Conferences Internal Newsletter

ISSUE 5

Cardiff Met Conferences Keeping you in the Know Welsh Stroke Conference The Welsh Stroke Conference is one of the biggest multidisciplinary medical events in Wales and is a significant fixture in the educational calendar for Stroke in the UK. The conference was started in 2002 and has grown from strength to strength each year.

This year it was hosted at Cardiff Met with 295 delegates attending the two day conference. The conference was introduced by our VC, Cara Aitchison, and included speakers from around the globe, all experts in their particular field of stroke medicine.

As well as plenary sessions in one of our tiered lecture theatres there were numerous sub-meetings and workshops over the course of the event and of course hospitality was provided for delegates to keep them fuelled and energised!

“Innovation and Creativity in Mathematics Teaching” FMSPW Teacher Conference

In July, Cardiff Met hosted the first FMSPW teacher conference with over 90 participants attending from schools, colleges and educational consortia across Wales. Practical teacher workshops held in parallel covered A-level Mathematics and Further Mathematics teaching, creative approaches to mathematics 11+ classrooms and technology enhanced teaching. There were 22 workshops available and attendees were able to choose 5 sessions throughout the day.

Alongside teachers from schools and

colleges across Wales and the FMSPW team, academic colleagues from Johannes Kepler University (Austria) Linz STEAM education centre presented at the conference sharing international experience. The keynote address “Inspiring Learners and Teachers through Technologyenhanced STEM Learning Activities” was given by Emeritus Professor Adrian Oldknow, and the closing address, ‘Mathematics: The 4 Purposes and Technology’ by Dr Sofya Lyakhova of FMSPW.

“Just a word of thanks for all your efforts to ensure that our conference was so successful! Your calm and efficient manner helped everything run smoothly. Thank you also to the staff of the Atrium for the excellent catering” Conference facilitator

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Language Schools and China, partaking in a two week programme of sport, entertainment and English language lessons.

ELAC language school playing Quidditch Each year Cardiff Met Conferences welcome thousands of visitors to the premises to study languages.

For the 9th summer running we were pleased to host a four week residential L’astrolabio and ELAC Language School at Cyncoed campus. These groups consisted of over 250 students visiting from a number of countries including Italy, Spain, France, Poland, Austria, Israel, Russia, Turkey, Japan

This summer we also hosted a new Language School at our Llandaff Campus called Junior Youth Journey.

The group travelling from Israel had a particular focus on British culture, English language and healthy eating.

Our catering department worked closely with the organiser to ensure we met their special dietary requirements.

We also host a large number of year round courses and examinations in language and cultural education for local community groups and associations including South Wales Chinese Association, Cardiff Polish School, Celtic English Academy and Tamil Mandram (Sri Lankan).

"We have run a successful Summer Centre at Cardiff Metropolitan University for the last 9 years. Cathy and the Conference Team are a joy to work with and this collaboration ensures the smooth running of our courses. Our international students have a fantastic time in Cardiff and we are all looking forward to summer 2020.

Diolch yn fawr!"

Operations Manager, ELAC study vacations

Catering team awarded ‘Best University’

by Junior Youth Journey

A Summer of Sport Cyncoed campus had another busy summer hosting numerous residential sports groups and training camps.

Amongst the visitors we welcomed six school rugby groups as well as Hull RFC, Canterbury RC and Oxford City FC.

We were delighted to host the FAW residential referee conference for the third year running and to welcome back competitors and spectators to stay on campus for the Inferno Racing Cross-Fit competition.

Other residential groups included Basketball Wales and international netball teams visiting from Malawi, Trinidad & Tobago and Grenada.

"Epsom College had an excellent stay thank you, they were very impressed with the facilities you have at Cardiff Met and said the food was excellent and all the staff were very friendly and helpful. We have nothing but praise for you and all the staff at Cardiff Met! Anything we asked for was accommodated and you were all very kind. The food was top quality. We here at DBS Rugby cannot compliment the university enough. I myself would also like to thank Eva for all her help and patience in getting everything organised in the lead up to the trip. I'm extremely grateful."

DBS Rugby Tours (Epsom College)

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Shiny New Hospitality Suite The environment of a meeting can really set the tone and will contribute towards delegate engagement. We hope future meetings in our new Hospitality Suite will benefit from inspired conversations for many years to come!

Cardiff Met Commercial Services initiated a full design and refurbishment programme over the summer and made a significant investment to upgrade and modernise the Hospitality Suite at Llandaff campus.

The new look Hospitality Suite offers a glamourous and modern feel to the interior. The layout for meetings is flexible with a choice of rectangular and round tables with a capacity of up to 80 people.

The Hospitality Suite is now bookable online for internal meetings via the new ThinkBooker system. If you wish to book the suite for an external event please contact the Conference Team.

Conference Rooms turn Clever!

• Device mirroring with users in the room to allow delegates to collaborate instantaneously with the presenter • Wireless connectivity for information sharing • Electronic white board This summer the Conference Team were very excited to have Clevertouch interactive screens installed in the Conference Rooms at Cyncoed Campus. There are so many benefits to using these screens for meetings and training sessions including:

• Annotation of Powerpoint presentations • 4K screen resolution • No background noise from a projector • Easy to use and intuitive

“The new interactive screens are amazing and so versatile.

I love the whiteboard option which is so much more engaging for delegates."

