BECOME #1
EVENT PROFESSIONAL

I’ve been in the events industry for 8 years now and I enrolled in the course to upgrade my knowledge and get practical tips. My annual event reached stagnation level: we were trying hard to promote it on different social media platforms, but the number of participants did not increase. I’ve been working with low budget and resources, that made me feel overwhelmed and I came to seek insights and help.

“The course was very comprehensive”

The course was very comprehensive. We were working on our own events and we analyzed and recreated the best version of them in order to find the weak spots. I was receiving personal feedback from the trainer, practical tools that I could use right away and that was great to be surrounded by a nice group of young like-minded event professionals. I really enjoyed that it was in the online format – really efficient and engaging.

“I can’t wait to implement all the knowledge and tools for my career growth”

The course helped me to have a clearer perspective on the event that I am running, and made me reconsider my communication strategy. After the course, I took distance from some tasks and saw the value of delegating them. I got new ideas for my social media content, improved my sales pitch and even learnt a lot about Excel and budgeting. I’m really looking forward to implementing all the knowledge I gained and tools I received for my career growth in the near future. There’s still a lot of work to do as during the lock-down I couldn’t implement everything right away, but I am fully geared up!

“It’s hard work in there, but otherwise there is no growth”

The training is really perfect for the young professionals, who are just starting in the events industry or the experienced professionals, who need to take a step back to analyze and improve their event strategy. It’s hard work in there, but there is no growth without stepping out of your comfort zone and without putting efforts. So GO FOR IT!

Visit Brussels, the convention bureau, was supporting and co-launching the course and I was one of the participants to evaluate the experience. However, I also came to the course with a specific goal: we needed to renew our flagship’s event concept and reconsider its organization.

“What differed the course from other trainings was its hands-on approach.”

Visit Brussels supports different trainings, but what differed B&E Academy and Nadia’s approach is that the course was indeed very hands-on. Over 8 weeks, we had a good balance of theory, practical tips and assignments.

“I have a new perspective on event management.”

After completing the course, I feel like I have a new perspective on event management. I’ve already had good knowledge in this area, but still I was missing links in order to put some elements better together. I took a step back and seriously reconsidered all the tasks, duties and delegation process, which will help me drive my team in a right direction and to manage them in a more efficient way. And this course helped me to do it.

“The course is the right tool for someone to gain knowledge in a relatively short time.”

What I can confidently say, is that the course is the right tool for someone to gain knowledge in a relatively short time (8 weeks). There is a good ambiance among the students and no place for competition, but rather support and exchange. Also, I can only advise to “Do the tasks within a week that is given. It’s enough time”. The timeline is well calculated to keep you motivated and going by constantly implementing in practice and testing what you learnt, which allows you to achieve your goals much quicker.

I had just got a new job as a Junior Project Coordinator and I was clearly a beginner in the event management. As I started, I was assigned to do the communications for an event for 100 people. Although I am good at communications and social media, but I could clearly see that I lacked event management knowledge. On the top of that, my time management skills could have been improved, as I used to do some work in last minute and I wanted to learn how to use my energy more efficiently in order to achieve my career goals in a short time period.

I am glad I did not waste time and I jumped on the opportunity to join the online “Event Creators” course when my boss suggested me. I could see right away that it was exactly what I needed at the moment in order to grow personally and professionally, by acquiring and putting into practice my new skills and knowledge. The COVID-19 pandemic hit and I could really use this time fruitfully…

“We worked individually on my event”

During the “Event Creators” course we worked with the trainer individually on my particular event. I could receive personal feedback, which is great as the course is very hands-on and we could use the tools right away on the job. Now I have a universal event strategy that will help me organizing events in a stress-free manner due to efficient planning. All the webinars were live, so it was very interactive.

“Now I have the knowledge I need, to organise a successful event, I learnt how to efficiently balance my work and personal life”

I’m grateful to the course as I gained valuable knowledge based on real-life expamples and experience of the trainer. I learnt techniques that will help me to reach work and life balance, as well as to be better prepared and mitigate risks such as the pandemic.

Among the goals, I set myself to get promoted by the end of the year and now I know what actions I need to take and how I need to sell my skills to the employer in order to give a quicker boost to my career.

I really liked the course, a pity it only lasted 8 weeks, but now I know where I need to dig deeper in order to fill in the blanks.

“Take advantage of coaching to grow in your career and life”

I would really like to recommend for those starting in the world of events to join the course, as it’s packed with 10-years of trainer’s practical experience as an event manager. Nadia has always been very clear in her explanations, willing to help and coach. Take advantage of personal feedback to grow in your career and life.

To start with, the event management isn’t part of my job. However, I decided to join the course, as I believe it is a great addition to my professional skillset as I develop in my career. In today’s reality, you, quite often, have to wear several hats and Event Manager’s is one of them. I needed a course that would provide me with tools, practical knowledge that I could use right away without completing a University degree.

“By the end of the course, I realised that it helped me to achieve the majority of my goals.”

