Technology/Tools

MPI Launches New Event Planning AI Certificate Program

December 6, 2023

Meeting Professionals International has officially joined the AI educational fray with a new event planning AI certificate course to launch in January 2024.

Meeting Professionals International (MPI) has jumped into the event planner artificial intelligence educational pool with a new AI-Enhanced Event Professional Certificate program set to launch January 31. The MPI Academy is collaborating with Reposite, an AI meeting and event planning tool, to produce the four-hour course, “AI-Enhanced Event Professional Certificate.” The aim of the certificate course is to provide meeting and event professionals with both the essential knowledge and skills they need to take advantage of what A.I. can do to create meaningful, immersive experiences.

The program’s six modules begin with an introduction to AI in events and ethical considerations. Progressive modules include practical applications of A.I. tools, personalization and engagement using AI, data analysis for data-driven decisions, and a hands-on case study, where participants collaborate in groups to enhance an event using A.I., then present and talk about their case studies. The MPI Academy program, which costs $305 for members and $405 for non-members, is scheduled to be held four times in 2024: January 31, April 24, July 18 and October 24.

MPI may be the latest, but it’s not the only AI educational game in town. This summer, the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA)’s Professional Event Leadership Institute (ELI) announced it would be launching its own online meeting and event-planning AI certificate course. Called Enhancing Events with AI, the five-week course is taught by Nick Borelli, Director of Marketing for Zenus. The ELI certificate course, which now is scheduled to start Jan. 23, 2024, will offer 7.5 CMP credit hours. It will cover the basics on AI technology, including the main AI platforms that are currently available, and how they are being used now to market, plan and execute events, as well as real-life use cases in event data analysis. The course also will illustrate how planners can use AI to engage audiences, automate event logistics, and use predictive analytics to optimize event planning. The cost for this certificate course is $556 for PCMA, CEMA and ELI members and $695 for non-members, and has start dates of Jan. 23, April 18, July 11, Sept. 19 and Nov. 19.

If you prefer your AI learning to be in person and missed him at IMEX America this fall, Borelli also will be conducting a three-hour workshop called “Enhancing Events with A.I. and How to Hack the Adoption Curve”at PCMA’s Convening Leaders Conference on Jan. 7 in San Diego (pre-registration is required). PCMA also will be offering other A.I.-related courses at Convening Leaders, including sessions called “A.I. Idea Exchange: Sharing Use Cases in Event Planning” and “The Future of Generative A.I.: Exploring the Benefits, Risk and How It Will Change the Human Experience.”

PCMA also has a series of AI-related educational webinars available, including a demo of Project Spark, the meetings-specific AI engine launched by PCMA and Gevme. PCMA and CEMA members now can access Spark for free. Non-members also can dip their toes into Spark with a free starter program, with a Pro version available for $19/user/month and an Enterprise version also available for an additional cost.