopment.

For more information about WEC and other upcoming MPI events, visit www.mpiweb.org/events.

To view live and recorded sessions from WEC 2015 in San Francisco, visit www.mpiweb.org/wec15.