#SPANC15 winning bid from Southampton

University of Southampton’s Student Publication Association National Conference 2015 Bid

#SPANC15

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BREAKING

SOUTHAMPTON BID TO HOST

#SPANC15

WELCOME

WELCOME TO SOUTHAMPTON

T

he University of Southampton Students’ Union (SUSU) has two union affiliated publications as well as an independent publication in the wider University of Southampton network of students.

Students here at Southampton also have a heavy involvement with national student publications.

The first of the publications, the Wessex Scene, is our official student magazine covering everything from news to features, politics to fashion. The Wessex Scene has recently undergone a complete rebrand (as demonstrated in our SPANC bid you are reading now), and with the support of SUSU, both financial and pastoral, the results have been very well received in the University of Southampton community and with the fantastic leadership of the Editorial team, it has set them off for a very successful year and beyond.

The Edge is the other affiliated publication under the SUSU umbrella and they are our very own entertainment magazine covering everything from music to comedy, video games to writing. The Edge have had a very successful few years after becoming an independent publication only 4 years ago. In the last 12 months they have also executed a very successful rebrand, which resulted in winning ‘Best Design’ at the Student Publication Awards in 2014.

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Aside from the affiliated publications we have the Soton Tab, which is ran by a group of University of Southampton students, they emphasise that Southampton is the place for student media, affiliated to a union or not, to shine.

Not only does Southampton play host to three very successful student publications, University of Southampton students play a key part in the success of national publications such as The Student Journals and The National Student. The Editor of The Student Journals is University of Southampton student Amy Ashenden, and as winners of ‘Website of the Year’ in The Guardian’s Student Media Awards, I do not need to say much more about their success, which is very much accredited to the great leadership of Amy and her editorial team.

is the current Film Editor for The National Student and former Film Editor of The Edge. Over his four years in student media he has built a stable network of contacts in the film industry meaning that The Edge and in turn, The National Student have ran interviews with the likes of Samuel L. Jackson and George Clooney to name a few of the most high profile people we have been in touch with.

Examples such as this demonstrate the power of student media and also the influence that University of Southampton students have had on its profile.

On a wider scale the University of Southampton are currently focusing on an Arts Strategy, of which SUSU has been heavily involved in. This means that the Arts are on everyone’s agenda and projects such as SPANC15 are very well supported and recieved.

GRADUATION BALL ‘14 SUSU’s very own Grad Ball back in 2014

TAHLIE COOPER Editor - Wessex Scene

The National Student is another example of how SUSU has played a vital part in national student media. Two of the section editors are alumni of University of Southampton, and joined The National Student when they were still studying there. Megan Downing is the current Music and Culture Editor of The National Student and has been integral in the incorporation of their project to create Student Partners. Content sharing between The Edge and The National Student has been used an example for other student publications to get their content promoted on a national platform. Barnaby Walter WELCOME

REBECCA JAMES Editor - The Edge

MEGAN DOWNING SUSU Vice President Democracy and Creative Industries WELCOME

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WELCOME

CONTENTS

#SPANC15 soton bid susu.org @YourSUSU fb.com/yoursusu

theedgesusu.co.uk @theedgesusu fb.com/theedgesusu

wessexscene.co.uk

LOCATION AND TRAVEL

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CONFERENCE FACILITIES

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ACCOMODATION

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CATERING

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ENTERTAINMENT

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COSTS AND BUDGETS

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ORGANISATION

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DATES

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OUR SUCCESSFUL STUDENT MEDIA

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SUMMARY

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ENDORESEMENTS

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@wessexscene fb.com/wscene

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WELCOME

WELCOME

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WHY SOUTHAMPTON?

WHY SOUTHAMPTON?

LOCATION & TRAvel

Southampton has excellent transport links to the rest of the UK, with frequent train services to London and beyond, its own international airport, good motoway links and the uni-link bus service providing an easy way to get around the city.

By train

Southampton Central Station and Southampton Airport Parkway provide excellent train links to the entire country. There are direct links to Manchester Piccadilly (4.5 hours), Reading (50 minutes), Birmingham (2.5 hours), Oxford (1.5 hours) and frequent trains from London Waterloo going approximately every 30 minutes.

