A Week of Scientific Exchange and Networking

SEFS13 offered a rich, diverse program spanning nearly a week including four days of sessions, multiple social events catering to all attendees, with a special focus on early career researchers and a full day dedicated to excursions. Within the venue, an experiential art exhibition was set up, showing beautiful underwater videos and allowing visitors to immerse themselves in underwater soundscapes recorded by one of the attendees.

Pioneering Sustainability

Abbey Conferences worked with the client and venue to create the first-ever fully vegan scientific conference of this scale at the university. This initiative aligned perfectly with the symposium's sustainability goals and received high praise from delegates. Other actions included removing all single-use plastics from catering, surveying delegates on their travel arrangements so their carbon could be offset and incentivising sponsors to be greener, ruling out plastic stands and awarding the most sustainable sponsor a prize.

Excursions: Science Meets Adventure

We curated a variety of excursions to cater to diverse interests. White Water Rafting for thrill-seekers, Osprey Watching for nature enthusiasts, Salmon centre visits for those interested in conservation, riverbed field trips for hands-on learning and Newcastle History tours for culture buffs.

Early Career Focus

We organized two standout events for early career researchers:

1. A casual networking evening on Monday, providing a relaxed atmosphere for newcomers to connect.
2. The SEFS Summer Solstice Social fundraiser, a resounding success that raised over €2,500 for early career bursaries for the 2024 symposium. This entertaining event was hosted at a local brewery and was DJed by the Association’s president!

A Conference Dinner and Dance

The symposium concluded with a grand Conference Dinner at Newcastle Stadium. Nearly 200 delegates enjoyed an evening of great food, company, and lively ceilidh dancing, which was so popular more furniture needed to be removed.

Sponsorship Shortfall

When it became clear that the client's ambitious sponsorship targets were not being met, Abbey Conferences stepped in - We revamped the sponsorship offerings to attract a broader audience, worked closely with suppliers to optimize costs and maintained rigorous budget oversight. Despite the initial setback, our proactive approach and financial acumen ensured the symposium not only broke even but achieved a surplus for the client.