3
Academic Venues
Myth Busting:
Academic Venues
Rory Archibald, associations and sectors, VisitScotland Business Events,
runs the rule over Scotland’s academic venues
cotland’s academic venues
have played host to some
of Scotland and the world’s
most famous discoveries,
which make them an ideal location to
discover your next big ideas in some
fantastic event spaces. Here, Rory
Archibald, associations and sectors
at VisitScotland Business Events
unpicks the three most common
myths surrounding academic
venues.
Academic venues event spaces
look like stuffy classrooms
Just because a venue is academic
doesn’t mean all the spaces will
bring back memories of being at
university and those dreaded exams.
Like any other event venue, the
layouts are changeable, they invest
heavily in in-house event
professionals and some even offer
event management services. Just
one venue offering world class
facilities is Glasgow Caledonian
University which recently underwent
a £32m redevelopment of its entire
campus, which included the
development of a brand new flexible
488 seat conference hall – a far cry
from the likes of a school classroom.
The event spaces aren’t modern
enough
While some academic venues are
steeped in history, the equipment
used within the venues is more often
what you would expect from a
purpose-built international
conference centre. In a world where
we rely heavily on high internet
speeds and state-of-the-art
equipment, venues have recognised
the need to improve their offerings
and have invested heavily in
renovating and updating properties
Just because
a venue is
academic doesn’t
mean all the
spaces will bring
back memories
of being at
university and
those dreaded
exams.
and technology. Last year the Royal
College of Surgeons in Edinburgh
underwent an £8.5m refurbishment,
which included new and refurbished
event spaces as well as an
expansion of its 4* hotel, Ten Hill
Place, making it Edinburgh’s largest
independent hotel.
The award winning Technology and
Innovation Centre (TIC) is the flagship
venue of the University of Strathclyde
that opened in 2015 and
accommodates up to 600 delegates.
Academic venues aren’t suitable
for large events
This couldn’t be further from the
truth. Most academic venues in
Scotland are close to or have their
www.conference-news.co.uk
own hotels on-site. Stirling University
has its own on-site hotel, Stirling
Court, nestled in 330 acre grounds.
The 100-bed hotel is a short walk
away from the university where the it
has a wide range of additional event
spaces including a dedicated
exhibition area, seminar and break
out rooms and 10 lecture theatres,
with the largest capable of hosting
460 delegates.
In 2017, Edinburgh First, part of
the University of Edinburgh reopened
the McEwan Hall, a city landmark
that can accommodate up to 1,700
delegates, after a multi-pound
refurbishment. Add this to 50
meeting spaces over 16 venues city
wide, including the purpose-built
John McIntye Conference Centre and
over 2,200 rooms which include 2
hotels, serviced apartments and
summer campus accommodation.
For flexibility, city centre locations,
world-class technology and
continued investment in delegate
experience, it should be a no-brainer
for any event strategist to consider
an academic venue.