CEDIA (Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association) were delighted to be
back in South Africa in July 2015, when they offered further support and training in
Cape Town and Johannesburg.

CEDIA’s global commitment is to continually strive to further the knowledge and
skills within the residential custom installation industry. New courses on offer
included 3D Audio and Immersive Sound and Lighting Fundamentals.

As part of their continued marketing initiative to drive awareness of the home
technology market to the design professionals, CEDIA also hosted two VIP events
for architects and Interior designers.
Additionally, they held two of their popular Connect with CEDIA networking events
and new this year, they introduced the “State Of The Industry Discussion’ which
was open to all industry professionals.

Among the international presenters at this year event were Christiaan Beukes, Matt
Dodd and Darren Salkow.

According to Wendy Griffiths, Executive Director of CEDIA, the main reason for this
year’s training is to provide support and the training of technical and business skills
in the residential sector of the industry.

“This is a three-fold event, the first of which is to host networking and stage of
industry discussions, to provide CPD training events for interior designers and
architects and to talk about the lifestyle benefits of integrating networks into clients’
homes,’ she said.

“So far the training has been really good, with the most popular course being
Residential Networking, which is good, because it is where the industry is going.’

Matt Dodd, the Managing Director of Clavia and Co-Founder of Thinkingbricks
Limited, a highly respected Home Automation Business, has been a member of
CEDIA since 2005.

He also presented the IP and Networking course during the event.

“It is great to see that the people who attended this year were so receptive, open-
minded, willing to raise the standards in the industry. In the end, that is what
education is all about, raising standards,’ he said.

The training commenced in Cape Town on Monday 27 July and moved to
Johannesburg from Wednesday 29 July until Friday 31 July and featured the courses
Home Cinema for Designers, Cables and Connectivity, Residential Networking and
3D Audio and Immersive Sound for Home Cinema.

CEDIA is the international trade organisation for the home electronic systems
industry, which spans three continents and has over 3,500 members.