2009 was a busy one for ICI. There were a number of firsts for us – first set of workshops in France and Spain and the first workshop in London hosted by myself, representing ICI’s new UK Partner, Mathémata Training Limited. My first six months after establishing ICI’s presence in the UK in July 2009 were both challenging and rewarding. ICI’s management, faculty and employees are an extremely professional group, relentlessly focussing on quality and delivering innovative training concepts and solutions.

France’s workshop venue (close to Les Halles, Paris) was right in the centre of a cosmopolitan hub. Participants (from countries as far apart as Norway and Brazil) enjoyed lively discussions both in the workshops themselves and over sociable lunch sessions. Spain delivered some welcome warm weather for the November workshops – it’s always easier to learn in warm and sunny weather! We also ran a couple of workshops on the West Coast of the USA – proving that ICI stretches beyond the confines of Europe. Not to be outdone by Spain, the US also provided glorious sunshine in San José. London and Bad Nauheim truly have a lot to live up to!

ICI was pleased to again exhibit at last year’s SCIP Euro Summit 2009 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was a great event and it was good to see so many people interested in Competitive Intelligence taking the time out to hear new ideas and to network in the splendid surroundings of the historic Hotel Grand Krasnapolsky.

Realising the value of conferences that provide networking opportunities, ICI is pleased to be offering for a second year its own 2010 German Language Conference in Bad Nauheim, Germany in April. Take a look at our website to see the topics being covered. Spread over two days in the comfortable surroundings of the Dolce hotel, the Conference promises to be an exciting place to exchange ideas, network with colleagues and to check out leading CI vendors.

Although 2009 was a challenging year for all of us, some good things did come out of it. One was the birth of a new networking group in the UK – the UK Competitive Intelligence Forum (UK CIF). UK CIF is a recognised UK-based affiliate of the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP) and is set to be a focus for all those in the UK who are interested in our discipline. Check out their website and look out for their upcoming events.

ICI starts off 2010 by focussing on its English language workshops in the UK. With most of the Eurozone now out of recession, the UK remains stubbornly behind and reluctant to get back into growth mode. In order to encourage the UK economy to get back on track, the ICI has scheduled an exciting portfolio of workshops to be held in March. Additional English language workshops will be held in the USA, Spain, France and the Arabic world. ICI’s German language workshops will continue as usual in German speaking countries. We’ll be sending out more details of these soon. Register now via our website for our workshops or certificate programmes!

So 2010 looks like it’s going to be a productive year for both ICI and Competitive Intelligence as a whole. We look forward to seeing you soon at one or more of our events.