Build your event management and conference planning skills

Careful planning is essential for the success of any meeting, event, or conference.

On this one-week course from Learning Lounge, you’ll learn the basics of everything you need to know to plan a conference (or business event) and develop the key skills required to manage each aspect successfully and with as little stress as possible.

Explore the key stages of event planning

Planning begins well in advance of a conference or event date and may take months or even years depending on the event.

Throughout this course, you’ll look at the timeline of an event, starting with determining the purpose and objectives of an event and ending with wrapping up the post-conference report.

You’ll explore each planning phase, learning the basic requirements of each step in the timeline, from planning the budget to deciding the timing, venue, and program.

Develop your organisation skills to coordinate a conference

Once all of the key decisions have been made and plans are in place, the many moving parts of the conference need organising.

You’ll delve into the organising phase of event management: attendee communications, registration, schedules, and checklists. You’ll learn tips and techniques for managing any type of event, including tools to help along the way.

Learn how to manage the day of an event and what to do post-conference

Once the day of the event comes around, pressure and stress can be high.

You’ll explore the different aspects of the event itself that you may need to organise, as well as planning and implementing contingencies.

Then, to cap off your new knowledge, you’ll look at how to handle the post-conference steps, from evaluating and reporting on the event to wrapping up the receipts and finances.

Syllabus

Week 1
Where to begin when planning a conference
- Confirm the purpose, outcomes and style of conference
  Let's begin with everything that encompasses the planning phase.
- What, who, how and where
  Let's get organized - what do you need, who will speak, how much do you have to spend and where will it take place?
- The organizing phase
  You've planned, and now we get hands on.
- Promote the conference
  What is your marketing strategy? Who is your target audience and how are you going to reach them?
- Conference proceedings
  The day has finally arrived. What you need to do to deliver an outstanding conference day(s).
- Post conference
  What to do once the conference is over.

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

Available now
Join - $49

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

Assess the purpose, required outcomes, and style of the conference you wish to deliver.
Explore the conference facilities requirements, budget, and preparation timeline.
Identify speakers and prepare a call for papers in accordance with the conference purpose and style.
Produce publicity material in accordance with promotion strategy and budget.
Develop the program details, including pre-conference information and contingency arrangements.
Evaluate the conference outcomes.
Collect conference papers for publication and distribution within designated timelines.

Who is the course for?

This course is designed for anyone involved in organising and managing business events or conferences, whether in an academic, private, or public setting.

It’s designed for those who have never ran or organised a large scale event before, and covers the basics.

Who developed the course?

Learning Lounge

Learning Lounge (LL) is Australia’s leading online course publisher. With over 100,000+ hours of highly produced, engaging, industry-led content across 20+ industries.

Learning Lounge believes fervently in the value of online learning: it is fundamental to their vision and always will be. They are constantly investing in improving a learner’s experience by creating engaging, interactive content.

FutureLearn

FutureLearn is a leading social learning platform and has been providing high quality online courses for learners around the world over the last ten years.

What's included?

This is a premium course. These courses are designed for professionals from specific industries looking to learn with a smaller group of like-minded individuals.

Unlimited access to this course
Includes any articles, videos, peer reviews and quizzes
Certificate of Achievement to prove your success when you're eligible
Download and print your Certificate of Achievement anytime

Join - $49

Still want to know more? Check out our FAQs

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

Want to know more about learning on FutureLearn? Using FutureLearn