VOICES | SIMON PARKER We re back Winners at the 2020 BPAs; this year s event will once again be face to face CIBSE is planning an extensive schedule of events for 2022 both inperson and online. Simon Parker focuses on some of the highlights and reveals plans for the industrys rst Building Services Week this autumn W SIMON PARKER, managing director, CIBSE Services hile we have all felt the impact of the pandemic in some way, I think it is fair to say that the events industry and face-to-face meetings in general have had the most challenging two years they have ever experienced. I joined CIBSE last September, and it was immediately apparent that the team had done a great job in pivoting to digital, as the expression goes. All our events including training and our in-person exhibition, Build2Perform took place virtually, and worked well in that format. I think the pandemic has taught us a great deal. While we have innovated and produced great content online, the appetite for face to face is still as strong as ever (if not stronger). We are all a little fatigued with staring at a screen and I believe the power of human interaction will never be replaced by technology. I see a world of hybrid events, where we will harness technology, but also run in-person ones, depending on what the objectives are. Short, sharp training will be done online, with longer formats and more in-depth sessions taking place face to face. Its hard to network and meet new contacts in a virtual world, so I cant see that being replaced by online. Our Grow Your Knowledge series will continue with fresh impetus in 2022, and we are launching a series that will deal with the changes to our industry brought about by the Building Safety Bill. We will continue to address members training requirements, covering existing subjects as well as the publication of guidance scheduled for the first half of this year it is going to be a busy year for building services and CIBSE. CIBSEs first big live event of the year will be the Building Performance Awards (BPAs) taking place at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge on 24 February. All signs indicate it will be as impressive as always everyone is desperate to meet up again after a long absence. The BPAs will be an opportunity for our industry to celebrate all that is great in the world of building services, and it certainly promises to be really special this year. We have also confirmed the location for the Technical Symposium, which will take place at London South Bank University from 21-22 April. After taking place virtually for two years, we expect the in-person event to be very well supported. We are looking at providing some While we have innovated and produced great content online, the appetite for face to face is still as strong as ever (if not stronger) 16 February 2022 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE Feb22 pp16-17 Simon Parker.indd 16 28/01/2022 17:41