Each station is linked directly by the University’s bus service to the main campus.

SOUTHAMPTON ›

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WHY SOUTHAMPTON?

WHY SOUTHAMPTON?

By plane

For those coming from further afield Southampton has its own international airport, Aberdeen, Belfast, Edinburgh, Dublin, Glasgow, Leeds-Bradford, Manchester and Newcastle are all only a short flight away. The airport is only a short taxi ride away from our main Highfield Campus, or you can catch the University’s Uni-Link bus, which will go from the airport, through Highfield Campus, and into the centre of town.

By car or bus The University of Southampton Highfield Campus sits just 5-8 minutes off the M3 and M27.

Although parking on campus would not be suggested, there is ample parking at each of our proposed accommodation locations – and each of these are a short bus journey from our main campus. If you were in halls accommodation you’d have to apply for a parking permit.

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WHY SOUTHAMPTON?

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CONFERENCE FACILITIES Around both SUSU and the University of Southampton there are a wide variety of spaces to suit every kind of event.

Our superb commerical outlets will still be open for use during the conference and delegates will be able to make use of our facilities.

Alongside our very impressive commercial outlets University of Southampton Students’ Union has a multitude of suitable spaces to host a conference of this size.

Hiring of the rooms will be free of charge, aside from technical costs for any presentation set ups (see costings and budgets). These costs will be minimal, especially in the light of running breakout sessions in rooms already equipped with the technology needed to run sessions. As well as the rooms within the Students Union, we have access to booking lecture theatres across the University Campus free of charge.

Here is a list of examples of the rooms we have on offer here at SUSU and their capacity: 08

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WHY SOUTHAMPTON?

Room

Capacity (seated)

Clubs and Societies Room

35

Activities Room

40

The Bridge

200

The CafĂŠ

100

The Cube

320

Breakout Room 2

15

Meeting Room 1

15

Meeting Room 2

35

Meeting Room 3

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WHY SOUTHAMPTON?

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ACCOMODATION

Here at the University of Southampton there is a dedicated conferences team that work to provide accommodation for large-scale events such as the Student Publication Association National Conference.

Halls of Residence are located within easy walking distance of Highfield Campus and the rest of the city by bus.

Having contacted the University’s conference team they have managed to get us some very reasonable prices for accommodation. For the dates of Friday 10th April (optional first night) and Saturday 11th April, there are 70 rooms available at Highfield Halls of Residence (approximately 5 min walk to the main Highfield Campus).

S HIGHFIELD CAMPUS

› STUDENTS' UNION

These rooms are of the following specification: Single room only with shared bathroom.

The prices per room, per night are £18.75 + 20% VAT (£18.75 + £3.75 = £22.50) [Quotes received on 28th October 2014]

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WHY SOUTHAMPTON?

WHY SOUTHAMPTON?

HIGHFIELD HALLS ›

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WHY SOUTHAMPTON?

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CATERING The Students’ Union has a number of catering outlets serving freshly prepared food at student-friendly prices.

Our food outlets are able to accomodate large groups and provide a wide range of options.

The catering team at SUSU are used to regularly catering for large numbers of people, whether this is on a day to day basis, or with conferences and events, they can cater to everyone’s very specific needs.

A few options I have drafted for the catering of the conference are outlined below. These are interchangeable and flexible based on what the delegates would like. The catering team are also very confident with accommodating for special dietary requirements.

Below I have outlined some options for the catering we

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WHY SOUTHAMPTON?

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can provide throughout the conference. Prices were recieved from the SUSU Catering Manager on 19th November 2014, if the bid is successful we will renew the quotes.

Day 1 - Friday 10th April Dinner available in The Bridge Bar but not provided in ticket price.

Day 2 - Saturday 11th April Lunch Ploughman’s Lunch Buffet (£.4.50pp x 100 =£450)

Day 3 - Sunday 12th April Breakfast Option 1 Five item cooked breakfast (£2.75pp x 100 = £270) Option 2 Continental Breakfast (fruit salad, yoghurt, danish pastries) (£3.00pp x 100 = £300) Lunch Basic Buffet Lunch (4 items) (£4.00pp x 100 =£400)

Dinner Three course Carvery. Formal sit down meal for the Awards night. (£10.95pp x 100 = £1095.00)

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WHY SOUTHAMPTON?

