Welcome to MPI | 2025

10:00 - 11:00 AM CST

Your first year of membership to Meeting Professionals International is full of opportunities, some of which you may not even be aware of. You may have joined MPI for a very specific reason and we want you to fully understand all the ways to achieve your goal. Our one-hour webinar will give you an overview of the benefits you now have access to which will make you successful.

Zoom links will be provided soon

2025 Orientations:

• Friday, January 17
• Thursday, February 20
• Wednesday, March 19

Intro to Event Design - Level 1- with the Event Design Collective

Cost: $505 Member/ $705 Non-Member

Domain G: Meeting or Event Design | 8 Clock Hours

Event Design - Level 1

Introduction to Event Design with the Event Design Collective

*Please note: This course will be held over two days, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. CT each day.

Experience being in an event design team. Apply the Event Design using the Event Canvas™ Methodology on a case study. Explore Empathy Mapping. Identify the CHANGE of behavior per stakeholder. Then FRAME the event design challenge by locking in all the design constraints. Articulate the change required and then prototype various event designs. Come full circle as a team having applied the Event Design using the Event Canvas methodology with 6 roles and the Facilitation Kit.

Two virtual interactive introduction sessions of Event Design using the #EventCanvas™ Methodology as a basic skillset, including Stakeholder Analysis, Empathy Mapping, and using the Event Canvas for basic prototyping. After this course, you will have experienced what it’s like to be on an Event Design Team. You will be able to apply the #EventCanvas to articulate how your event can change behavior of the stakeholders.

This virtual experience is limited to 20 students! Register to reserve your seat today.

What You'll Learn

• Apply the Empathy Map, Event Canvas and Event Delta to analyze stakeholder behavior as a design team member
• Prototype Event Designs to articulate the narrative of the event design
• Be able to articulate the purpose of Event Design using the Event Canvas™ Methodology to demonstrate the value of an event.

What You'll Receive

• Certificate of Completion from EDC
• A digital badge from MPI
• Exclusive access to EDC resources
• Coupon code to save $$$ on an EDC Level 3 course to further your education in event design

This course will be taught by Devon Pascha, CED. Devon is based in McAllen, TX and serves as Director North America for Event Design Collective. Devon signed up for an EDC Level 3 program in 2021 and Event Design felt like a warm bath to her. After the Mastermind program and her CED+, she decided to join the team. She now leads the development of open programs and academic programs of Event Design Collective in the United States and she leads the development of Event Design Collective in Canada.

Healthcare Meetings Compliance Certificate (HMCC)

Domain A: Strategic Planning

Cost: $513.99 member / $713.99 non-member

Note: Course now includes the price of a digital badge credential that will ensure you and your stakeholders know that your HMCC designation is up to date.

Healthcare meeting professionals on both sides of the marketplace must balance designing and hosting events and quantifiable returns for their organizations with unprecedented and frequent changes in global healthcare compliance and regulations for their companies, their attendees, their destinations, and more. They must tackle tough regulations and adjust and readjust priorities while keeping an eye on short- and long-term survival—a tough job that requires a continuous flow of knowledge.

Invest in your future and your company’s success by participating in MPI’s Healthcare Meeting Compliance Certificate (HMCC) program, which provides a condensed foundation in key healthcare disciplines. Designed for both event strategists and their partners who need a broad understanding of a full range of regulatory topics, this program develops competency groundwork while building critical thinking skills through case studies, business simulation, discussion, and active exercises. This intensive, four-hour educational and training program provides healthcare meeting compliance stakeholders with the knowledge and experience they need to successfully navigate the increasingly complex pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device regulatory environment.

Upon completion of this program, attendees will earn the HMCC credential signifying awareness of and competence in the latest compliance regulations that impact healthcare meetings and events.

You’ll Be Able To:

• Utilize new healthcare compliance management skills and unique terminologies in the event planning and design process
• Oversee process reporting management across a variety of sectors, regions, and countries
• Meet new reporting and submission timelines and understand transfers of values, and what that means for meetings and events
• Apply the who, what, where, and how of the Physician Payment Sunshine Act (Open Payments), and other global compliance.

Course Preparation:

• Registrants can purchase the textbook “Breaking the Code to Healthcare Compliance," and read it prior to the session. Books are available for $89.95 (print) and $80.00 (e-book) and can be ordered here: http://www.meetingcompliance.com

• This is a suggested but not required component of the HMCC Class.

Credits Available 4.00 Contact Hours

Will you join the global community CED – Certified Event Designers?

This is your first step of discovery.

Domain G: Meeting or Event Design | 1.5 Clock Hours

Event Design Certificate Program – Introduction Session (90 minutes)

Introduction to Event Design with the Event Design Collective

Experience being in an event design team. Apply the Event Design using the Event Canvas™ Methodology on a case study.

Explore Empathy Mapping. Identify the CHANGE of behavior per stakeholder. Then FRAME the event design challenge by locking in all the design constraints. Articulate the change required and then prototype various event designs.

