Client: Imperial College Business School
Event: Student Welcome Day 2023
Date: 5th September 2023
No of guests: Approx. 2,000
Venue: Whole museum takeover
Event brief & objective:
To welcome approx. 2,000 students into the Imperial College Business School community, provide a shared experience for them to create a sense of belonging to the School and inspire them with the new surroundings and wider community.
Why did you choose the Science Museum for your event?
We chose the Science Museum as it is an iconic venue, on our doorstep, which could accommodate our large student body (approx. 2,000 students) whilst also brilliantly showcasing the uniqueness of studying in a world class city like London.
What sort of experience did you want to create for your guests?
A bespoke, memorable experience which would positively set the tone for the beginning of the student journey at Imperial College Business School.
How important was the opportunity to exclusively hire the Science Museum?
The opportunity to hire the Science Museum exclusively was a real win for us. It gave us the platform and space to really impress our students and demonstrate our commitment to innovation, learning and business. It also meant that many of our students who were in London for the first time, got to have an exclusive experience at a top London attraction.
How did you choose which spaces at the museum you wanted to use?
We looked at spaces that would accommodate our large student numbers and that would give the students an opportunity to experience the best of the museum. We were very much guided by our excellent Events Manager from the Science Museum, Jenny, who gave us some helpful advice and tips.
How did the Energy Hall / IMAX: The Ronson Theatre/ Illuminate / Wonderlab: The Equinor Gallery work for your event?
- The Energy Hall gave us the space to position some stands representing different departments in the Business School.
- The IMAX Theatre gave us the opportunity to allow students to engage in a welcome from our Dean, talks from leading Imperial researchers and watch a specially commissioned video in 4K welcoming the new students into the Imperial community.
- Wonderlab enabled our students to explore, have fun and gain exclusive access to a usually paid for gallery space.
- We hosted catering and networking sessions in Illuminate, as well as a drinks reception at the end of the day. The students loved this space as it felt like an opportunity to mingle with their peers and enjoy unique views of London in an exclusive events space.
Who were your catering and AV partners? Did they create anything bespoke for the event?
Moving Venue were our catering partners, and they were excellent in adapting to our requests. We had catering spaces set up in Illuminate and they were able to turnaround the space for five separate groups of students, with around 400 guests in each catering slot. The students enjoyed a hot fork buffet menu.
White Light were our AV team and they helped us to bring the specially commissioned video to life on the 4K IMAX screen.
What feedback did you receive from guests?
The feedback from the students and staff who took part in the day was extremely positive. They felt privileged to have exclusive access to this world class venue and all its features.
Client testimonial:
“We were extremely excited to return to host our Welcome day at the Science Museum. Exclusive hire of a world-renowned museum enabled us to provide our students with a unique and memorable start to their time with us at Imperial College Business School.” – Julia McShane, Director of Student Life, Imperial College Business School
