International Conference for the Society for Clinical Biostatistics | 2022

Organised by BeaconHouse Events, working closely with Newcastle University and the International Society for Clinical Biostatistics for more than two years, the 43rd international academic conference ISCB43 was hosted in Newcastle in August 2022.

Which venues did you use for your event and what attracted you to them?

We chose the Frederick Douglass Centre as it was a free venue for the academics as well as in a good central city location. It had great spaces, large theatre rooms and good breakout areas.

How did NewcastleGateshead Convention Bureau support you along the way, did the support meet your expectations?

The Convention Bureau initially helped with venue research, pitch deck support for the local organising committee, and offered an accommodation booking service. Advice and support with social excursion contacts and prices was also provided. Although it was more hands-off once we were involved as the event managers, the support was always there if we needed it. They also provided NewcastleGateshead maps for delegates to help them get around.

Did the venue meet your brief/expectations and how?

Yes, we were happy with the venue. The Frederick Douglass Centre was a good space, and very flexible to meet the needs of the conference and client.

Sustainability is becoming increasingly important, especially in business events. Did your event take any measures to be more sustainable?

We planned to create a carbon footprint for the conference, which we worked on alongside the venue. Energy readings for our time at the venue were recorded. On top of this, we also limited printed collateral, and tracked travel for the delegates too.

Was there anything that made the event particularly memorable or unique?

We received very positive feedback from the client, who said it was one of the smoothest and most successful ISCBs he’d ever attended (and that’s a lot!), so that’s definitely memorable.

Did you organise any trips/excursions/activities? Where did you go and was there any feedback?

We did organise excursions and experiences, including: city tours, Hadrian’s wall with the local company Northern Secrets, and a tour of the Victoria Tunnel. These all went very smoothly, with companies taking bookings directly from the delegates. Good feedback was received for all these experiences and there was a lot of interest for them!