[Quinzel]

I have to go to 1 day training courses etc for work all the time. Different industry… but still… here’s what attracts me:

Networking opportunities.

Extremely good catering.

Free items such as pens, notepads and novel and niche items that are hard to come by.

Some kind of “certificate” to prove I attended that I can put in my continual professional development portfolio so that if I get audited by the council that issues my certificate to practice I can show I’ve done some learning stuff.

Being actually really relevant learning (ie, new technology that actually is a game changer - replaces old technology that has become outdated).

Having the opportunity to do something really cool that you cannot do under normal circumstance.

[digitalWestie]

That last point, combined with a few things others have said really has me thinking.

I'm not sure what it could be but some sort of physical element, setting or some 'toys' would be really interesting.

[digitalWestie]

Thanks for your thorough answer!

What's been your favourite item that you've picked up at an event?

[Quinzel]

i would say the top 3 things I’ve acquired are pens, notepads and keyrings. Some of the pens though are like really more just novelty items for promotional purposes than something you would actually use to write with (1 is 50cm tall with a hand on the top of it) - from a hand hygiene course I went to.

I went to an infection control course once that had pens that doubled as spray bottles of alcohol gel. Also got a key ring that’s a bottle of alcohol gel.

I also went to a blood transfusion course one time and got fridge magnets that had important facts you need to remember for blood transfusions, a reusable bag, that when folded back into its pouch takes the shape of a drop of red blood, I got a stress ball that is a big red blood cell, a note pad that has the blood bank logo and contact details at the very bottom, a red blood drop plushie, and I also got a really useful little book with all the information I could possibly need for doing blood transfusions. It’s still sitting on my bookshelf 6 years later and I still look at it from time to time to remind myself of stuff.

The transfusion book is probably my favourite freebie because it’s really relevant to my job. But some of the other items were still novel and also bring a little moment of joy acquiring them.

One point I’d make is that you can’t use random objects to be the main attraction, or main value of your course. The value still has to come from what it is you’re actually teaching, it needs to be really relevant, and teaching stuff that people in the industry actually want to know about, and take value from.