12
Sheffield
INNOVATION AND
INSPIRATION
Steve Timmins, business development manager at The University of
Sheffield tells CN why his team leads the class in refining the lessons in
conference innovation with inspiration, engagement & a contemporary
variation on creating dynamic meetings.
n a competitive market place, innovation
and investment are central to
maintaining clients in addition to winning
new contracts. The University of
Sheffield has made significant investments
over a number of years in key areas such as
facilities, technology and proactive account
management.
Ensuring we consistently deliver and surpass
the expectations of each and every one of our
customers means that we constantly
benchmark ourselves against high profile
branded names such as Costa, Starbucks,
Holiday Inn, Mercure & IHG etc; our aim is
delighting our guests every time.
The university’s commercial business
includes bespoke conference facilities, two
large convention centres which can each hold
1,250 delegates, dedicated UK Masterchef
dining and meeting spaces, twenty retail outlets
and two contemporary hotels, all of which offer
free high speed Wi-Fi as well as state-of-the-art
AV equipment in the conference facilities.
We have also invested heavily in new
technologies, using products from Cvent,
Kinetic Solutions and HubSpot to enhance our
clients’ event management and delegate
registration experiences and, acknowledging
www.conference-news.co.uk
the importance of delegate engagement in
events, we have now introduced an Event
App for delegates to register for meetings,
select syndicate sessions, confirm
accommodation, fully engage with other
delegates via social media, download
presentations, post images and pose
questions for speakers in real time - these
are just a few of the attributes which
augment the conference offer to our clients.
Our dedication to offering intelligent
solutions for our clients was illustrated by
four nominations at the annual Academic
Venue Awards.