Running an event

Students and staff 

Visit the Imperial Events and hospitality webpage for information on our venues or contact Campus Services directly via email roomsandcatering@imperial.ac.uk to secure venue bookings, catering, AV support and to hire furniture for your event. A list of internal events contacts can be found on on the Catering and Hospitality contact us page.  

Please note that Campus Services charge a fee for their support.

If you are not a member of staff or a student at Imperial 

Please visit the Imperial Venues website or get in touch with the external events team via email venues@imperial.ac.uk.  

Information on catering outlets on our campuses can be found on the Food and Drink webpage.

Risk assessments

Yes, risk assessments are required for all events held at Imperial. Please complete the Risk Assessment template and consult the ‘review & sign off’ section for information on who needs to review and sign off the risk assessment for your event.  

Please note: the Institutional Events team are not responsible for reviewing or signing off your risk assessments. 

Security 

In the case of high-profile individuals who are attending your event, please notify George Wrigley  the Head of Security Services and the Institutional Events team as soon as possible.   

If you are a member of staff or a student planning an event and would like to check what else is happening at Imperial on a particular date we encourage you to check the Imperial Events calendar and the Imperial Calendar.  

• The Imperial Events calendar is hosted on Planner which is an app accessible through Microsoft Teams. The calendar is accessible to all members of the Imperial Events Network. If you are not currently a member of the network you can easily request to join by contacting the Institutional Events team via email events@imperial.ac.uk 

• The Imperial Calendar, owned by Central Secretariat, can be accessed through Microsoft Outlook. To open it go to the calendar tab in your Outlook > Add Calendar > From Address Book> college.calendar@imperial.ac.uk 

Visit the maps webpage to find maps for all of our campuses.

For more detailed information on accessibility at our venues you can visit the AccessAble website.

Contact your speakers as soon as you have a preferred event date in mind. Bear in mind that some speakers book in engagements over a year in advance. 

If you are planning on inviting any high-profile individuals to speak at your event please contact the Institutional Events team beforehand.  

You may wish to cover your speaker’s travel expenses, but this is at the discretion of your department. Please review the Imperial College London Expenses Policy  for more information. 

The brand management platform is home to brand guidelines, including our brand strategy, visual and verbal identity and media libraries, templates and resources. All students and staff can use their Imperial login to access the platform.

Some useful templates currently available there include: 

Powerpoint templates 
Event signage
Pull-up banners 
Email banners 

The Institutional Events team has a number of branded assets that can be borrowed for events subject to availability. These include; backdrops and pull-up banners.  

If you would like to enquire about use of any of these items please get in touch with Joshua Klarica, Institutional Events Administrator, via email: j.klarica@imperial.ac.uk 

Please contact Campus Services if you would like your event to be recorded. 

You can also contact the Conferences and AV team if you are interested in livestreaming your event through the Imperial YouTube account. 

Please ensure you have sought the speaker's permission to film and record their speech or lecture. 

Remember to let your guests know that filming and photography are taking place at your event. You can download and print a3 signage from the brand management platform to notify them.

Visit the commission a photoshoot page for information on commissioning photography for your event or fill in the form to let them know you have arranged a photographer yourself.  

Remember to let your guests know that filming and photography are taking place at your event. You can download and print a3 signage from the brand management platform to notify them.

Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the college via Sky Wi-Fi via The Cloud. Connect to The Cloud by searching for Wi-Fi networks on your device, connecting to the '_The Cloud' network and following the instructions that show on screen. 

For more information visit Sky Wi-Fi. 

For more information on all the ways you can access Wi-Fi at our campus visit the Access Wi-Fi webpage. 

Conference guest Wi-Fi

If you are a member of staff or a student and would like to arrange conference guest Wi-Fi visit the Create conference guests accounts webpage.

There are number of different platforms available to manage guest registration. 

Free events 

• Qualtrics
• Microsoft Forms
• Dynamics Community CRM
• Eventbrite: External event management and ticketing software. 

Paid events 

If you are organising an event that requires tickets to be purchased by attendees, you can set up a payments and registration page on Imperial's online store. For more information on this process please refer to the taking payments section on the Creating an event - things to consider page. 

Before setting up your forms please read the advice on collecting personal data to familiarise yourself with best practice. 

Read the advice on collecting personal data and familiarise yourself with the Events Privacy Notice.

When sending communications via email to invited guests and registrants please ensure that you have linked the Events Privacy Notice in the footer of your email so that people can access it.  

Visit Creating an event – things to consider.

Sustainable Imperial is an institution-wide strategy addressing the challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.

Guidance and a policy on what you should consider for sustainable events at Imperial is currently being developed and will be updated shortly. 

Below you can find a selection of templates:

• Event invitation (template) 
• Event joining instructions (template)
• Event cancellation/postponement notice (template)
• Event briefing (template)
• Events Senior Stakeholder Briefing
• Event evaluation (template)
• Event name badges with logo (template): This template works with Durable 54 x 90mm badge sheets which are available from Office Depot on ICIS. Name badges trays can also be purchased from Office Depot.

If there are other event communication templates you would find useful please fill in our form to let us know.

For detailed information on how to add your event to the What’s on pages and request a featured slot please visit  Submit an event. 

For information on the Imperial Events Programme and how to request your event is included please visit our Submit an event page. 

Create an event listing on the What’s on pages 

Create a listing for your event on the events system so it appears on the What’s on pages and in your departmental feed. You can also request that it is added to the main feed. Visit the Submit an event page for guidance. 

Digital screens 

There are many digital screens across Imperial campuses that can be used to promote events, announcements and activities. For information on the screens and contact details for screen owners visit the Digital signage webpage. 

Please note that the Main Entrance screen runs on a separate system and has specific requirements. Information.

Visit the Main Entrance screen guidelines webpage.

Imperial Communications networks

Imperial has a number of communications networks available for staff with communications as part of their role to join. Visit the Networks for staff webpage for more information.

Other networks

• Cascade your event to your department lists via email to make sure they are in the know and ask them to share with people who may also be interested. 
• Ask your speakers if they are part of any networks so you can share your event with them. 
• Have a look at some of the networks at Imperial that could have some interest in your event. Visit the website for information on Imperial Centres and Networks of Excellence.

Newsletters

If your event audience includes undergraduate students you can request your event is included in an edition of Inside Imperial.

For staff, you can request that your event is included in the Staff Briefing which is sent every two weeks during term-time. 

News story

You can also request for your event to be shared as a news story by contacting the relevant faculty media manager or officer.

If you have registered guests for your event it is always a good idea to send joining instructions to remind people the event date is approaching and of the event details.  

Joining instructions should be sent to all attendees around one week before your event. A final reminder of your event could be sent 2 days before the event for in-person attendance and the day before for online attendees.  

There is a joining instructions template under Are there any templates I can use for my events communications? on this page.

Remember to send a full briefing to the speaker, chair and vote of thanks (if applicable) one week out from your event. This is to ensure everyone knows what they are doing so the event runs smoothly. 

If you have requested AV support from campus services and need slides for your event, you will need to send these through to conference.av@imperial.ac.uk at least 3 days before your event. 

There is an event briefing template and a senior leadership briefing template available under Are there any useful templates I can use for my event communications? on this page.

Email your attendees 

Send your attendees a message thanking them for attending. This is also a good opportunity to seek audience feedback or to share your event if it has been recorded.  

Upload your photography 

If you had photographs taken during the event, upload them to the Imperial asset library.

Evaluate your event 

Complete an evaluation of your event using the Event evaluation (template) .