You are here: Why Exeter > Conference News
Welcome to the Itinerary Planner. Use this tool to build your own journey or choose from an exciting range of specially selected tours.
To build your own Itinerary, click to add an item to your Itinerary basket.
You are here: Why Exeter > Conference News
As the events industry comes to terms with a new normal and continues to adjust, so do the team at Event Exeter, with an additional offering in their evolving portfolio – online event management.
As time goes on and audiences start to struggle with Zoom fatigue, the need for professional and engaging events is becoming more apparent.
Working in collaboration with Warwick Event Services, we are delighted to be able to offer a number of virtual and hybrid event options, to ensure a professional, seamless experience for delegates, no matter what their location.
Using an interactive online platform, Event Exeter can offer delegates a fully immersive event experience, with opportunities for group discussions, networking, exhibition stands and sponsor spotlights, as well as social activities to connect audiences.
A hybrid event, a mix of physical and virtual, is the perfect solution for connecting a live audience in a lecture theatre or seminar room, with delegates all over the world. With a fully ‘brandable’ tv style studio, trusted technicians and of course a choice of award-winning venues, Event Exeter can offer a one-stop-shop for online event management.
Confused by the world of online events? Find out more by visiting https://event.exeter.ac.uk/online-events or contact a member of the Event Exeter team on eventexeter@exeter.ac.uk.
At 8pm on 30th September, Event Exeter's Reed Hall stood illuminated in red, in solidarity with event industry peers across the globe.
Working in collaboration with Exeter-based event production company, Warwick Event Services, the building was lit up as part of the #WeMakeEvents Global Day of Action, raising awareness and highlighting the need for support for the live events industry, suffering in the wake of the current Covid-19 pandemic.
Located on the University of Exeter’s Streatham Campus, Reed Hall is an all year round wedding and events venue – just one of a portfolio of venues, managed by the Event Exeter team at the University. In any given year, the team manage well over 1000 events, from small meetings to large residential conferences, as well as hosting overnight visitors to the city, during the summer holiday months. This generates vital income for the University, which is invested into supporting student experience projects.
The Covid-19 pandemic hit hard, just as the team were at the height of success, celebrating a spate of industry awards. Scooping Gold at the Devon Tourism Awards for Business Events Venue of the Year and Best Sales and Marketing team at the Conference News Academic Venue Awards, no one could have imagined how the events industry was about to be struck.
Steve Whyte, Head of Event Operations at Event Exeter said,
“Our venues have been closed for events since March and will remain so for the foreseeable future, until it is safe and right to set the wheels back in motion. Each year conferences and events at the University bring large amounts of visitors to the city and consequently are of huge economic benefit to the region. A reduction in business tourism in Exeter will undoubtedly have serious repercussions for local suppliers. The impact on us, as a commercial arm of the University and indeed on the city of Exeter itself, will be phenomenal and the industry needs the support to return to normal as soon as is safe to do so.
The Stand as One campaign aims to support more than a million people, who work within the events industry in the UK - highly skilled individuals who have been out of work since March and are likely to be so until spring next year. From audio-visual companies, to motivational speakers, the list of those affected is huge.
David Warwick, Managing Director of Warwick Event Services said,
“The Events and Exhibitions industry in both the Southwest and across the UK, lays claim to a huge wealth of talent - creative and dedicated people, experts in their field and incredibly passionate about what they do. It’s time for that care to be reciprocated, for someone to take notice and ensure that opportunity is still out there. As a region and a country, we are in danger of losing our position as global leaders in the industry, renowned for producing world-class live events”.
Whilst live events are currently on hold for Event Exeter, the team are well prepared for a safe return in 2021. If you have a project you would like to discuss, the team can be contacted by email at eventexeter@exeter.ac.uk
A new free business programme launched by The Exeter Business Hub has been declared a ‘fantastic success’ after the first event was held in the city.
The event, which took place on Friday 29 November at the newly refurbished conference rooms at The Exeter Business Hub, was attended by business leaders from in and around Exeter.
Olly Harrison, Director of Gusto Marketing, ran a workshop on ‘Getting More Bang for Your Marketing Buck: How to Integrate Sales with Marketing’. The session, which was designed to encourage joint learning and reflection with other attendees, covered essential marketing skills and discussed creative ideas that could be put into place straight away. It also offered people the opportunity to evaluate their own marketing and sales practice.
