Founded in 1972, Meeting Professionals International (MPI) is the world’s largest association for meeting and event professionals. MPI advocates for the industry’s future, driving tourism, boosting economies, and creating meaningful experiences (MPI 2026). The EMEC conference, which brings together Europe’s event industry experts, was held in Barcelona on 21–24 February 2026 with 250 participants (EMEC 2026). In line with the theme “Create the Unexpected,” the programme and professional content highlighted experiential learning and the connection between people who design events and event participants.
Laurea University of Applied Sciences Hospitality Management Degree programme has actively worked with MPI by collaborating with former MPI Finland and now by expanding to international co-operation. Through these initiatives, Senior Lecturers Heidi Vähänikkilä and Kaija Meriläinen participated in the EMEC conference. “This opportunity is unique to us, hosting a workshop on Futures of Events at this event showcases our strong expertise in Event Management together with the ambition on being one of the most respected event sector educators in Finland and in Europe. We have put a lot of effort into reshaping continuously our offering and our specialized courses have been well received. It has been great to innovate content together with Heidi. I look forward showcasing our workshop later in Laurea Journal too”, describes Certified Event Designer (CED) Kaija Meriläinen. Currently, Hospitality Management Degree programme curriculum includes courses such as The Basics of Event Production and Management, Event Design, Business Events (BE) Experiences and Event Safety and Security (Laurea 2026).
Heidi Vähänikkilä and Kaija Meriläinen at EMEC in Barcelona (Vähänikkilä 2026)
Tech Meets Tourism: Barcelona as a Launchpad for MICE Innovation
The Olympics in 1992 brought Barcelona to the knowledge of wider audience and ever since the legacy has continued. The hosting of the Olympic Games was part of a wider ambition to modernize and transform the city of Barcelona (IOC 2026). Today, this is recognized as a turning point for success on a global scale and especially within the event sector, MICE industry has economic significance in the city. MICE refers to Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions, the key types of business events that bring professionals together. It is a major segment of the global events and tourism industry, focused on organizing everything from corporate meetings to large international trade shows. The purpose of MICE is to connect people, support collaboration, and create opportunities for learning, networking, and business growth (IMEX 2026).
Event venue SLS Barcelona by Puente Forum (Vähänikkilä 2026)
Barcelona is recognized globally as Mobile World Capital and home to major events like Mobile World Congress (MWC) with 100 000 attendees, Smart City Expo with 25 000 attendees and Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) with 85 000 attendees. Marc Unió, Head of International Promotion from Barcelona City Council highlighted the citys uniqueness – with only 100m2 it is a compact area, bringing densely people together. In his conference speech, he also highlighted the importance of smaller scale events. Combination of the events ecosystem has an extensive impact on the legacy of Barcelona. Currently, the city ranks fifth in EU startup hub scene (Catalonia Trade & Investment 2026). Some of the startups are creating new solutions for events sector by concentrating on the user experience of mobile devices and applications before, during and after events. Through innovative collaboration, new possibilities are discovered and later these might be scaled to international arenas, as Unió explained.
Emotional Intelligence in Building Events with Legacy
Plenary speaker Bárbara Agudo Friedman highlighted the meaning of intentional, lasting footprints left to event destinations as the key focus rather than a momentual “wow” factors. In the digitalization era, human connection still thrives on true connections – big event budgets, extensive planning teams and immaculate executions stands alone and without meaning if the real dna of the event is not delivered. Following Daniel Goleman, American psychologist and author, Friedman reminded the audience that emotional intelligence is not about being emotional – it is about being aware.
Sitation by Daniel Goleman in Friedmans talk (Vähänikkilä 2026)
In events, building awareness and connection in different levels may be enhanced by a number of actions. EMEC organizers succeeded in creating a memorable experience which did not only educate the participants, but which also brought people truly together. Meaningful discussions between the conference presentations and workshops enabled informal knowledge sharing. These connections may be used later in Laurea University of Applied Sciences as a gateway to international projects and collaboration as Laurea is well recognized and respected as a valued Higher Education provider for event management studies.
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