Smart Event Foundations for Individuals

Smart Event Foundations

Digital event strategy and event tech project management fundamentals

The Smart Event Foundations (SEF) program is a six-week hands-on training course and certification program to give you the leg up on understanding digital event strategy and event tech – even if you’re not technical. No confusing terminology, no complex systems.

Using our mock event — CoffeePalooza — we walk you through an event technology implementation from marketing site to post-mortem. Digital event strategy and event tech basics are baked into every step in the process.

Accelerate your event career!

Have solid organizational skills
Stay cool under pressure
Think well on your feet
Aren't afraid to jump in and just "figure it out"
Possess strong communication skills
Are comfortable with uncertainty
Are good at translating concepts between different audiences

Sound like you? Then Join US!

Charter member pricing: $1,795

Full price: $3,495

Course Dates: January 15, 2024 - February 25, 2024

As a charter member and you’ll also get:

Become an event tech project manager

Transitioning to a new industry can be a challenge — new terminology, rhythms, and best practices to learn. The events industry is fast-paced and most people learn by doing. This course lets you “learn by doing” in a safe, supportive environment where you can ask all of your questions and have plenty of time to learn at your own pace.

With a projected three-fold increase in demand over the the next five years and significant job flexibility, there is no better time to become an event professional.

Learn while doing with a mock-event style program and real event tech

Go at your own pace with online learning combined with live Q&A and community to ask ALL of your questions

Meet a community of peers and mentors to help make you transition into event tech project management a successful one

The goal of the Foundations course is to give you all of the tools, skills, and information you need to need to confidently run an event tech project. You’ll get the documents and template we use to manage event tech projects, as well as the answers to the questions we wish we’d have known to ask at the beginning of our event tech management journey.

Learning is reinforced by regular quizzes and homework — you’ll be building your own event with an easy-to-use event tech platform — and with a passing grade of 80% or higher you’ll earn a Smart Event Foundations (SEF) certificate.

Learn about Smart Event Foundations for Agencies

Course delivery structure

The course uses a mock event format and real event tech for experiential learning — taking you through a complete event cycle from event brief to event execution.

We combine self-paced online training with weekly live Q&A calls and a follow-on 90 day mentoring program to help with the transition from classroom to workplace. All of this is wrapped in an online community available to you 24×7 for the life of the Academy to ask any and all of your event tech questions.

Participants who complete all of the quizzes and homework with an average passing grade of 80% or higher will earn a Smart Event Foundations (SEF) certificate.

Cohort-based program

learn with and from a community of peers

Hands-on learning environment

set up your own event with real event tech

Complete event lifecycle

manage an event from event brief through to post-event reporting

Cohort-based program

learn with and from a community of peers

Hands-on learning environment

set up your own event with real event tech

Complete event lifecycle

manage an event from event brief through to post-event reporting

Project management skills

master the project management triple constraint

Effective communication

discover the keys to good discovery and client communication and management

Supportive mentoring

feel supported by our 90-day mentoring program

Event life

learn what means to be an event tech professional and how to thrive while doing it

The course encompasses roughly 30 hours of online instruction, plus live calls and homework. Quizzes throughout the program ensure comprehension, and a certificate of completion for those who complete the course and pass all of the quizzes (80% or higher).

Syllabus

Using a mock event format, we’ll deliver the imaginary hybrid event, CoffeePalooza, taking it from event brief through to event delivery. We’ll go step-by-step through the planning process and build out our event from the ground up so you can see first-hand how all of the pieces — in-person, virtual, and hybrid — fit together.

Introduction and event management basics

Introduction to the attendee journey and deciphering the event brief
Project management principles, plus facilitating effective event requirements discovery
Introduction to mobile app considerations
Introduction to the event tech platform
Integrating the event marketing platform and recording event metrics

Event registration and communications

Testing best practices for smooth deployments
Learn the event registration do’s and don’ts that can make or break the event
Understanding access control and badging
Types and timings of the most common event communications
Understanding PII, GDPR, and how to keep event data secure

Content tools and tool deployment

Introduction to content management strategies and tools
Learn about speaker management tools and prep resources
How to schedule and manage tool deployments
Discover best practices for creating documentation that will support you event over event

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Attendee networking and event exhibitors

Introduction to features and gotchas in attendee networking tools
Introduction to exhibitor and sponsor management and tools
Understanding exhibitor ROI and lead retrieval
Exploring communication and collaboration tools and best practices to manage your team and client

Delivery and event prep, travel, and metrics

Understanding tracking session admission and attendance
Evaluating event success through session and event surveys and evaluations
Discovering pre-event best practices to ensure a smooth virtual, in-person, or hybrid event
Exploring various travel and expense policies and procedures

Event delivery, reporting, and wrap-up

Monitoring event delivery and effective techniques for triaging the unexpected
Connecting the dots for meaningful event reporting
Delivering an effective post-mortem aimed at continuous improvement
Positioning yourself as an event tech project management professional

90-day mentoring program (included)

The follow-on 90 day mentoring program provides you the support you need to successfully take what you learned in the course and apply it to your first event. You’ll have weekly mentoring calls and a 24×7 online community to ask questions, get answers, and run what-if scenarios.

Charter member pricing: $1,795

Full price: $3,495

Course Dates: January 15, 2024 - February 25, 2024

As a charter member and you’ll also get:

Your head instructor

With three decades of IT consulting and project management experience and more than a decade leading event tech at some of the world’s largest companies, Jen brings a deep understanding of technology, project management, client management, and events to the Smart Event Academy.

Event clients include Microsoft, GitHub, CES, Oracle, and Splunk.

What Colleagues are Saying

Respected throughout the industry, here’s what colleagues have to say.

When looking for a teacher or mentor, you want someone with a wealth of direct experience, exhaustive expertise, and a keen eye for not just what you need to know but how to apply it all, too. You also likely want someone kind, empathetic, and genuine. Jen exemplifies these qualities, and Smart Event Academy is where she pours her passion and extensive knowledge - all to give you a solid foundation on which to build your own success and career.

Dorian Zimmermanlong-time colleague with over 5+ years working closely with Jen on top-tier tech events

Jen is a guru of event tech. I have learned so much from her in the five years that Sound Planning has had the pleasure of working with her. She gracefully serves as translator between event stakeholders and event tech developers. I can’t wait to see her expertise shared broadly through the Smart Event Academy.

Jessica LuddersManager & Partner, Sound Planning Meetings & Events

FAQ

In this case, event tech means the online components — from the marketing site to registration to the content system to the schedule builder to the digital venue — that’s required to deliver an event.

A/V (audio visual) and production are not a part of this program beyond integration tips and tricks.

If you are curious to learn more about how the in person components of an event intersect with registration, session and speaker management, the expo and more, then this program will be valuable to your event management career.

Yes, this program will. The concepts remain the same, independent of the tech. While the event tech is an integral part of this program, this is not a technical event tech training program. The concepts taught in this program will translate to any event tech stack.

The Smart Event Academy Foundations course is designed as an intensive to help professionals quickly get up to speed. You can expect to spend roughly 3-5 hours per week on course material, including homework.

View the complete FAQ

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