The ‘Business Live!’ and ‘ICT Live!’ conferences took place at the start of March as part of the international conference programme developed by European Study Tours and supported by Achievers International.

Held in the IMAX cinema at Disneyland Resort Paris, the conferences saw over 1500 students come face to face with successful professionals who have made an impact in their specific area of expertise.

Stephen Cole, a renowned journalist who has fronted many of the major news broadcasters, chaired both conferences and introduced a variety of speakers.

Richard Donkin, author and Financial Times columnist, discussed the history of working and the prospects for careers in the future.

Irfan Badakshi, the 25 year old founder of Bean2Bed which makes unique giant beanbags which turn into beds, gave a lively presentation on business strategy and marketing, and how he formed his business and promoted it successfully.

He was followed by Emma Harris from Eurostar, who played a key role in managing their move from Waterloo to St Pancras. She discussed how Eurostar did this, and the variety of marketing they use to their different customers around the world.

The ICT Live! section started by James Tuthill and Simon Nicholls from Omlet, a company which provides modern chicken housing for customers in the UK and abroad. They discussed how their on-line strategy had been important in increasing sales in new markets and ensuring their success.

Jerome Touze, who founded Where Are You Now (WAYN.com), a travel and lifestyle social network, spoke about how he started the website and how web 2.0 technology has allowed them to grow and increase their self generated content.

Finally, Mark Harris, the Global Director of Sophos labs which is a world leader in IT security protecting over 100 million people in over 150 countries, discussed how organisations protect their IT systems from spam and viruses.

The Achievers International Team