Last weekend we attended the COBIS Annual Conference in London – not as exotic as some of our recent conference destinations, but certainly an easier trip!
It was the first year the conference has taken place at the Intercontinental O2 Hotel, and with around 600 people in attendance it was easy to see why the organisers felt the need to move to the bigger venue.
As usual, the quality of the speakers and sessions was very high. One which stood out in particular for us was the ‘International schools update’ led by Richard Gaskell from ISC and focussed on the continued growth of the international school sector – a very relevant topic for us!
Joe Simpson’s ‘Touching the Void’ was truly inspirational – and although we were already familiar with Joe’s story, seeing him put his experiences into the context of teamwork, leadership, personal development and management gave us all food for thought.
After hours, the drinks reception and dinner at the National Maritime Museum on Saturday, and the Gala dinner on the Monday provided a welcome opportunity for us to meet up with some familiar faces and make some new like minded acquaintances.
Indeed, following the conference, one of our directors, Seb Francis will be making a trip taking in Dubai, Tianjin and Shanghai to meet further with new schools and current customers. Overall, it was an enjoyable and productive weekend, and we’re looking forward to working more closely with the COBIS association and both its school and supplier members.
