It’s set to be a landmark event as it’s the first international conference to take place outside the UK and Ireland. If that’s not enough reason to sign up to attend, here are 5 things that you won’t want to miss out on.

#1 There are so many great learning opportunities

Want to know one of the secrets of those who are at the top of their professional game? They refuse to stop learning. Conferences are the perfect setting to keep yourself sharp by learning new things and getting up to speed with the latest developments in HR and L&D. 
Over the two days of CIPD ME, you can attend a selection of workshops, interactive panel discussions, town hall meetings and practical case studies that have all been specifically designed to introduce you to something new or give you an alternative perspective on a familiar subject.

If we’ve piqued your interest, here’s a sneak peek at some of the workshops on offer:

• Design thinking for HR: Redesigning the employee experience
• Diversity: Inclusive leadership and unconscious bias
• Progressive recruitment: Using technology to hire the right talent
• Leading with emotional intelligence

#2 The speaker line-up is fantastic

The speaker line-up is particularly impressive when you consider that this is the first year the conference has run. It includes senior professionals from international companies based all over the globe. There’s over 20 to choose from, so there’s bound to be someone to engage and inspire you. Our personal highlights are: 

• Peter Cheese, Chief Executive, CIPD
• Emma Seymour FCIPD, Vice President of Worker Welfare, Expo 2020
• Ehab Hassan, Chief HR Officer, du
• Keith F. Watson FCIPD, CIPD Tutor, ICS Learn(we might be ever so slightly biased about this one!)
• Check out the full list of speakers here.

#3 You can celebrate with the best in HR and L&D

The first ever CIPD Middle East People Awards will take place on the last day of the conference and they’ll be recognising individuals, teams and organisations who’ve achieved outstanding things in the field of people management and development.

There’s a total of 9 awards to be presented including HR / L&D Team of the Year, HR Rising Star of the Year and Employer of the Year. The awards are now closed for entries, so now it’s in the hands of the prestigious judges to decide on the deserving winners. We can’t wait to see who they choose to honour! Find out more about the award categories, judges and ceremony here.

#4 You’ll be able to grow your professional network

In the HR and L&D field, networking is an extremely valuable tool for advancing your career so ensuring you have a strong and diverse network is key. CIPD ME will allow you to meet lots of friendly and knowledgeable professionals, making it the perfect place to expand your network. Currently, there are more than 120 senior HR leaders due to attend the conference, so you’ll have the chance to interact with highly experienced professionals. You never know one of them might be able to introduce you to your next career opportunity. Networking can be a bit nerve-wracking, so if you need a few pointers, head over to our guide to HR networking.

#5 You can come and chat with us

We’re incredibly proud to be the Gold Sponsor of this event and our team will be heading out to exhibit as part of the conference, so be sure to pop by our stand and say hello! If you’re looking to work on your own professional development or researching further training for your team, our friendly advisors will be able to guide you in the right direction, whether you need CIPD qualifications, leadership training or wider business solutions.   Even if you only fancy picking up a free pen or two, we’ll be happy to sort you out!Register here to get your tickets.

This article was originally published on ICS Learn. See original article here.