Education plattform micelab:bodensee

This pool of insights will be available to the entire events industry in the German-speaking region as we launch the micelab:bodensee training program. Congresses and events ought to be lively affairs, offering a creative field for enthusiastic learning and an active exchange. In order to achieve this objective, the members of the Bodensee Meeting network have been addressing this in earnest since 2013 – along with experts from the events industry and other disciplines such as architecture, the theatre, sociology and communication. The process is supported by “der congress tanzt”, headed by experienced events adviser Tina Gadow and the journalist Michael Gleich.

From the insights gained, the founders of the programme, have now developed the first education platform for event organisers in the German-speaking region. “Micelab:bodensee” is made up of three modules each with a different main topic. The module “explorer” focuses on research. The modules “experts” and “experience” are aimed at employees of events establishments, event agencies and cultural institutions. The EU-funded Interreg V-Project will be rolled out in early October 2016.

Every year, the attendees at the micelab:bodensee take on a different main subject. They are not concerned with framework conditions such as the choice of a room or a set meal. Instead, they are concerned with how to approach the concept of an event. The first main topic is “fear and trust – how feelings are integrated”.

The format “explorer” is used as a think tank, and is held every year, for the first time it will be early October this year. Five experts from events establishments and five experts from other disciplines will all actively participate in this three-day research module.

“We invite different researchers every time. They generate inputs on the main subject which are then tested for their practicality in the other micelab modules. “Explorer” is our knowledge generator – our R&D department,” summarises Tina Gadow.

The module “experts” has been designed with employees of events establishments in mind. It will be held for the first time in Bregenz at the end of November, then every six months going forward. 

Over the course of the three-day training programme, the 30 attendees will go through the stages of a whole congress, i.e. they go from design through to experiencing it. Only the subject is planned, the attendees themselves design the workshops, which they then get to reflect upon afterwards. Everything, from the technicians and caterers through to the event manager, must be involved in the process.

The attendees then get to integrate the lessons learned in their own company, as “homework”. For instance, they share their knowledge with colleagues in internal workshops. “experts” is available to the members of the Bodensee Meeting network for the first time, afterwards it will be available to the entire industry.

The third stage is micelab:bodensee “experience” – a major congress on the subject of congresses. It takes on the form of a playing field for trying out the learned, for exchanging experiences and for presenting the quintessence. The congress is aimed at the industry as a whole. It is set to take place for the first time in January 2018.

“The objective of the micelab:bodensee is to make people aware of good events and an appropriate internal team attitude. Events are creative pools, lively formats which reflect the zeitgeist. If this spirit is internalised, we can keep moving and don’t get trapped in routine”.

For further information, visit www.bodenseemeeting.com