Las Vegas. The show has a wide program of more than 180 learning sessions – all free of charge – taking place at the expanded Inspiration Hub, sponsored by Maritz Global Events. 97 per cent of eligible education sessions are assigned with continuous education units for CMP certification, while 114 are approved by ILEA. This is the show’s highest accreditation achievement to date.

‘The biggest leaps and turnarounds come from collisions of thought’ – that’s the advice of Tim Sanders, CEO of research and consultancy firm Deeper Media. His session, “Innovating faster – why collaboration changes everything”, focuses on creating a culture of collaboration in order to problem-solve and drive innovation.

Collaboration – one of the tenets of IMEX’s Talking Point, Imagination – is also explored in Celebrating the positive impact of business events. Jane Cunningham from BestCities Global Alliance discusses the wider societal impact of events and connecting with the community. She will detail case studies from associations and explore the range of measurement tools available. The importance of data in order to research and choose a destination and venue is covered in a session by marketing agency CI Group.

In “How research and data analysis identify the ideal meeting destination”, CEO David Watt will reveal how data analytics can streamline the event planning process and how destination profiling and heat maps also have a part to play.

PCMA delivers a future-focused session – Five trends shaping the future of business events. PCMA and Marriott International uncovered key trends in their research and will explain how these can be brought to life by planners, ushering in a new era of experiences for any audience.

Creating deeper attendee and sponsor experiences is the aim of Five easy ways to align event tech with your event goals. EventMobi’s Event Marketing Manager, Kate Gray, shares best practices for integrating tech in an event to streamline the planning process and align to event goals.

Technology remains a firm focus of many of the education sessions with The Meeting Pool team, part of the expanded tech area on the show floor, sharing their expertise. In Smart project management tools for smart planners Tara Thomas promises to delve into new platforms, show how to customize them, and transform how planners execute tasks and reach milestones.

Carina Bauer, CEO of the IMEX Group, explains: “Our extensive education program, developed carefully with our industry partners, recognises that regardless of experience and career level, there is always something new to learn and discover. The business events sector continues to develop at a rapid rate and we, in turn, keep evolving our learning programs. In that way we stay true to our mission of leading by example.”

The IMEX America education program is now live. IMEX America takes place September 10 – 12, 2019, with Smart Monday, powered by MPI on September 9. Registration for the show is free of charge and open to all who work in the meetings, events and incentive travel industry.