Attendees at the event included Neligan Financial, Gold Star Events, NutriCalc, Carbon Green Consulting and Moving Together Devon.
Emma Wood, Client Development Manager at The Exeter Business Hub, said:
“I am so pleased to open the doors on our first event. Gusto Marketing are a young, enthusiastic company and it was great to give them the platform to teach us all some marketing tips and tricks! The workshop was a great success and we look forward to bringing business leaders together for the next event.”
Workshop facilitator, Olly Harrison from Gusto Marketing said:
“The free business support programme provided by The Exeter Business Hub is an excellent tool for businesses. Each event will include informative, informal sessions designed to provide useful business advice and valuable networking opportunities. It was great to run a marketing workshop at the first session and I thoroughly recommend businesses attend future events.”
Carol Symthe from Moving Together Devon who attended the first meeting said:
“I really enjoyed the presentation from Gusto. They passed on their enthusiasm and knowledge of the work and made sure it applied to small businesses as well as large. It was also fun!”
The business programme will hold quarterly events in Exeter throughout the year to share inspiring insight from key local thought leaders and help connect the community.
The next workshop is at the Exeter Business Hub on Friday 6 March with Magaret Kelly, Local Business Development Manager from Lloyds Bank guest speaking.
www.theexeterbusinesshub.co.uk
Article sourced from https://grow-media.co.uk/exeter-news/exeter-business-hub-support-programme-success/
The team at Event Exeter were hugely proud to learn that their very own Head of Event Sales, Alex Penn, has been shortlisted for the coveted miaList 2019.
Shining a light on the very best talent in the events industry, the list aims to recognise those who continuously go above and beyond the call of duty for their organisation - a trait certainly attributable to Alex.
An ambitious vision
Alex joined Event Exeter back in 2014, bringing with her an abundance of energy, enthusiasm and most of all ambition. Ever since then things have gone from strength to strength. Spotting the potential for the business, she set the bar high with her ambitions and the benefits are now being reaped.
In just 5 years, she has proven her abilities and by enhancing the skills of the team has managed to reposition Event Exeter as a major player in the events industry, both at home and internationally.
For Alex, building customer relationships has been the key to her success – a happy customer is a loyal customer.
Stephanie Dodd, Event Director at Media Clash said,
‘Alex consistently brings a level of detail, creativity and attention that makes us feel special as clients and genuinely helps the event be the best it can be. This is not always expected from a venue that holds so many events, and I believe this level of care is given to each of Alex’s clients.
Our working relationship has gone from strength to strength over the years and we have developed a true partnership, it’s this that has encouraged us to commit to a further long term agreement at the venue. Alex is a huge asset and we just love working with her!’
A source of inspiration
In Alex’s case, the door really is always open and the wider team regularly look to her for support and guidance. Her wealth of knowledge and experience is widely respected and opinion often sought. What better way to inspire others than to be named amongst the Top 100 most influential women in Exeter, as she was back in 2018.
Inspiring and encouraging her team members is second nature to Alex. When asked about her experience of working with Alex, youngest team member Katharine Millar said:
‘No one remembers meek and mild” were Alex’s immortal words to me in an attempt to bring me out of my shell. It worked. She always knows exactly what to say to ensure everyone is doing themselves justice.
A day in the office with Alex is always good fun – she persistently puts time aside to train me, even when she is at her busiest. She knows how to get the balance between formal training and letting me work it out for myself just right – although I suspect the latter is sometimes simply to see what happens… In my opinion she definitely deserves this award!’
Keen to share her knowledge within the academic arena, Alex has recently taken a voluntary role with the Career Mentor Scheme at the University of Exeter. Pairing professionals with current students, this valuable scheme offers students valuable insights into the industry and one to one career and employment advice.
In recognition of her high standing in the sector, not only within the University of Exeter, but across the business community in the South West, Alex was invited to take up the role of Chair of the Exeter and Devon Hotels and Restaurants Association in March 2018.
It goes without saying that the team at Event Exeter and indeed colleagues from the wider University are immensely proud of Alex’s nomination and wish her luck for the celebratory lunch in November, where the final list will be announced.
