Are you a Researcher organising, presenting at or attending a conference in Ireland or abroad?
This page is designed to help you attract international conferences, satellite meetings as well as social events from conferences / congresses taking place in Dublin that fall specifically into the categories of research, medical and surgery. Helping you host such events will enhance our international reputation and help strengthen awareness of RCSI globally in these fields as well as helping you enhance your own research profile.
Organising a Conference
The below information should assist you in the planning of an event /conference that you are organising.
Professional Conference Organiser (PCO)
- Did you know that Failte Ireland (Meet in Ireland) & Dublin Convention Bureau can assist in preparing a bid, provide funding & guidance as well as other aspects such as how to manage registrations or find venues / accommodation in the city?
- If you are bidding to bring a conference to Ireland, contact Meet in Ireland before the bidding process is complete and they can assist with bid documents and presentations.
- Financial support can also be available for site inspections. Supports and full guidelines are available on the Meet in Ireland website
- Other useful supports including planning toolkits, venues and information can be found at partner websites for Meet in Ireland –
https://www.dublinconventionbureau.com
http://www.failteireland.ie
Event Guidelines
Our colleagues in IPO, have developed an RCSI Event Guidelines to help guide you through some of the logistical points of hosting high impact events – a must read for anyone embarking on event organising of any size. Download the Event Guidelines here.
Booking a Venue in RCSI
- You may wish to hold a number of dates provisionally while you confirm with your speaker(s). Full information about venues available in RCSI can be found on the staff portal.
- To request to book a venue/ reception or dinner venue if applicable, send your enquiry to venuehire@rcsi.ie along with a fully completed Deans Approval Form 2019 as well as your departments’ budget code.
Hosting a Virtual Event
For virtual events Microsoft MS Teams and MS Live events are available for RCSI staff to use for events, and externals can attend via MS Teams also. MS teams is managed by our internal Media Services Department.
Zoom webinars are also a popular platform to use, however, this platform is not supported by the RCSI IT / Media Services team. If you are collaborating with another company or organization and they have access to a Zoom webinar license and you wanted to use that platform, they would need to set up the webinar for you.
To register delegates to attend, for free events, we recommend using MS Forms, in RCSI we all have access to this and it’s really quick and easy to use.
RCSI branded slides & backgrounds are located here, any RCSI staff presenting, should use these slides: https://staff.rcsi.ie/administration-and-support/design/branding-and-templates
Microsoft Teams might not be suitable for all virtual events, so below are some other external companies that colleagues in other departments have previously employed to support the hosting of their virtual events:
- Abbey Conference and Events https://www.abbeyconference.ie
- Narrowcast Media Group https://www.narrowcastmedia.co.uk
- You can also find a list of recommended Professional Conference organisers via AIPCO, that may be available to deliver virtual and in person events. To ensure value and for financial best practice we advise that you obtain quotes from three suppliers to ensure your particular event needs will be delivered.
Budgeting
- In some instances, costs may be offset by implementing registration fees as well as having exhibitors at your event where applicable.
- It is important that you draft a budget prior to organizing your event. Budgets should consider all aspects such a room rental, audio visual equipment, catering, speakers expenses as well as any branding/design items to name but a few. A 10% contingency should be added to your estimated total should any unexpected costs arise.
Funding Opportunities available from RCSI
A new initiative to support international engagement is now available through the Insights & Planning Office. The Collaborate Initiative is designed to create flexible funding opportunities to support a range of international engagement/reputation activities, further details can be found here
Marketing Your Event to The Right Target Audience
- Prepare a targeting guest list, which should include a list of potential delegates / contacts that will be interested in the event topic.
- Consider the networks that you have access to already. Check if there are any free channels that you can use to market your event to bodies/professional networks that would be interested in the topic area.
- Internal channels for promotion include;
- Work vivo: Staff can post their own updates on the platform.
- Collaborate Bulletin: Contact collaborate@rcsi.ie for internal dissemination in the research Bulletin.
- Social Media: To learn more about getting the maximum impact from social media, useful information and a social toolkit are located here
Remember the GDPR guidelines when creating your database and asking for information from delegates.
Conference / Event Organisation Checklist
These steps are an overview and are intended to provide you with a checklist to ensure the basics are in place for a successful event. As with all events, you will need to prepare a more extensive plan to assist you with the successful running of your event:
- Assess the goals of your conference, including anticipated numbers, target audience and numbers
- Book a venue/ reception or dinner location for your event with the relevant venues.
- Obtain costs and prepare your budget.
- Confirm the date of your event, check it does not clash with other similar events nationally / internationally (release any room bookings on dates you no longer require).
- Contact a PCO who will assist in the overall planning (if applicable).
- Confirm chairperson/speakers and secure their accommodation (if applicable).
- Book your Design jobs – brochure, flyer, programme (print/online) etc
- If you will be recording the event, you must advise speakers/chairs in advance.
- Confirm the programme and publicise your event.
- Apply for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) accreditation (if applicable).
- Book catering and audiovisual requirements with your venue.
- Consider set-up: Do you need to order any furniture, poster boards, countdown timers etc. from any external suppliers. In some cases, your chosen venues may supply this.
- Ensure you have colleagues/ personnel who will be onsite to staff registration desks and oversee the event. A staffing document is useful to outline key roles and provide a list of common / high level queries they need to know.
- Post event: issue thank you emails, conduct a post event debrief, prepare your final budget and close off all accounts.
Presenting or Attending a Conference
Below are some top tips on how you can best represent the RCSI brand when attending key events.
- RCSI branded templates should always be used during your PowerPoint presentations. Copies of the branded templates can be located here.
- During your presentation, where possible, include key facts about RCSI (as provided in the PowerPoint templates) or about your research areas
- Where possible wear an RCSI pin or lanyard and give a quick 1 /2 min introduction about RCSI.
- We want you to take the RCSI brand with you. We can help by providing approved RCSI branded presentation templates, pop up banners or RCSI branded merchandise. Contact events@rcsi.ie to submit a request for such items. (please allow a minimum of 4 weeks notice where possible)
- Remember at the end of your trip or visit to tell them they are always welcome to RCSI and to keep in touch. Think about dropping them an email post the visit to thank them for coming / welcoming you / it was nice to meet them etc..
- Look out for key contacts while you are at a conference and network and introduce yourself.