Facilitator Vale of Glamorgan Council

Clare (Conference Manager) comments: “The new screens are amazing! We are always keen to stay at the forefront in the events industry and being able to offer the latest technology is testament to our commitment to quality and will help us to bring more new events and external visitors to the university. The screens offer our facilitators a seamless AV/ presentation experience.”

Summer accommodation bookings During the summer months Cardiff Met Conferences have accommodation available for individuals and groups. This summer saw the refurbishment and upgrade of over 60 bedrooms at Cyncoed campus, which means that we now have over 800 en-suite bedrooms at Cardiff Met!

This summer for the first time we made a number of rooms available to book via booking.com. We were delighted with the success, receiving bookings totalling 264 room nights at Plas Gwyn Campus!

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Why not bring an external event to Cardiff Met? Hosting external events at Cardiff Met has huge benefits for the organisation and its stakeholders but also brings benefits and qudos to you and your department. Conference Services are here to assist in arranging external events so if you are planning on running an event at Cardiff Met then please get in touch as we’re here to help!

The Conference Team will ensure every logistical detail is covered and will attend on the day to make sure everything runs smoothly.

Our services include: • Providing commercial costings • Coordination of pre-event planning • Assistance in arranging off-site itineraries

• On-site assistance on the day • Invoicing and feedback We would be delighted to meet up for an initial chat about your future event so please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Call the team on 6181/2!

Cardiff Conference Ambassadors programme Join Cardiff’s Conference Ambassadors to promote Cardiff as a competitive international business events destination.

What is the role of a Cardiff Conference Ambassador?

The Cardiff Conference Ambassador network of industry and academic leaders and influencers help to put Cardiff on the international map and attract national and international business events to the capital city.

Benefits of becoming a Conference Ambassador • • • • • •

Increase the profile of your department/academic institution or Association and enhance your reputation.

Develop new networking opportunities and partnerships worldwide Showcase your institution to global leaders in your field.

Build new alliances to develop collaborative research and grant applications.

Showcase Cardiff as a centre of excellence, innovation and opportunity Support from a friendly and experienced Meet in Cardiff team

How Meet in Cardiff supports Conference Ambassadors Ambassadors can use Meet in Cardiff’s experience and range of support to organise events of all sizes and budgets from 10 to 5000 delegates. This is a free service.

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Bid Support to attract a national or international conference to Cardiff Organisational Support including online booking link for delegates offering great value accommodation.

Marketing Support to encourage delegates to come to a business event.

Meet in Cardiff works closely with Cardiff Met Conference Services team by providing assistance with city accommodation booking and ideas for social programmes and team building.

Find out more about the Cardiff Conference Ambassador Programme or how we can support you to put together a business event Bid by contacting the Meet in Cardiff team hello@meetincardiff.com Follow us @cdfambassadors

Thanks to you!

As always we are extremely grateful for the support from our colleagues across the university over the last year. Some of the events hosted at Cardiff Met are so diverse that we could literally need the assistance from any member of staff or department.

Events range from filming for the BBC (including blowing up CSM for Dr Who!) to pottery demonstrations, lecturer reunions and sports championships.

Thousands of external delegates attend events at Cardiff Met each year where they get to experience the qualities of the organisation first hand. Providing a smile when the delegates arrive and interacting with customers in a friendly and professional manner goes a long way in helping to generate happy customers and repeat business. We’ve had some fantastic feedback this year from both Cardiff Met staff and external clients so we’d like to extend a big thank you to everyone who’s worked with us on recent events.

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Here’s some of the feedback: “Just to say a huge thanks for your help and support with this one Clare – the morning went brilliantly with excellent feedback from our delegates for both the Induction and the Marketplace.

As usual a fantastic service from you that we can always rely on”.

Liz Graham-Brain, OD

"Thank you for the friendly and efficient service your team provided throughout the booking process and on the day. We've had so many compliments from attendees on the facilities at Cyncoed Campus and the level of support from your colleagues in Reception and Catering.

Celtic English Academy Cardiff University Library Service

Sally runs the London Marathon for Dementia Revolution

“I love to run for pleasure as it keeps my mind and body healthy.

When I got a place in the London Marathon through the ballot entry I knew I just had to do it!”

Join us on...

"The Conference Services team are a pleasure to work with given their friendly and professional support. They go the 'extra mile' by anticipating your needs and making helpful suggestions.

Thank you!"

I always said if I got a place then I would run for Alzheimer’s Society as my Dad had suffered with the disease in the later years of his life. Sadly he passed away just weeks before the marathon so it was just as much an emotional challenge for me as a physical one. I ran with a picture of my Dad on my back and patted him often along the way. I was really looking forward to my weekend and going to the expo more than the race itself as I was very, very nervous. But the atmosphere was amazing and the crowds were fantastic. I met up with other Dementia runners and we collected people along the way so we could have a sea of team shirts crossing the finish line together. It was fantastic! I had done it and I had that medal I so needed for me and for Dad. In the process I raised nearly £1000 and feel lucky that I have been supported by so many kind and caring people. Will I ever run another marathon? No, no, no, oh go on then, maybe one day!!!

But not yet.”

Welsh Improvers

This year two members of the conference team, Sally and Eva, have been taking Welsh ‘Uwch’ classes at Cardiff Met. They were very pleased to receive end of year awards to congratulate them on their efforts.

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Twitter  Facebook  Linkedin  Instagram For further information give us a call on 029 2041 6181/2 or visit our website

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