Event Exeter at the University of Exeter are flying high this spring as they celebrate being named finalists in the national Conference Awards.
The announcement follows a string of recent successes for the event management specialists, having already been recognised as finalists in the Exeter Living Awards and Academic Venue Awards so far this year.
Best Conference Venue
Taking place in London in July, the prestigious Conference Awards represent the pinnacle of achievement for professionals in the event industry. Finalists in the Best Conference Venue (over 1250 Theatre Style) category, Event Exeter is placed amongst a number of national high profile, purpose-built conference venues, including ICC Belfast, ICC Birmingham and the Midland’s Ricoh Arena.
Spotlight on the South West
Event Exeter is the only venue from the South West to have been shortlisted, once again bringing the spotlight to Exeter - a city already flourishing having been recognised as one of the fastest growing economies in the UK and now sitting 12th in the city UK competitiveness index.
Exeter proudly plays host to a range of tech-based businesses, with the University of Exeter having recently been announced as a collaborator in the multi-million pound Institute of Technology, which is set to revolutionise digital, engineering and manufacturing technology education across the South West. This announcement will firmly cement Exeter as a key destination for tech-based business events.
The shortlisting also comes at a time when business tourism in Exeter goes from strength to strength. According to a recent Visitor Numbers Report from Exeter City Council, business trips into Exeter currently contribute over £6.6m to the local economy from UK visitors alone.
Exceptional event facilities
In 2018-19, the Event Exeter team managed over 900 events on campus at the Russell Group University of Exeter, which is currently ranked by The Times and the Sunday Times as 14th in the UK.
As well as a conference, exhibition and concert hall, the University’s Great Hall has established a reputation locally as the best awards venue in Exeter. It is the current home to the Taste of the West Awards and the Exeter Living Awards, who, following their event in March 2019, said:
“We were delighted to host Exeter Living Awards for the third year in a row at the University of Exeter. The event has established itself there as a go-to evening for the business community of Exeter and has improved year on year with the support of the Event Exeter team.”
With seating for up to 1400 delegates and onsite accommodation for over 2000, Event Exeter’s versatile facilities are perfect for large day or residential conferences. Regular national customers include the Arboricultural Association, who chose Exeter to host their conference in 2009 and 2013, then returned to the University’s 300 acre Green Flag Awarded campus in 2017, having signed a contract for the following three years.
Through their commercial work, Event Exeter are able to support the first-class teaching and research delivered by the University of Exeter. Any income generated through the use of the University’s event venues is reinvested into the campuses to further enhance the student and staff and in turn, local visitor experience.
On hearing the news, Head of Event Sales, Alex Penn said:
“It’s an absolute honour for us to have been recognised in these national awards alongside industry greats, such as Birmingham and Belfast.
The news of our shortlisting will be a huge boost to the team at Event Exeter as they prepare for, what is set to be, another busy conference season.
We are hugely proud to be flying the flag for the South West and raising the profile of, not only the outstanding venues at the University of Exeter, but this wonderful city too. When it comes to UK cities, Exeter might be small, but it certainly does its best to keep up with the rest.”
To find out more about how this award winning team can work their magic on your next event, contact 0300 555 0214 or email eventexeter@exeter.ac.uk.
Getting the right message across has never been so important, hence the significant investment Sandy Park has put into installing new state-of-the-art facilities for those heading to the popular Exeter venue for meetings, conferences and exhibitions.
As well as being one of the South West’s most accessible conference centres, with its convenient location by junction 30 of the M5 and Exeter International Airport, Sandy Park is aiming to be known as the most technologically advanced.
Working with main Exeter Chiefs sponsor, swcomms, the extensive makeover has further cemented Sandy Park, Exeter and Devon as a leading destination for business tourism.
Brian Lodge, Managing Director of swcomms, said:
“We have worked with Sandy Park since it opened in 2006. Since then, we have given our advice on the latest advancements in audio and video technology which could be used to enhance the delegate experience to help set Sandy Park apart from other conference facilities.”
As part of the recent technical upgrade, the venue’s biggest room, the Exeter Suite, has been fitted with a high definition camera, allowing speakers or other activities to be displayed across the screens both in the Exeter Suite and throughout the building.