The Event management knowledge can be applied both in your professional and personal life, which is motivating enough to follow all the modules and finish assignments. The course was delivered in a very professional manner as Nadia was giving us detailed feedback on our homework and was available for individual discussions. If you work for a profit-making company, the course is perfect for you, as there are modules on improving your sales & negotiation skills, how to work with sponsors and fundraising. By the end of the course, I realised that it helped me to achieve the majority of my goals that I set at the very beginning.

“I would highly recommend Nadia as your personal trainer on event management if you want to upgrade your skills and boost your career.”

Nadia has also excellent communication skills, is very experienced, gave a handful of practical tips. I appreciated the spreadsheets for budget planning and communications. I would highly recommend Nadia as your personal trainer on event management if you want to upgrade your skills and boost your career.

“You will also network with colleagues from different companies and exchange best practices.”

My tips to future students of the Academy: do all the homework and ask lots of questions. Set goals at the very beginning and focus more on the gaps in your knowledge. Make lots of notes!

I would highly recommend the course to both people who have already been involved in event organization and also those who just start their career path in that direction. You will also meet colleagues from different companies and associations which is good for networking and exchange of best practice.

I have been working with Nadia for the past 3 years as a member of the association and as a partner and a participant of the Annual conference gathering around 400 healthcare professionals in Europe. Before Nadia joined the association as an Event & Partnerships Manager, the events did not provide the experience, atmosphere and attention I was expecting.

WHAT WAS NEXT?

Believe me I’ve been to a lot of events in my life, but it was immediately clear that she gave me and all the annual conference participants the attention needed in order to create a welcome but also professional atmosphere. Bringing her event management expertise, Nadia developed extremely successful relationships, bringing all involved parties together to create excellent events. What was exceptional, is that besides the events, Nadia always kept the connection and relationship going, which gave the basis for a long-term fruitful collaboration.

WHY IS IT DIFFERENT?

Working with Nadia, was not only a great professional experience, but there is always this pleasant personal connection. This is not something I experienced often at other events or working with other partners. This way of working made the cooperation very effective.

ABOUT NADIA

Nadia has an excellent set of management skills that she knows how to use effectively in the circumstances that require those skills. I believe effectively using those skills formally and informally in the field of events is crucial, and that’s where Nadia could help in the “Event Creators” course.

Nadia ties partners and relations by using formal and informal sales techniques. This is done in a very pleasant way without being pushy and with respect to the partners, as well as satisfying our needs and providing value. Her negotiation skills contribute to achieving bigger results, improving the quality of the events and making the other party feel fully engaged.

WHERE DID WE END UP?

We first started with me and a couple of colleagues attending the conference, then the next year I brought in a bigger group of colleagues to the event and sponsored a session in the conference programme. And a year after, we are co-hosting the conference.

We started working with Nadia 2 years ago as part of our work on Digital Health.

WHAT WAS NEXT?

My company started to actively participate as a sponsor in the events that Nadia was organizing, like panel discussions, sessions, exhibition. Nadia is very professional, she is first discovering what the real needs of a client are. She has this approach, which helps to build strong relationships and also trust for a long-term business relations. I really appreciated working with Nadia as our joint events were always a success.

WHY IS IT DIFFERENT?

She has a great set of skills that everyone can learn from. Like pitching and selling, but also making sure that the project is advancing. She is looking at practical and logistical details, makes sure that everything is running smoothly but also she ensures that the sponsor is really happy throughout the process. When it comes to negotiating, she has a sharp approach, but which also allows to have a transparent “money discussion”, that can be a sensitive matter for many people.

ABOUT NADIA

She has great event management skills and she is very professional. She ensures that sponsors are satisfied with the process and that participants’ expectations are met. She does events in a way that matches both sides: the clients’ and the participants’.

WHERE DID WE END UP?

My company continues to take an active part in the events of the organization after those years. I like that Nadia has a very frank and honest approach, which shows willingness to satisfy the client but also ensuring that she meets her organization’s goals. So it’s a win-win.

Before Nadia started her job as the Events & Partnerships Manager, we have been running events in the same way for many years. I felt that the association needed a different approach and a fresh perspective on how the events were organized. I was looking for a professional who could have both: event management skills and could understand the importance of client relationships and how to successfully build them.

WHAT WAS NEXT?

Nadia very much hit the ground running. She had enthusiasm, ideas and an ability to build effective relationships with our partners. She turned around the running of our Annual Conference and put it onto a new higher footing as a marquee event in the annual European health policy and practice calendar. She developed a portfolio of annual events, that are still now taking place.

WHY IS IT DIFFERENT?

As a result of Nadia’s leadership and management, EHMA was able to develop and expand its portfolio of stakeholders. Events were more professionally planned and delivered and with respect to key metrics EHMA increased overall participation levels, increased income and surplus levels and received high levels of positive feedback from stakeholders.

ABOUT NADIA

I would be very happy to recommend Nadia as a professional to learn from about the events management and more generally about client engagement. She is productive, creative and works well under pressure, these skills are extremely important not only for Event Managers but for any professional.