On October 5 and 6, the Ascent Congress took place for the twelfth time, this year under the motto "Touch & Tec - People and Technology". In addition, the scientific pre-congress "Up-to-date" celebrated its premiere the day before. On a total of three congress days, the organizers, the German University for Prevention and Health Management/BSA Academy and BSA-Zert, once again welcomed over 1,000 interested participants to this industry event at the m:con Congress Center Rosengarten in Mannheim.
Now in its twelfth year, the advancement congress has long since established itself as a specialist congress for the fitness and health industry. In 2018, the main theme of the congress was "Touch & Tec - People and Technology". The digitalization is also advancing in the growth areas of prevention, fitness, sport and health steadily and inexorably. Nevertheless, competent and well-trained employees are still indispensable. Defining the interface between touch & tech, between people and technology, making the most of the opportunities offered by digitalization and successfully entering this fast-moving and complex digital world were the topics that the top-class speakers conveyed to the participants.
Premiere: Scientific pre-congress "Up-to-date"
The day before the Ascent Congress, a scientific pre-congress was held for the first time. Under the title "Up-to-date", professors and researchers from the German University for Prevention and Health Management DHfPG and other universities presented their current research projects and results on the topics of prevention, fitness, sport and health in five short presentations - including research topics in the area of new customer profiles in the fitness studio and EMS training. Afterwards, the participants took the opportunity to discuss with the speakers. Overall, the premiere of the scientific pre-congress was very well received by the participants, which makes a repeat edition in the coming year a distinct possibility.
Promotion Congress: Opening lecture by the DFB sports psychologist
Prof. Dr. Hans-Dieter Hermann, sports psychologist for the German national soccer team, kicked off the Advancement Congress with his presentation "Teams for Touch - How to form employee teams that inspire people". Not only the participants were enthusiastic, but also the moderator of the promotion congress Prof. Dr. Thomas Wessinghage categorized the lecture as one of the best that has been held in the past twelve years. The standard was to be maintained at a high level. Norbert Barnikel, one of the pioneers of German-speaking digitalization, showed the audience the "Dos and Don'ts of digitalization in service companies". Prof. Dr. Oliver Schumann picked up on some of Barnikel's points in his subsequent presentation to further illustrate how the complex management task of digitalization in the fitness sector can be mastered.
Panel discussion, young talent forum and get-together
However, the Aufstiegskongress has long been known for its varied program, which consists of more than just exciting presentations. The second half of the first day of the congress opened with a panel discussion moderated by McFIT Global Group spokesperson Pierre Geisensetter. Here, long-standing successful managers showed how their differently positioned companies from the fitness industry define the interfaces between people and technology and what experience they have gained with this. Afterwards, two young entrepreneurs in the young talent forum showed how they successfully made their way into self-employment with EMS training.
The final presentation of the first day of the congress was given by Frederik Neust, a true expert in digital marketing, who currently oversees the online marketing of the fastest growing Asian hotel management company, which comprises seven chains, including a healthy lifestyle hotel chain. He demonstrated in an engaging and entertaining way how online marketing can be used to transform "problem areas" into "digital muscles".
Afterwards, the participants celebrated at the "Get Together" with live music and a DJ and gave their best on the dance floor to attend the second day of the congress in a good mood the next morning.
Specialist forums and masterclasses on the second day of the congress
The second day of the congress was dominated by a total of six practical specialist forums on management, coaching, training, sports economics, nutrition and corporate health management as well as the two masterclasses on business start-ups and online marketing. For the first time, the six specialist forums took place one after the other, allowing participants to gather input from all areas. They were also able to attend two master classes. In the online marketing masterclass, they were shown examples of how online marketing can be used to achieve company goals, how advertising can be placed on Facebook and Instagram and how leads can be converted into customers in a funnel. The second masterclass was particularly exciting for participants who would like to become self-employed. They learned about the innovative practical tools and methods that can be used to turn initial business ideas into concrete and sustainably functioning business models and how to systematically identify and reduce the risks of their own business model.
Conclusion
In addition to providing inspiration and up-to-date specialist knowledge, the 2018 Ascent Congress also offered more than 1,000 participants plenty of space to make contacts or maintain and expand their professional network. More than 20 companies from the fitness and health industry presented themselves at this year's partner exhibition, making the industry event even more diverse. Visitors can already look forward to the next Aufstiegskongress, which will take place on 25/26 October 2019.
Source: Press portal
Image source: Ascent Congress
Published on: 12 October 2018