On the morning of April 22, Ms. Cathy Brenden, CEO of the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE), and Ms. Jia Zhenhua from IAEE China Office visited the Shanghai MICEE Institute(SMI) and had in-depth discussions with Professor Zhang Min, Executive Dean of the Institute at Shanghai University, on issues related to the exhibition industry and its education and training.
Professor Zhang Min extended a warm welcome to the two guests and accompanied them on a tour of the beautiful spring scenery on the campus of Shanghai University. Shanghai University has reached multiple cooperation agreements with international exhibition organizations over the years. Specifically, under the framework of Sino-Japanese government cooperation on advertising education, Shanghai University cooperated with Dentsu, the world's largest individual advertising and exhibition company, for eight years in the field of internationalization and modernization of advertising and exhibition. During this period, nearly 30 experts came to give lectures, nearly 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students attended classes and benefited, and 16 specialized teachers went to Dentsu's Tokyo headquarters for business training. The Shanghai MICEE Institute looks forward to continuing cooperation in multiple areas with foreign exhibition organizations.
Ms. Cathy Brenden introduced that IAEE has senior experts and scholars in the global exhibition industry from countries around the world, and many of them are happy to come to Shanghai for academic visits and lectures. Over the years, IAEE has focused on the education and training of exhibition professionals and has formed a complete curriculum system, including lecture PPTs, in-class exercises and exam questions, job analysis, etc. For example, the international version of the textbook Introduction to Exhibition Art has been continuously updated and improved over the years according to industry developments. The sixth edition will be launched soon. Experts can choose to focus on relevant content or customize course content based on local market needs, such as exhibition planning, digital exhibition, exhibition sales, etc. In addition to participating in undergraduate exhibition education, IAEE also provides student exchange opportunities for partner schools worldwide every year, including 2 free registrations for the annual conference. Through the "global gathering and showcase of the exhibition industry" at IAEE's annual conference, students can experience the exhibition industry from an intuitive and unique perspective.
Professor Zhang Min welcomed IAEE experts to come to Shanghai University for academic exchanges. The two sides had in-depth discussions on preliminary ideas and relevant details regarding future expert lectures. They also exchanged views on the development of the exhibition industry. Professor Zhang Min introduced the mission of SMI is to serve the development of the exhibition industry, promote the growth of new disciplines, and build a national exhibition research base; its tasks are independent third-party research and high-end talent cultivation. SMI has undertaken or participated in important projects such as the organizational implementation plan for the China International Import Expo, the demonstration of the National Exhibition Center (Shanghai) project, the research on Shanghai's exhibition industry legislation, and the research on building Shanghai into an international exhibition capital. The exhibition market in Shanghai and even across China is generally composed of state-owned enterprises, foreign-invested enterprises and private enterprises. Among them, most exhibition companies are small and medium-sized private enterprises. Although state-owned enterprises and foreign-invested enterprises have significant influence, they only account for a small proportion. Overall, exhibition companies need to pursue innovation and development, and require high-end talents; the exhibition market needs to continuously improve its marketization level and follow the path of specialization, internationalization, digitalization, and ecological development. In the future, China's exhibition industry needs to go global and work together with exhibition companies from countries around the world to optimize resource allocation and achieve win-win cooperation.
Ms. Cathy Brenden pointed out that IAEE has members all over the world, and organizers from Europe, South America, Australia and other regions often turn to IAEE for cooperation resources in China and the Asia-Pacific region. IAEE is willing to provide more opportunities and platforms for Chinese companies to go global. Specifically, IAEE's annual conference held every December will invite exhibitors from all over the world to its headquarters in Dallas, USA, providing an efficient platform for communication between exhibition companies. At the same time, IAEE has a global exhibition information database that provides retrieval functions and publishing platforms for its members. Domestic and foreign exhibition companies can use this platform to seek exhibitors and organizers from various industries and sectors. Professor Zhang Min expressed the hope that more Chinese exhibition companies can leverage the IAEE platform in the future to promote domestic and international communication, help China's exhibition industry go global, and enable the global exhibition market to achieve post-epidemic recovery and prosperity as soon as possible.
IAEE's visit on this occasion has created opportunities and provided platforms for international exchanges in the exhibition industry and exhibition education, invigorating the atmosphere and facilitating the international cooperation of China's exhibition companies and exhibition education. This will provide new perspectives and impetus for cultivating high-end talents for China's exhibition industry.
The International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) was established in 1928 and headquartered in Dallas, USA. It is the leading organization of global exhibition industry associations, aiming to promote the unique value of conferences and exhibitions worldwide and provide channels and resources to facilitate industry cooperation. It currently represents around 12,000 practitioners and professionals providing relevant business support in the exhibition industry from over 50 countries and regions around the world. IAEE promotes the development of the international exhibition industry through training, conferences, research, publications, information dissemination, and other means. It studies trends in the international exhibition industry, disseminates information, and provides consulting and training services to member organizations to improve the management skills of exhibition organizers.
Professor Zhang Min accompanied Ms. Cathy Brenden and Ms. Jia Zhenhua on a campus tour
Text: Hua Hongqi
