The University of Edinburgh played host to the first Universitas 21 Marketing and PR Directors’ Forum in May 2008. Aimed at senior non-academic professionals working across all aspects of marketing and communications in the member universities, the forum saw representatives of eight U21 universities coming together for three days of dialogue and knowledge sharing.

All four UK U21 members were represented at the conference along with delegates from the University of Hong Kong, Lund University, University College Dublin and the University of Melbourne.

Visiting guests were treated to a presentation by the University of Edinburgh’s Special Collections unit where, among other artefacts, they were able to handle original letters and manuscripts written by Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns, before they went on to dinner in Edinburgh’s historic Old Town. There then followed two days of presentations and discussion where they were able to share views on best practice across all aspects of marketing and PR in a university environment.

"This is the first time any such forum has been held for U21 marketing and PR professionals and we are happy to report that it was a real success," said Ian Conn, Director of Communications, Marketing & External Affairs at the University of Edinburgh.  "We were really pleased that colleagues from as far afield as Ireland, Sweden, Hong Kong and Australia made the effort to come to the event and I think everyone who attended gained a lot from it. We realised that wherever in the world one may work in the Higher Education sector, we all face very similar challenges. Being able to share experiences and advice on how best to handle those challenges was absolutely invaluable."

It is hoped that a second U21 Marketing & PR forum will be held at the University of Hong Kong in 2009.

Presentations from the Forum can be downloaded below.

University of Edinburgh
University of Hong Kong
Lund University
University of Melbourne
University of Nottingham