Pictured above: East Midlands Conference Centre

Following a drive by the University of Nottingham aimed at keeping meetings and events on campus, Nottingham Conferences has taken over a million pounds worth of enquiries from its internal customers, staff and academics in the last six months.

In November last year, the portfolio revised its rates for internal colleagues with a special focus on the flagship East Midlands Conference Centre. The rates were promoted through an email shot and leaflet drops around the university's campuses with the resulting outcome seeing an increase in enquiries of 53 per cent compared to the same six months in the previous year.

Marketing Manager Kirstie Danzey explained; "The staff and academics of the University host several meetings a year and a number of these have traditionally taken place off-site.

In addition, we know that most of the academic departments belong to associations which also arrange larger conferences."

She continued; "With the new rates and marketing literature we aimed to remind colleagues of the vast range of facilities that they can take advantage of while at the same time showcasing their university to external clients, hopefully to encourage further business. We plan to follow this up with further regular newsletter updates and one-to-one meetings with our internal colleagues."

Internal university departments are a significant customer for Nottingham Conferences, equating to 13 per cent of total enquiries. Profits from Nottingham Conferences are invested back into improving facilities at The University of Nottingham.

The East Midlands Conference Centre celebrates its 25th anniversary in November 2010. Over the past 25 years, over two million delegates have been welcomed to the centre.