Five Convention Center Managers Chosen for AIPC Academy Scholarships

January 2, 2012

AIPC - the International Association of Congress Centres, in conjunction with the IMEX Group, has chosen five aspiring convention center managers to receive a scholarship to participate in the 2012 AIPC Academy.

"AIPC sees professional development as a key part of our association mandate, and the investment we have made in creating the AIPC Academy as one of the most highly regarded educational programs in the industry is evidence of this,” said AIPC President Edgar Hirt.

He added, "However, we recognize that in these financially challenging times, not all centers are in a position to offer the level of support required to ensure their most suitable candidates can access this program. The Academy Scholarship program goes some way to addressing this problem and helps ensure their professional development is ongoing.”

Scholarship recipients are from the following centers:

  • DIPOLI Congress Centre - Espoo, Finland
  • Hyderabad International Convention Centre - India
  • Borneo Convention Centre - Kuching, Malaysia
  • Coex Convention & Exhibition Center - Seoul
  • Bahrain International Exhibition & Convention Centre - Bahrain
  •  

IMEX funded three of the scholarships, giving the program an additional boost. "We are very grateful to IMEX for their support, and the fact that this signals their recognition of the importance of professional development in the industry.” Hirt said.

He added, "It demonstrates a shared recognition of the importance of skilled managers to the future of the industry and is a commitment to helping create our future leaders.”

The five-year-old AIPC Academy Professional Development Program was started as a way for centers to address the need to expand the skills and perspectives of staff preparing for more senior management responsibilities and to orient individuals who already had their professional credentials in another field but needed to learn more about the specifics of our industry, according to AIPC officials.

To date, more than 125 have graduated from the week-long, intensive in-residence program that utilizes the resources of 8-10 faculty and guest presenters to address a full range of topics.

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