WHY SOUTHAMPTON?

ENTERTAINMENT Entertainment is something we’re extremely proud of here at SUSU, hosting a multitude of sold-out events across the year.

Our multi-purpose building allows for a diversity of events to take place with student groups having their ideas become reality.

Our facilities are highly flexible and with the fantastic tech team we have here at SUSU building staging and organising lighting for our events will be easy to facilitate.

The team that would be hosting the conference have a very good working relationship with the bars team so we would be able to offer delegates very low prices.

A few examples of what we could offer are: bespoke cocktails for the awards night, buying two glasses of wine and getting the rest of the bottle for free as well as 3 for 2 on selected bottles of beer, to name a few. If we were successful we would aim to find out what the delegates would like to have on offer in the form of a 14

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survey so we cater specifically for their needs.

Please see the following table for more detail on drinks prices: Drink

Price

Becks Vier Pint

£2.70

250ml Wine

£4.20

Double Vodka & Mixer

£4.20

Rekorderlig Fruit £3.20 Cider J2O

£1.90

Soft Drink Pint

£1.80

Our very own student radio station Surge Radio will happily DJ at the events we would host at SPANC15, as well as this, we have the idea of a soundclash

event between Surge Radio and SUSU’s very own DJ Society for the awards after-party.

The awards night would also be hosted in The Bridge Bar as it is our newly refurbished high-end venue. The night will include the SPA Awards Ceremony, a performance from a student Jazz band in the interval along with a sit down 3 course roast dinner.

The events that we would like to offer would be a Cocktail Night in The Bridge Bar on the night of arrival for delegates (with 2 for 1 cocktails priced at £4.95 each), followed by a night out in Portswood at one of the local night clubs.

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WHY SOUTHAMPTON?

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ORGANISATION Here at SUSU we pride ourselves on our volunteers, and are confident that we will have a dedicated team to help make SPANC15 happen.

COSTS & BUDGET At SUSU we have a great track record of organising the highest quality events at the best possible price for our attendees.

The costs for our propodal to host SPANC15 are relatively low due to the generousity of SUSU and our ability to host high calibre conferences for low costs.

To help with the costs, however, we will be applying for funding from the University of Southampton’s Education Enhancement and G.F. Forsey funds. If we secure the bid, we will work out exactly what we need and put in a comprehensive bid to both funds. This will also allow us to source high profile speakers. These haven’t been accounted for here as the costs vary widely but I can assure the SPA that we will be able to cover these costs efficiently.

As well as this, within SUSU’s Creative Industries we have the

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capacity to cover costs where appropriate and also with our great staff team and facilities, tech and marketing costs will be kept low due to our ability to keep it in house.

All the costs here include VAT and were quoted in October and November 2014.

We have budgeted for 70 accomodation tickets to be sold and 30 non-accomodation tickets to be sold. This is very flexible and here at SUSU we can cater for a much larger number than 100 delegates if needed.

Ticket prices are estimated as below: Ticket + 1 Night £65 Ticket + 2 Nights £90 Ticket (w/out acc.) £45

Below is a brief summary of some of the costs: Item

Price

Catering

£2,620

Equipment/Tech £280 Admin

£230

Accomodation

£3,150 (max)

Accomodation

£1,575 (min)

Total

£3,922 (max)

As to not overload you with figures, these are the headline costs for you to glance at, however, any conference bid should have a robust set of costings and budgets behind it so these can be accessed here (note all prices are subject to flexibility and requoting nearer the time if successful: http://tinyurl.com/m36rkwo WHY SOUTHAMPTON?

Within SUSU the editors of both The Edge and the Wessex Scene are voluntary officers and both of them have a team of extremely dedicated volunteers surrounding them. The Editors of the publications live and breathe student journalism so would be perfect advocates to fly the SPA flag.

SUSU is happy to take on the responsibility for the venue, facilties and accomodation, as well as assisting on gathering people for speakers from our already vast range of contacts within the world of journalism.