Come full circle as a team having applied the Event Design using the Event Canvas methodology with 6 roles and the Facilitation Kit in a dry run.

The Event Canvas™ Methodology provides you with answers to these and other questions with a practical approach. In this interactive workshop, you will learn how to use the #EventCanvas to develop target group-specific events that focus on generating added value for all involved.

The method is based on the core principles of design thinking and supports the creative process without losing sight of the return on time, resources and financial investments.

The program will provide you with the following learnings

• We will experience and explore how events create value
• How you can improve impact many times over with consciously designing for them.
• We will take you through the process of event design and
• You will experience what it is like to be on an event design team.
• You will get an insight in and some experience with the collaborative tools we use to make the process work wonders

The New Vendor Economy: Commissions, Bonuses & Rebates Explained | January 12th, 2026 | 11 am - 12:30 pm CT | Domain E: Financial Management, 1 CEU

Hosted by the MPI-MD Community

As the medical meetings and events industry continues to evolve, the financial dynamics between suppliers, agencies, and corporations are shifting rapidly. Understanding the changing landscape of commissions, bonuses, and rebates is now critical for anyone managing vendor relationships or negotiating event contracts.

This webinar will demystify how financial incentives are applied across the supplier ecosystem — from hotels and destination management companies to third-party agencies.

Industry experts will unpack the mechanics of the “new vendor economy” — revealing how financial incentives are structured and how these financial arrangements affect pricing, value perception, and long-term strategic sourcing decisions across the global meetings industry.

Our experts will discuss how the “new vendor economy” has created a challenging landscape for small and mid-market suppliers, particularly those working with pharmaceutical and medical device clients.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Differentiate between commissions, bonuses, and rebates — understanding how each functions within vendor agreements and how they impact total event spend.

2. Evaluate the implications of these financial incentives on supplier relationships, contract negotiations, and compliance with corporate procurement policies.

3. Apply strategies to increase transparency and fairness in vendor partnerships.

A proud supporter of:

This session features interpretation and translation by Wordly:

Communicate in Any Language - Everything you say, translated on the fly.

Accessibility

Platform: Zoom Meetings (more information)

Accessibility Features:

• Wordly real time AI powered interpretation and translation
• Transcriptions

Accommodation Request Contact: MPIAcademy@mpiweb.org

Meeting Professional AV Certificate (MPAC) | February 25th, 2026 | 9 am - 1 pm CT | 4 CEU's

Join us live, online at the MPI Academy for your next certification. The MPAC Certification was developed to address event professionals' lack of clarity regarding audiovisual equipment, labor needs, contract negotiations, and more.

This session will get you up to speed with AV technology, terminology, and make you more comfortable working with both your AV vendor and clients/speakers. We will delve into each area of basic AV, including audio, video, and lighting. We will also discuss other event-related technology like speaker timers, slide advancers, and recording technology. We will also touch on things like rigging, electric, internet, and budgets.

We will discuss working with AV companies and common mistakes in your bidding/purchasing process.

Who Should Become Certified?

The program is focused for any meeting professional, planner, content manager or person involved in live event production using audiovisual services for their conference and events.

What will you learn over these 4 hours?

Module 1 – Mastering AV Needs Assessment

A deep dive into defining goals, understanding room requirements, and gathering accurate specs so you can request and evaluate AV properly.

Module 2 – Audio Fundamentals for Meeting Professionals

Explains microphones, DI boxes, laptop audio, line arrays, fallback speakers, and how to request audio setups that actually work for your event.

Module 3 – Technical Gear Essentials (Video, Screens & Projection)

Breaks down the practical differences between LED walls, projection, scenic video tricks, multi-screen illusions, and creating high-impact visuals on any budget.

Module 4 – Scenic Design & Room Transformation Strategies

Shows how scenic elements—both budget-friendly and advanced—can dramatically transform a space, including creative examples using screens, fabric, and lighting.

Module 5 – Creative Risk-Taking & Using Specialty Technology

Demonstrates how unique ideas like motion graphics, holographic effects, LED structures, and scenic innovation can elevate events while balancing practical limitations.

Module 6 – Understanding the RFP Process

Teaches how to create accurate AV RFPs by providing timelines, rehearsals, room needs, and all required specifications so vendors can quote correctly.

Module 7 – Venue Drawings, Room Layouts & Fire Marshal Requirements

Covers CAD drawings, AV footprints, rigging points, and how to collaborate with venues to ensure accurate layouts that meet safety and capacity requirements.

Module 8 – Production Schedules & Content Management

Outlines how to build production schedules, manage vendor coordination, collect speaker materials, and prepare presentations and embedded media correctly.

Module 9 – Site Inspections & Venue Technical Evaluation

Provides a checklist of questions to ask during site visits about lighting control, power access, loading docks, cell coverage, and other critical venue details.

Module 10 – Electrical, Internet & Contract Negotiation Essentials

Explains power drops, internet requirements, bandwidth needs, and negotiation strategies for avoiding hidden in-house AV costs.