Posted by
Barry Siskind
UFI’s Community Manager

The International Summer University 2014 completed its 6th session last Friday in Cologne. The ISU is organized by the Institute for Trade Fair Management, University of Cologne in co-operation with UFI and hosted by Koelnmesse. The theme this year was Visitor (R)Evolution – Targeting, Motivating and Satisfying the 21st Century Visitor.
Fifty participants made up of organizers and service providers spent three days listening to academics and business people discuss various aspects of the visitor acquisition. They also participated in two workshops where they were able to put some of the theory they had learned into practice.

As it was my first ISU, I spoke to a few of the participants in order to compare their reactions to my own. Here is a sampling of their comments:

Klaus Meier, Division Manager Exhibition Solutions for Dimedis said, “I liked that ISU brought people together to learn new ideas. I am convinced that we are experiencing a revolution on how people will meet which will be less by chance and more by intent.”

Helene von Groote, Project Director for Leipziger Messe said, “It was a good combination of lectures and workshops. It was good to learn how other people in this industry work. There was a feeling of honesty among all the participants who were very open to discussing various things.”

Elena Salomon, Director, Global Expo said, “This was my first exposure to this industry. My objective for attending was to gain greater insight into how the industry works. I loved Simon’s (Burton) message that we don’t really need media because we have direct contact with people.”

Markus Tan, Deputy Director, BTMICE Planning and Marketing, Singapore Tourism Board said, “It was a good balance between academic and practical. I would have liked more information about Asia, I would have also liked more time for workshops.”

Overall I believe that ISU 2014 was a success. I anxiously await the line-up for ISU 2015.