Smart Event Academy

Benefits of Certification

What It Means to be Smart Event Certified

Learning both the how and the why

Getting certified by the Smart Event Academy shows the world that you know your digital event strategy and have the event tech project management chops to go with it.

We teach both the how and the why — because when you have both you can readily deliver world-class events. And we reinforce it through experiential learning as you build out your own digital event experience using well-known, easy-to-use event tech.

How You Earn Your Certification

Every Smart Event Academy course has specific, documented certification requirements that you can find on the respective course details pages. Smart Event Academy certifications generally consist of the following elements:

Certification Elements

View course material

All courses are delivered on-demand, with both written and video components.

Take course quizzes

All quizzes must be completed with an average passing score of 80% or higher.

Complete course project

Most Smart Event Academy courses require a hands-on project in order to earn your certificate

Students must complete all three elements in order to earn a certification. All work must be completed within six months of the start of the course.

Get the hands-on experience you can’t get anywhere else and start your digital event certification journey today.

How the Course Projects Work

The Smart Event Academy courses are built on top of a mock event — CoffeePalooza — designed by Academy founder Jen Santos.

The mock event walks students through a hybrid event scenario from event brief through to post-event reporting. You will learn by doing by building out your own CoffeePalooza site. 

Using our teaching method, you get all of the benefits of a real-world event tech implementation with none of the risk of disappointed clients or attendees.

We provide you with everything you need to be successful:

  • Access to an industry-leading, easy-to-use event tech platform

  • Event data — ready to be input into the platform

  • Custom training videos to help you quickly learn the event tech platform

  • Buildout homework for each module to reinforce learning

What You'll Get With Your Certification

Getting certified speaks to your dedication to your craft – to yourself and others who recognize your achievement.

As a certified Smart Event Specialist, you will have:

  • Your name listed in our online directory of Certified Smart Event Specialists.
  • Knowledge and information that you can take with you for the rest of your career.
  • A digital certificate and badge you can use on LinkedIn, etc.
  • Access to the Digital Event Experience Professionals Association (deexpa). Association benefits include:
    • A Community of Practice (CoP) committed to leveling up digital event deliveries (in-person, hybrid, and virtual) and getting event tech a seat at the table
    • Access to job opportunities via our exclusive job board
    • Additional no-cost learning opportunities
    • Networking with other event professionals as passionate about world-class digital event delivery as you are


We’re not here for the recertification dollars, so there are no continuing ed requirements for any Smart Event Academy courses. Instead, we are focused on making sure you get the knowledge and skills you need today to excel at delivering world-class events. You won’t be buying a course you don’t need just to earn your CEUs before year-end.

It’s all about leveling up together – the Smart Event Academy way.

Check out our course catalog and start learning today.

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