4. Supplying the Fun at Easter

Our Suppliers Easter Fair celebrated its 17th annual event on 11th April.

Over 500 University staff and PhD students were welcomed to the Exhibition Centre to meet the people that provide our support, services and supplies. The feedback from exhibitors and visitors was very positive, as we gave internal and external suppliers a chance to showcase their wares, let people know what they can do and put a face to the name.

Natasha Rahanu, MEETinLEEDS Event Manager, said:

“Thank you to everyone that came the event: it was a cracking – excuse the pun – success!

MEETinLEEDS & Great Food at Leeds shared a stand at the event, generating leads with the promise of Easter treats and a hamper with Leeds-based goodies, including LUU gig tickets, stage@leeds tickets, homemade chocolates, gym passes and more! Staff were eager to learn about the on campus accommodation we offer at Storm Jameson Court and the new Deli(very) menus – leaflets were flying out faster than a tray of hot cross buns!

3. Awards Season

We are proud to have been nominated for two prestigious awards: the Conference & Hospitality Show Awards (CHS) and the Group Travel Awards (GTA).

The CHS Awards takes place on 11^th May at the Royal Armouries Leeds, in which we are up for Best Sustainable Venue, in recognition for our commitment to a sustainable conference and events service. We work with the University’s Sustainability Team to tackle impacts at a local and global level to support the university in its drive to becoming a sustainable university. We are up against strong competition but we hope to bring home the prize – follow us on Twitter to see what happens on the night!

The GTA ceremony is on 2^nd June at the Park Plaza Riverbank in London, where we line up against five other universities in the Best University Accommodation for Groups category. The nominees are voted for by the readers of the Group Travel Organiser magazine, where they are asked to vote for who they think are the best suppliers in more than 20 categories.

2. Xuefei Yang Concert

Though we are by no means experts on the subject of classical music, we have always held a candle for the classical guitar, ignited by the rock star flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia.

From intimate gigs in Andalusian bars with the inimitable Camaron de la Isla (check out the amazing table-knocking percussion) to full orchestral renditions of the Concierto Aranjuez by Rodrigo, it was his melding of traditional flamenco with jazz and classical stylings that gave us and millions of others the bug for anything involving 6 nylon strings. If you are like us then you will not want to miss the performance on 12^th May by Xuefei Yang.

Xuefei is acclaimed as one of the world’s finest classical guitarists. She was the first ever guitarist in China to enter a music school, and became the first internationally recognised Chinese guitarist on the world stage. In this programme Xuefei will perform works by Bach and Paganini, as well as music from Brazilian composers such as Heitor Villa-Lobos and the UK premiere of a piece by Marco Pereira.

1. Leeds Digital Festival

The Leeds Digital Festival, celebrating digital culture in all its forms, starts this weekend and runs until 29^th April.

In amongst over 80 events at the Festival there will be several involving the University of Leeds, including:

• Cultural Institute Student Film Prize – screenings of short films portraying the digital creativity research at the University of Leeds from student filmmaking crews and leading researchers is followed by an awards ceremony presented and judged by Col Needham, founder of IMDb.
• Digital in Global Perspective – a round table event on 25^th April, with staff from the Schools of Media and Communications and Languages, Cultures and Societies discussing what digital means to them, followed by audience debate and discussion.
• Digital disruption and the need to evolve – speakers from Leeds University Business School, the Digital Festival and Marks & Spencer discuss how M&S implement digital strategy, manage change and develop and attract digital talent.

We also have our beady eye on some other extremely interesting events, such as:

• The Social Media Geek – Becky Boyd, better known as the social media geek, talks social media and how to manage your presence effectively. As keen Twitter and Facebook devotees we can’t wait for this one!