Student Designer Tour
For the past eight years I have conducted a tour of the ExhibitorLive show floor For exhibit design students from Bemidji State/MN (undergrad degree), and FIT/NYC (masters degree). Thirty students in all. The tour is conducted the day before the show officially opens for students to see chaos and debris during the set up. For most students, this is the first trade show they have seen. The purpose of the tour is to give exhibit design students an opportunity to meet exhibit suppliers represented (12) different specialty areas- flooring, furniture, exhibit design production, systems, portables, AV/lighting, applied technology, and marketing services. The owners of each supplier company then greets the students for ten minutes to share the services they offer. This allows the students to gather valuable resources to place into their designer tool box.
The last stop on the tour is the IFES stand where Uta Goretsky and John Pavek share the benefits of IFES membership.
Each year the show organizer and EDPA provide the design students with a group stand in the hall where students can show their portfolios and speak with exhibit suppliers about working in their companies for eight weeks as an student intern, a requirement for graduation.
For all those attending ExhibitorLive in Las Vegas February 24-27, 2019 please stop by and say hello to the students. If you are not attending and would like to know more about hosting a student for eight weeks in your company as an intern send me an email for further details. I fully support the idea of university level education for exhibit designers in our industry. Designer education in college promotes the level of professionalism that our industry rightfully deserves. Designer students are the bright lights for our future!
