Feedback
Nils Moeller
Monday, 24 September 2007 12:54 UTC
Many thanks to all attendees, speakers and exhibitors at last week’s Source Event – the event was very well visited and from conversations I have had also very well received.
I would now be very interested in any feedback you may have after the event, positive and negative, which we can take on board when planning for the next event.
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Replies
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I really enjoyed the event and I think it was very successful all in all. There are few things though, that I’d like to mention.
I had a feeling there was some confusion with registration, because we had to confirm that we’re attending. Also, initially it was said that there would be organized talk time with potential employers, but this changed later on. I didn’t have time to fill out the questionnaire, but I feel it wouldn’t be good to charge a fee for a career fair. The catering offered wasn’t really worth £35. I feel as well, that there should have been more exhibitors present, so we could get to talk to them and spend more time networking.
I hope this doesn’t sound very negative, because I really had a great time and I talked to many interesting people. The speakers were really good and I was very happy to attend the Source Event. -
Hi Nils, thanks for dropping by my blog.
Adding on to my other points, I think the venue was rather too small for the big turn out for the event. The exhibit halls were too packed during the first few breakout sessions, and one of the seminar rooms was too small to accommodate all the people who wanted to hear the talks.
In general, I liked the relaxed feeling of the fair, that it truly felt everyone (exhibitors, organisers, speakers) were approachable and all there to help. I found the event particularly useful for learning about different types companies. The talks were also full of great tips and info. -
Hi Both! Thanks for taking the time to get back to me, this is exactly the sort of constructive feedback I was looking for so let me take it all on board and get back on a few points:
I agree that we could do with more space next time around and we will certainly look to rpovide more room for the exhibition next time as we expect more exhibitors to attend now that the first event is over and was successful. The fact that this was a free event meant that we could not be sure whether all registrants would actually turn up on the day and through experience there is always a certain amount of oversubscription. As we became oversubscribed we asked attendees to re-confirm attendance and interest in specific talks. Talks on the day were still very well attended and we will look at creating space for more attendees next time.
The catering issue is also noted and will change next time. -
You’re welcome. I believe it’s also in our interest to say what we liked and didn’t like.
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Hi there, I would like to echo the comments made by Maja and Chiuhui. I thought the Source Event was enjoyable and informative. In addition to the comments made, I would like to mention that in the PostDoc stream there wasn’t really any information/advice for those PostDocs who have progressed to the point where they are writing their own grants. I think it would really useful for future events that talks/workshops could be designed for PostDocs writing their first grant propsosal and alternative strategies if that grant is unsuccessful.
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