Global association of the exhibition industry UFI has announced two special Forums will take place ahead of its year’s European Conference in Birmingham (UK) in May. The first will focus on Operations and Services and the second on Digital Innovation.
Run by UFI’s respective Working Groups, Forums are specialised conferences based on a very specific topic. Their aim is to empower mid to senior managers in the exhibition industry.
The UFI Operations and Services Forum is scheduled for 14-15 May. With the theme ‘Productivity improvements in operations and services using smart technology’, it will present concrete case studies supporting a range of topics, such as IoT data collection and deployment; IoT for venue management; facial recognition for entry control; and a close look at the deployment of the Air Traffic Control model to venues.
Giacomo Lucchini, Chair of UFI Operations and Services Working Group, comments: “The Operations and Services Forum provides delegates with the ideal opportunity to step back and reflect on how to do things better. Participants can become more familiar with the specific tools available for a seamless, optimal customer experience whilst maximising efficiency.”
The UFI Digital Innovation Forum will take place on 15 May. Entitled ‘How to push digital innovation’, it will present real-life cases, challenges and benefits. The speakers and presenters will share their experiences, both good and bad, as well as ideas for organisations to become more digital, data-driven and customer-focused.
“Over the past few years, the topic of digital innovation has come up time and again. We have looked at it from many different angles, studied it, strategised it and filled a lot of slides with it. However, CTOs and CDOs of the exhibition industry are still struggling when the time comes with actually implementing real projects in real events and venues. This is why we have decided to focus on real-life cases, challenges and benefits,” says Matthias Tesi Baur, Chair of the UFI Digital Innovation Working Group.
With both Forums wrapping up just as UFI’s European Conference kicks off, participants can easily transition from one event to the next.
The conference is UFI’s main event in Europe this year and is geared towards providing industry updates and insights from across the region, combined with quality networking and unique cultural experiences.
This year, the conference will focus on what’s in store for organisers in Europe and beyond. This first international conference for our industry in post-Brexit Britain will look at ways and means to benefit from changing trade patterns as new alliances are being forged.
Early bird registrations end on 15 March and special discounted rates apply if registering for one of the UFI Forums as well as the UFI European Conference.