In addition, the screens in Sandy Park’s Exeter, Estuary, County and Chiefs suites have all been upgraded to new Panasonic Solid Shine laser projectors with 4m x 2.25m screens, with new plasma TV screens also installed into each of the rooms, ensuring presentations and videos stand-out. A new 1m x 2m monitor has been fitted into the reception area of Sandy Park, allowing clear and flexible displays to welcome customers to the venue.
Investment has also been made in software to allow wireless streaming (Apple TV), plus software to make sure videos, presentations and images can all be presented seamlessly, even if they are separate files.
A new and exciting feature of the boardroom at Sandy Park is video conferencing technology, which can be used in conjunction with the 82” plasma television in the room. As well as the standard half-day and day room hire rates, this room can be hired on an hourly basis.
Talking about the new equipment, Sandy Park Sales Manager, Bev Gratton, said:
“We are always looking for ways to improve the experience at Sandy Park for all event organisers and guests. We feel that the new screens in particular can add huge value to an event, as it will often reduce the requirement for hiring extra equipment, while making presentations, images and videos look extremely impressive.”
Existing Sandy Park customers have already been impressed with the upgrades. Louise Wilson, Head of Events at Simply Biz group, commented:
“Sandy Park has everything you would ever need for a conference, great space, great facilities and most importantly outstanding staff who cater for your every need both behind the scenes and on the day. The recent upgrades to their equipment only enhance the experience.”
While Jessica Spragg, of Babcock, said:
“Sandy Park’s new electronic signage on entering the conference centre is fantastic. Our delegates commented on how much easier it was to read and follow which event was theirs. From our point of view, the addition of being able to display our company logo in the entrance hall is brilliant and shows an extra level of professionalism to our delegates.”
For more information about holding events at Sandy Park and utilising the technology on offer, please visit http://www.sandypark.co.uk/ or contact events@sandypark.co.uk
New image
The arrival of 2019 aptly marks new beginnings for Event Exeter, the proud management team of the impressive event venues and accommodation of the University of Exeter. And, what better way to see in the New Year than with a brand new website and a revitalised logo?
For the last six months, a task group have been eagerly working away behind the scenes to give Event Exeter the contemporary makeover that it deserves.
New site
In a fast-paced industry, we understand that there’s no time to stand still. For us the time was right to take our brand and in turn, our customer experience to the next level.
Working closely with key customers and stake holders, we delved deep to get to the core of what matters most to our audiences. We took that information on board and ran with it.
It was with great excitement that we commissioned local experts Optix Solutions, headed up by University of Exeter alumnus Alastair Banks, not only to join us on our journey, but to guide us through the complexities of the digital world.
Focusing both on a new website and the development of a strategy to enhance our digital footprint, the team at Optix have done their upmost to ensure that we are able to continually exceed the expectations of our customers.
Same core values
Behind every successful event lies a team of dedicated, experienced staff and Event Exeter are no exception to the rule. With over 30 years of experience, we take pride in building relationships and repeatedly exceeding customer expectations.
In this exciting new chapter these core values remain the same, but with continuous improvement at the heart of what we do, this enhancement of our brand and website will support our ethos of consistently delivering excellent customer experiences.
One site fits all
As a complex multi-faceted business, it’s never an easy task ensuring that all bases are covered. At Event Exeter all events are important, from a small day meeting, to a sparking awards dinner, large residential conference or bed and breakfast stay. We’ve put the customer journey at the heart of all our planning and the results have been phenomenal. You’ll find improved functionality on the site including the following:
Watch this space
Of course we don’t intend to rest on our laurels. Planning for phase two is already underway. One site certainly fits all but we know that there is always room to offer more.
Alex Penn, Head of Event Sales at Event Exeter said, ‘The University of Exeter continues to go from strength to strength and it is crucial for this message to be replicated in our own website. But, for us this next step in our journey is about so much more than just our website. We understand that in order to continue to delight our customers, we need to evolve with them and enhance their digital experience. For that reason we won’t be stopping here. Watch this space as we enter into our next exciting phase of maturity’.
To find out more visit https://event.exeter.ac.uk/