We were approached in February 2022 by the Conference & Events Manager of Gonville & Caius College, University of Cambridge, to organise a professional hybrid 2-day conference to be available to the entire Gonville & Caius community, including fellows and students, both present and alumni.

Although an incredibly short lead time, we agreed to provide the virtual platform via our technical partners at Venu-IQ and a physical event in the Bateman Auditorium at the College for up to 70 delegates. The event was to take place during the Easter break which enabled more Gonville & Caius students and fellows to attend remotely and open the conference to like-minded academics from across the globe interested in the content.

 The OD&V remit included:

• Create an online registration system to accommodate both in-person and virtual delegates as well as invited speakers
• Design the virtual platform with the College branding, and interactive programme, speaker profiles with photos and bios, and a Q&A facility
• Manage all delegate communications for virtual and in-person; and speakers, creating unique login keys and manage a “help desk” email during office hours
• Speaker management and communications including the collection of photos and bios; collection of presentations into slide decks; production of template introduction slide; briefings for virtual speakers and consent agreements
• Venue and tech set up to include liaison with College venue and AV teams; set up and manage a formal registration desk for in-person delegates and tech desk during the 2-day conference for the live streaming of the event; manage live Q&A sessions for each speaker from the in-person audience and the virtual delegates; manage two remote speakers via a Zoom connection during the live streaming; set up an overflow room in the registration area, refreshments zone and promote an associated exhibition in a nearby college library.

Professor Sir Alan Fersht FRS FMedSci, former Master of Gonville & Caius College Cambridge and organiser of the Fisher in the 21^st Century conference said;

“Rose, Madalina, Sarah and Celia at Opening Doors provided valuable support to host our academic conference in a hybrid format, with speakers and delegates participating from around the world. They were unfazed by the short preparation time, provided an excellent online platform and surpassed expectations in the level of service they provided. Their professionalism, enthusiasm and personal warmth contributed greatly to the success of the conference.”