A look back at our top news stories of 2021

As the year draws to a close we decided to reflect back on some of our top news stories from 2021.

Supporting Communication Matters

MEETinLEEDS have hosted the Communication Matters conference since 2013, and over that time have had the privilege of building a fantastic partnership with the Communication Matters team, and the AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) community.

In March 2021 our Sales and Marketing Manager took on the Communication Matters 3.4 Challenge by running 3.4 miles a day for 13 days! The 3.4 Challenge was set up by Communication Matters to raise vital funds for their charity after losing loss of income in 2020. The combined effort of everyone who took part in the 3.4 challenge lead to £2,000 being raised for the charity.

You can take a look back at the full story here.

The relationship we have with our customers is so important, feeling connected has always been pivotal for us, and the strength of these relationships continues to flourish as we work together in support of each other. We have continued working closely with Communication Matters and are very proud to have such great partnership with this fantastic Charity!

Celebrating a busy Easter conference season with an uptake in virtual events

At Easter we virtually welcomed the British Food and Drink Group (BFDG), the British Conference of Undergraduate Research (BCUR) and the 71st Annual British Microcirculation and Vascular Biology Society Conference (BMVBS).

Dr. Paul Meakin, BHF Intermediate Basic Science Research Fellow and University of Leeds
Academic Fellow, commented:

It was wonderful to see the BMVBS society come together again in the hosting of this annual conference, despite the ongoing restrictions. We’d like to thank the hard-working team at MEETinLEEDS for making all of this possible, and helping our conference to return after last year’s postponement. From creating the website it was hosted on, right through to successfully running the event across Zoom, they provided support for us every step of the way.

Adapting and innovating to offer unique conference experiences over this challenging period is something we are so proud of our team for and demonstrates our ongoing commitment to meeting and exceeding the needs of our customers even as the landscape changes. You’ll find the full story about our Easter conferences here.

Virtually welcoming the world’s largest medieval congress

In July we welcomed the world’s largest medieval academic event, International Medieval Congress (IMC), to the University of Leeds for its 28th year and its second year virtually. Bringing together medieval experts in a unique, interdisciplinary forum, the IMC hosted a series of discussions, demonstrations and debates centred around this year’s theme of ‘Climates’, as well as covering all aspects of Medieval Studies.

Welcoming over 2,000 attendees from all over the world, the event also featured multiple academic sessions, a book fair, exhibitions, and an events and workshop programme, all via its virtual platform. Unlike many academic conferences, the vast majority of attendees were actively involved in the programme as speakers, moderators, and roundtable presenters, making IMC one of the largest conferences held online in the humanities field this year.

Read more about this year’s IMC conference here.

Shaping the Future of Conferences; Digital Transformation

In September we spoke about how we are making strides towards digital transformation in a post-Covid world, in support of the university’s overarching, long-term strategy.

Harnessing the potential of digital technologies, data and digital approaches to professional development, support and guidance, across-campus facilities and operational activities alike, both our team and the rest of the University will be able to achieve sustainability targets, whilst also better meeting the needs of conference organisers and delegates following a behavioural shift over the course of the pandemic.

Harriet Boatwright, Sales and Marketing Manager at MEETinLEEDS said:

As part of the University of Leeds, we take great pride in ensuring that our work reflects the institution’s wider strategy, in order to take a collaborative approach in achieving those goals. Whilst we already had experience in virtual and hybrid events, their importance has really been brought to the fore throughout the pandemic, and we’re so pleased that we’ve been able to use technology to add extra value to our conference programme. We look forward to working towards our new digital transformation, as we see the industry continue to develop in a post-Covid landscape.

You can read the full news story here.

Celebrating our awards recognition

We were very proud earlier this year to win the Culture of Collaboration Award in the University of Leeds Sustainability Awards. The award celebrates the building of strong and effective partnerships, within or beyond the university community, to find sustainable solutions. We won this alongside our partners: The International Student Office, International Office, and Great Food at Leeds for collaborating on inclusivity for international students.  We formed a truly collaborative partnership to support the university in meeting the needs of its international students, whilst also supporting the institution’s wider inclusivity strategy; the delivery of an intercultural student experience ensuring whole cohort integration, belonging and community-building.

Through this collaborative, flexible and forward thinking approach, team members have ensured that international students are still able to experience the best of Leeds and the university within the existing restrictions.

In November we were also really proud to have been invited with our friends at GreatFoodAtLeeds to represent our services at the Leeds Hotels and Venues Association’s Recognition Awards 2021.  The event was to celebrate the strength and commitment of the hospitality industry over the last 18 months. The event was hosted by the Lord Mayor of Leeds, Cllr Asghar Khan and organised by the fantastic team at Leeds Hotels and Venues Association.  The categories in which we were honoured included Most Innovative Diversification, Extra Mile categories for front of house and back of house teams, as well as a leadership category for our work in supporting the International welcome activity for our students.

I hope you have enjoyed looking back at some of this year’s news stories with us. That’s a wrap for 2021 – but we will be back in the New Year, hopefully bringing you lots of great news stories throughout 2022!