As well as the Editors and their team of volunteers. SUSU more widely has a dedicated team of over 600 volunteers. I have already gauged an interest from a multitude of students that they would be interested in being on the project team to help make SPANC15 in Southampton happen. All of which are very respected and responsible WHY SOUTHAMPTON?

students with experience in hosting events. The volunteers at SUSU are always commended on their approach to inclusivity and making everyone feel welcome into the SUSU family.

The leads of this project team will be Megan Downing, the Vice President Democracy and Creative Industries, Tahlie Cooper, Editor of the Wessex Scene, Kerry Sclater, Deputy Editor of the Wessex Scene and Rebecca James, Editor of The Edge.

Both Kerry and Megan sit within the SPA Committee and Executive Team, so liaising with SPA will be seamless in terms of communications. As well as this the Wessex Scene and The Edge have been heavily involved in SPA since it was founded here in Southampton.

The core project group have said they are happy to dedicate their time to hosting this conference

and believe that it will be a fantastic opportunity for it to return to Southampton. We are prepared for meetings to be organised as soon as the host is announced and will endevour to organise these as soon as possible and work out where and when is suitable for all of the volunteers involved with organisng the event.

As well as this, we have the capability here at SUSU to set up conference style Skype calls or Google Hangouts to ensure that distance is not an issue when it comes to meeting and dicussing plans. The creation of a Facebook group to plan the event will be integral to the organisation of it, and this will need to be regularly used and updated with everyone’s contact details and plans so far.

Overall SUSU is a fantastic place with an amazing team of volunteers to help make things happen.

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WHY SOUTHAMPTON?

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DATES

Our successful STUDENT MEDIA

Our multi-purpose building and flexible team of core and support staff allows for a diversity of events to take place with student groups having their ideas become reality.

After some research, we’ve settled on Friday the 10th April - Sunday the 12th April.

We’re extremely proud of our Student Media and other Creative Industries student groups here at SUSU, and hope their success continues in the future.

This weekend falls in most university holidays, and is far enough from the Easter weekend to not intrude on attendee’s holiday events.

The Creative Industries at SUSU have expanded and developed year on year, and this year is proving to be the most aspriational yet.

As you can see from the Doodle poll on this page, we did some extensive research into other Universities Easter holiday dates and worked out the best dates from there.

The year started with a very successful Creative Industries Induction hosted for all the volunteers within the Creative Industries. This created a real team feeling for all of SUSU’s Creative Industries as well as equpping them with vital skills such as Media Law training and leadership training.

As well as taking this into consideration we have also looked into other student media national conferences and found that the NaSTAs are 27th, 28th, and 29th March, and the SRA Conference is 20th, 21st and 22nd April and have thus avoided these dates.

We are confident, however, that if the dates did need to be changed we could work around them.

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Not only do we have a dedicated zone and Sabbatical lead for the Creative Industries here at SUSU, we have four extremely WHY SOUTHAMPTON?

WHY SOUTHAMPTON?

well run and successful media departments: SUSUtv, The Edge, Wessex Scene and Surge Radio.

All of which work collaboratively to produce high quality content throughout the year.

As well as being the founders of the SPA, with my predecessor David Gilani started it up in 2013, we have already hosted a very successful South West Regional Conference.

We can also be proud that our student media here at SUSU is award-winning, and here are a few examples of awards we have won over the past few years:

SPA Awards 2014 Best Design – The Edge (SPA Awards 2014) SRA Awards 2014 Best Female (Bronze) – Emma Real Davies (Student Radio Awards 2014) NaSTA 2012: Winner - Best Animation Winner - Best Marketing NaSTA People’s Choice Awards Winner - Best Live Winner - Technical Innovation Winner - Content Innovation Winner - Best Station NaSTA 2014: Winner - Best Writing Winner - Best Live Winner - Best Comedy

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Summary We believe that SUSU and University of Southampton will be the best hosts for SPANC15.

To conclude, we believe that SUSU and University of Southampton are the best hosts for the Student Publication Association National Conference 2015.

the University of Southampton, alongside we have an extremely dedicated team of volunteers and staff that will make the conference a truly memorable event for all the delegates.

