Around 30 PAs, Secretaries, Executive Assistants and other administrative staff were warmly welcomed to the first COBIS Conference for PAs and Secretaries in February 2016. The professional training and networking event was hosted by the British School of Bucharest in Romania's capital city from 25-26 February 2016. Delegates participated from COBIS schools in The Netherlands, Egypt, Spain, Denmark, Italy, Greece, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Portugal, Belgium, the UK and Switzerland.

Leading PA trainers Angela Garry and Karen Knowles delivered a range of sessions, enabling those in attendance to share expertise and develop knowledge, as well as equipping them with new skills. In addition to sessions like Managing Change, Challenges of Working with More than One Manager and Insights into Personal Effectiveness, attendees were able to attend workshops designed to improve self-organisation and deal with the burdens of conflicting management.

As well as these sessions, those at the Conference enjoyed a dinner on the Friday evening at the Caru'cu Bere restaurant, which prides itself on serving traditional Romanian cuisine. Not only did this allow for the sampling of numerous Romanian delicacies, it also provided an excellent opportunity for colleagues from schools around the world to share their ideas and experience.

"From personal effectiveness, I learnt how to turn negative perspectives towards others into more positive ones. I have already started to apply that with my colleagues, allowing for a friendlier, more effective work environment for all".

"It was a very useful conference and highly relevant to my role as Personal Assistant to our CEO/Principal. The sessions were very insightful and it was great to be able to network with my international peers which will also be very valuable for the future".

COBIS would like to thank the British School of Bucharest for hosting an excellent conference, as well everyone who participated over the course of the two days.

Click here to see the full Conference Programme.

(Pictured Above: Delegates pose for a photo on the first day of the 2016 COBIS Conference for PAs and Secretaries).