A modern conference centre in Glasgow that has only been operational for three years has been nominated in four categories for an inaugural awards ceremony.
The University of Strathclyde’s Technology & Innovation Centre hosted 600 events and welcomed a staggering 41,000 delegates through its doors in the year to July 31.
After opening in 2015, the building has quickly become a popular venue for business events across the spectrum of private, public and academic conferencing.
It has now been recognised by the first Academic Venue Awards, which takes place at the Great Hall, Queen Mary University of London on November 22.
The conference centre has been nominated in the following categories:
- Best Conference Venue
- Best Customer Service
- Best Catering Service
- Best Non-Residential Venue
Gordon Hodge, Head of Conferencing and Events at the University of Strathclyde, said: “We’re delighted that Strathclyde’s Technology and Innovation Centre (TIC) is the only Scottish contender in the inaugural Academic Venue Awards. We’re shortlisted in three separate categories – Conference Venue, Customer Service and Catering Service – as well as Non-Residential Venue of the Year, and rubbing shoulders with big hitters including IMAGO, Conference Aston and Meet in Leeds.”
He added: “It’s been an amazing twelve months for us. In the year to 31 July, we hosted more than 600 events and welcomed more than 41,000 delegates. We made the shortlist for Best Scottish Venue at EventIt’s E Awards in March, and for Customer Service Champion at Glasgow’s Inspiring City Awards in September. We’re only in our third year of operation, but our performance and peer recognition demonstrate how TIC is changing the industry’s perception of an academic venue. We work closely with Glasgow Convention Bureau to support Strathclyde’s academics in bringing conferences to the city, and the events we host strengthen the University’s partnerships with industry and the public sector.”
The TIC has hosted numerous high impact academic conferences including the Royal Statistical Society and the International Society for Dermatopathology; it has also staged corporate meetings including the World Broadcaster Briefing for the Glasgow 2018 European Championships.
Over the next few weeks, it will welcome Cycling Scotland, the European Commission and Scotland’s National Event Conference, with Host City – a high-profile meeting of hosts and organisers of sporting, cultural and business events – also back for the third consecutive year, which is a fitting tribute to the venue’s ability to support clients over the long term.
Hodge says: “The organisers of Host City tell us that we’re their favourite of all the venues they work with, and we can’t ask for a bigger compliment.”
For meetings planners increasingly fixated on a venue’s capacity to deliver configurable event spaces, the TIC can accommodate up to 450 delegates in its main auditorium, supported by an innovative system of moveable walls and electronic partitions which can divide the space into a tiered section for 300 and a flat-floored section for 150, or three sections accommodating 150 each.
Each section of the auditorium is also ‘acoustically-discreet’ and fully self-contained when subdivided, with separate access to and from the adjacent foyers.
Hodge adds: “With state-of-the-art audio-visual installation – including LED lighting which allows you to theme the room in corporate colours and spotlight speakers – the main auditorium is an impressive, flexible backdrop for your event.”
As for its catering, which TIC hopes will also be recognised at the Awards, the in-house brand, Nourish, has been at the forefront of TIC’s offer and appeal, thus far, to Scottish events organisers.
“We recognise that good-quality food and drink, professionally-served by friendly, knowledgeable staff, are a fundamental part of any event, and we hope our menus will complement your event,” says Hodge.
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