We hope you will consider

our application and please do get in touch if you have any further questions or queries on vpcomms@soton.ac.uk

I hope to have demonstrated our drive and passion here in Southampton for student media and in particular student journalism.

We already have fanastic links to the industry through the Creative Industries Zone in our Union, and with this contact list growing bigger and bigger everyday we would be able to utilise this to bring the best people in to speak at the conference.

As well as this we have amazing facilities here at SUSU and at 20

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ENDORSEMENTS Our unique facilities enable us to offer everything you may need as a delegate for the Student Publication Association National Conference. There are Cafes and Restaurants which provide high quality multicultural cuisine. You’ll be able to take time out to relax in one of our bars during your time here, with views across the beautifully maintained gardens of Highfield Campus. You can also take in a stage performance at the Nuffield Theatre or visit the John Hansard Gallery right here on campus.

“The University of Southampton is the perfect place to hold your conference.

With around 24,000 students spread across five campuses the University of Southampton has a wealth of experience in hosting major events. There is a wide range of venues available for any number of delegates from a small group up to 400.

Accommodation is available within close proximity to the University Campuses.

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Host to a vibrant multinational community of staff and students, the University of Southampton is based north of the city centre adjacent to Southampton Common’s 326 acres of managed woodland. It features excellent road, rail, sea and air links and the University-owned bus service, Uni-link, provides transport across the city, making the University of Southampton easily accessible.

rooms and breakout spaces, as well as areas that can easily host hundreds of delegates.

Further, our catering is second to none, and our top chef is Michelin star trained, meaning that if you want to put on a good meal, we’re more than able to host that.

I’ve no doubt that we have the perfect venue for the SPA National Conference, and I’m certain that our bustling media community will go out of their way to make delegates from all student publications feel welcome, and impress them with our facilities and hospitality.”

“It is clear to me that The University of Southampton, SUSU and both the Wessex Scene and The Edge would be fantastic hosts for the SPA National Conference.

This is for a multitude of reasons.

With our professional events team providing the expertise, the University is an ideal venue to stage conferences and other external events.”

Firstly, we have an incredibly rich and active student media with the Wessex Scene and The Edge often coming up with ideas that are interesting and innovative, and do it on their own backs.

Professor Don Nutbeam, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Southampton

Secondly, we have great facilities to host the conference with a plethora of meeting

WHY SOUTHAMPTON?

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David Mendoza Wolfson, Union President of University of Southampton Students’ Union.

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I am writing on behalf of the University of Southampton Students’ Union (SUSU) to confirm our full support for this application to host next Student Publications Association National Conference. We would be honoured to host this conference and will commit the full resources of our organisation to support it and to ensure it is an event to remember.

We are very comfortable hosting the number of delegates as specified in the application guidelines. We have more than adequate conferencing facilities on the campus and a wide range of accommodation options, all situated within walking distance of the campus. We are also sure we can provide a full conference 24

package that falls within the recommended financial costs to the delegates. We recognise that this will be a very important factor in attracting a maximum attendance and will ensure we minimise the delegate costs.

“On my several visits to Southampton, and my close work with The Edge as one of our Media Partners I have always been impressed with the environment they create to nurture student media and student journalists.

Logistically we are solid but probably the most important reason to consider our application is our people. We have a hugely vibrant and successful Creative Industries Zone led by our VP Creative Industries, Megan Downing. She works closely with a talented and highly motivated bunch of student leaders, writers, editors, publishers and creative talents to produce a diverse array of outstanding publications. This is a cutting edge group with a huge appetite to excel at everything they do and I have no doubt that the hosting of this conference would be handled professionally, and with a real passion for excellence.

This environment saw the birth of the Student Publication Association and a successful first conference. As the birthplace of the SPA and a strong focus on developing students in the creative industries I would totally recommend Southampton as hosts of another conference.

They have the right environment and facilities for another great event.”

James Thornhill, Chief Editor of Big Choice Group and Editor of The National Student.

I have no reservation in recommending this application and am fully confident that if successful our team will host a conference that will surpass all expectations.

Scott McCarthy, Chief Executive of University of Southampton Students’ Union

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University of Southampton Students' Union Building 42 University Road Southampton SO17 1BJ