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Warwick Conferences, the collection of meeting venues based at the University of Warwick, has been named as a finalist in both the Business Tourism and Customer Service/Team Award categories at the second Coventry and Warwickshire Tourism and Culture Awards.

Warwick Conferences, together with the University of Warwick’s School of Life Sciences are happy to announce that the 2017 International Biology Olympiad (IBO) will be held in the UK next July. The week long competition, which is organised by the Royal Society of Biology, tests pre-university students on their biology.

This comes after four successful pupils from the UK won medals at this year’s 27th International Biology Olympiad in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The UK students had previously won the top four spots from over 7,000 entrants in the British Biology Olympiad earlier on in the year. In Hanoi they completed six hours of practical examinations, as well as six hours of theory papers. Topics covered were: plant anatomy and physiology; animal anatomy, systematics and evolution; biochemistry, microbiology; and molecular biology. Medals were awarded as part of a grand closing ceremony to where the mantel was passed to the UK - who will be hosting the 28th International Biology Olympiad.

Rachel Lambert-Forsyth, director of education and training at the Royal Society of Biology said, “It will be a great honour to host the 28th International Biology Olympiad in the UK next year. The UK will have been a member of the IBO for 20 years next summer and I can think of no better way to celebrate this milestone than welcoming the IBO to our wonderful country. We look forward to partnering with the University of Warwick, through the School of Life Sciences and Royal Society of Biology, to deliver a truly memorable experience for all those involved”.

We will be responsible for hosting the event, welcoming all the participants and volunteers and supporting cultural activities such as visiting William Shakespeare’s birth place, Warwick Castle and much more, in order to give all students and staff involved a memorable experience.

Warwick Conferences are proud to be involved in this prestigious opportunity to celebrate young biologists. The 2017 International Biology Olympiad will begin on Sunday 23rd July and finish on Saturday 29th July. To find more details about the 2017 IBO please visit http://www.ibo2017.org

Warwick Conferences is set to renovate 13 meeting rooms at its Scarman training and conference centre, commencing this month, as it continues to invest in its venues.

Warwick Conferences, at the University of Warwick, has won the prestigious Best Conference Venue Customer Service (up to 600 delegates) award at the Conference Awards held last Friday 1st July at Tobacco Dock in London.

Organised by The Global Conference Network, the awards, launched in 2013, commend the contributions made by professional conference organisers to their business sectors and the best solutions providers for the conference industry.

In total, 21 awards were presented recognising teams, innovation, facilities and customer service in the conference sector. Warwick Conference scooped the Best Conference Venue Customer Service (up to 600 delegates) award beating off stiff competition from finalists Aberdeen Exhibition & Conference Centre, BMA House, Cavendish Conference Centre, Emirates Stadium, Pullman, London St Pancras, Solent Conference Centre and The London Marriott Grosvenor Square.

Rachael Bartlett, Head of Sales at Warwick Conferences, said: “We are delighted to have won this prestigious national award. When you consider the strength and calibre of the other nominees, to have won is a great achievement. It is hugely gratifying that the service delivered to our clients and continuous hard work has been recognised by the industry.

“Building a candid relationship with clients is a key differentiator of Warwick Conferences. Investing in even more effective facilities, training the staff to deliver exacting costumer service levels is part of Warwick Conferences’ commitment to offer all its clients and delegates world-class customer care”.

The award demonstrates Warwick Conferences’ ongoing commitment to develop its guests and delegates experience and provide unrivalled customer service levels.

Warwick Conferences hosted a mid-launch event for its new venue on the University of Warwick campus last Friday (10th June), as it announces it has already received enquiries totalling over £4.5m for the new space.

The one day event was attended by selected clients and agents and included a hard hat tour of the venue, the opportunity to try the new food offering at the venue which champions choice and flexibility, an industry panel and a collaborative activity to create a large scale piece of art to be unveiled at the opening of the venue in the autumn.

The industry panel, which was facilitated by Triggerfish Communications MD Andrew White, focussed on Facilities vs. Experience and featured Rachael Bartlett, Head of Sales for Warwick Conferences and European President of International Association of Conference Centres, Richard Harrison, Head of Training and Conference Centres for Warwick Conferences, Leigh Cowlishaw, Director of Supplier Partnerships at Capita Travel and Events and Paul Cook, Creator of Planet Planit. The panellists discussed the shift in thinking in the conference industry with experience now coming to the fore and the need for the industry as a whole to continually adapt to meet delegate needs.

Rachael Bartlett, Head of Sales at Warwick Conferences, says: “We were delighted to welcome clients and agents to the mid-launch event for our new venue. It was fantastic to be able to share the insights behind our latest space ranging from its design to the catering to our decision not to offer packaged solutions. The venue has been developed to provide a fully flexible, blank canvas space that can be adapted in whichever way is necessary to meet the exact experience a client is looking to provide for their delegates. The intention with our new space is to give more control back to the client and let their individuality shine through.

“The response to our new venue has been phenomenal already. As it stands today, we have received enquiries equating to over £4.5m of conference and events business, which is fantastic and just goes to show the level of demand for a high capacity, high facility and flexible event space venue such as this in Central England.”

Offering 650sqm of contemporary and highly flexible event space with capacity for 350 delegates seated, the new venue is set to open this autumn and will be available on an exclusive use basis so it can be customised to meet individual needs.