In addition to the strategic partnership that is bringing Smart Monday to IMEX America in October, MPI has another key association with IMEX Group: Future Leader Forums. The Forums, held throughout the year in various locations like Warsaw and Bangkok, bring together the best and the brightest students in the meeting and events industry where they network, learn from leaders with years of experience and participate in the International University Challenge.
The Challenge asks students to develop an event bid for a conference specifically for Gen Y. The individual winners at each Forum then meet up at IMEX Frankfurt for a two-day program. I had the opportunity to communicate via email with WEC 2010 winner Jill Schroder last year, who sent me an incredibly heartfelt video about her experience. As she said, MPI programs like Future Leader Forums give students like her an opportunity to showcase their skills. She was excited about presenting in Frankfurt (I’m following up with her now about her experience) and possibly winning the MPI Foundation Student Scholarship Award, which is USD$10,000. And she was only one of the five student participants who brought their intellect to Frankfurt!
Congratulations go to Michał Maziarczyk, winner from FLF Warsaw, whose event bid was described by judges as "authentic." In addition to the MPI Foundation Student Scholarship Award, Michał received an invitation to attend WEC 2011 in Orlando with all costs (registration, flight and accommodations) covered by MPI Foundation. How is that as a reward for showing your industry skills?
Students, you can find out about all MPI student programs via the community page.