BUSINESS EVENTS ACADEMIC VENUES
➜ “From our perspective, clients
are often keen on academic venues as they offer a very ‘fit for purpose’ option that can often be perceived as better value for money than one of the luxurious hotels.” She added: “Additionally, the
learning environment – from tiered auditoriums to impressive inbuilt AV - can offer delegates a fantastic experience, compared with tradi- tional theatre or cabaret style, with production/additional equipment hired in. One trend we’ve picked up on recently is event planners are increasingly looking for residential conference venues that can easily host accommodation for large num- bers, in the same place, but not nec- essarily the city centre. Academic venues are generally well situated to accommodate such an ask.”
AT THE University of Strathclyde’s Technology and Innovation Centre (TIC), the £89m building that opened five years ago this month, in the heart of Glasgow, there was always a firm business case behind the decision to invest £11m of that into conference and meetings facili-
ties. And the investment appears to be more than paying itself back, with the number of events growing 7-8 per cent year-on-year; Octo- ber and November last year were up eight per cent and 16 per cent respectively, both record months. And in terms of association confer- ences, in 2018/19 the university
accounted for a staggering 51 per cent of the £70m that this lucrative sector generated for the whole city.
IN MARCH 2019, the university also launched its Conference Management Service, a move intended to provide the academic community with administra- tive and operational support and expertise. Te CMS will deliver its first conference with colleagues from the Department of Market- ing in Strathclyde Business School – the Research & Development Management Conference - which will welcome 350 delegates to the campus in June of this year. Gordon Hodge, head of con-
ferencing & events at the Univer- sity of Strathclyde, said: “It has become apparent to Te Univer- sity of Strathclyde over the past five years that events - whether commercial bookings or our own corporate and hospitality events - are a really important part of the sales and marketing mix for the institution as a whole. “Tey provide a really powerful
element of experiential marketing, encouraging people to come onto the campus – some of whom may never have been here before. It’s also an important means of con- solidating existing partnerships and helps sow the seeds for new collaboration. Tis is particularly true in TIC, where one of our USPs is the fact that clients can host their events in a facility where research on their topic is actu- ally taking place, acting as strong reputational and commercial imperatives.” He added: “We can say with
confidence that in five short years, TIC has established itself as an
44 | EVENTSBASE | SPRING 2020
important and influential factor in Glasgow’s success as conference destination, and has challenged the business events’ market’s percep- tion of what an academic venue is and does.” At Glasgow Caledonian Univer-
sity, a £32m investment four years ago into the Heart of the Campus project resulted in its 488-seat lecture theatre and a suite of break- out rooms, as well as a dedicated commercial space, the Lantern, a circular meeting room that can accommodate up to 70 delegates. Again, the return on investment has paid off, with last financial year the most successful to date showing a year-on-year revenue increase of 38 per cent and 102 per cent since project inception. Greg O’Donnell, business development manager, conference and events, Glasgow Caledonian University, said: “Like many academic venues we have put significant investment into the cam- pus and its facilities. Tis means that we can offer unusual spaces that aren’t your traditional hotel meeting rooms. For larger events we obviously have the added benefit of a large number of breakout spaces available as well.” He added: “All of our rooms
come with in-built AV facilities which reduces costs for clients and generally speaking our rates are really competitive against other venues. As we are a not for profit organisation and the university for the ‘Common Good’ we tick a lot of boxes with regards to corporate social responsibility. In particu- lar, around the green agenda, we have really strong sustainability credentials which is becoming increasingly important for decision- makers.” n
Delegates at the University of Strathclyde’s Technology and Innovation Centre
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