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UCC Academy - Showcasing conferences at UCC
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Our conference team recently collaborated with UCC Summer Beds, Fáilte Ireland and Cork Convention Bureau for a lunchtime event, Conferences at UCC. Read on to learn more about this event.
On a scorching Thursday lunchtime in May, our conference team, hosted a Conferences at UCC Lunch and Learn at Devere Hall for those considering bidding for, or hosting a conference at UCC. This session showcased the ecosystem of conference supports available to UCC conference organisers, including our own internal conference team and Campus Accommodation options as well as Cork Convention Bureau and Fáilte Ireland bid and promotional supports and funding opportunities.
Opened by Professor John O’Halloran, President of UCC, the event emphasised hosting international conferences plays an important role in elevating the university's research profile and global reputation, increasing our exposure as an institution of academic excellence and research.
A panel of past UCC conference organisers across several different schools and departments including, Prof. Alan Kelly, Head of School of Food and Nutritional Sciences; Prof. Griffith Rollefson, Department of Music; Prof. John Morrissey, School of Microbiology and Dr Anne Marie Martin, School of Nursing and Midwifery and chaired by Evelyn O’Sullivan, Cork Convention Bureau, shared their insights on hosting conferences at UCC. They referenced the impact their events had on the research community and the university, as well as how being the conference host expanded their network and developed professional relationships. They also shared information on the supports they leaned on for their events and encouraged others to do the same.
Feedback from the session was very positive and shows a need to host more of these information sessions to communicate more broadly on why researchers should host a conference at UCC and to drive awareness of the services they can avail of when bidding and planning their next conference.
Nicole McDonagh, Conference Team Lead said: “We’ve had a great lunchtime session today showcasing our services and the supports in place at UCC for conferencing. It’s great to meet colleagues from across the university interested in hosting future conferences here and for them to hear from our panel of speakers, many of whom who have held conferences at UCC and to learn about their experiences.”
As Professor John O’Halloran concluded in his welcome speech: “Today the message is simple: You are not alone in this process. We believe in your ideas, we value your leadership, and we are committed to helping you make your next conference — whether it’s your first or your fifth — a success.”