An intimate gathering for people who plan and deliver events. Not a trade show. Not a sea of badges and business cards. Just the right people in one room, real conversations, and space to actually think.
You know the format. Rows of chairs, a stage, a schedule packed so tight there’s no time to actually talk to anyone. You leave with a tote bag and a stack of business cards you’ll never look at again.
EXPERIENCEit is built differently. It’s educational without being a lecture. Social without being small talk. Two days designed for genuine exchange: ideas, connections, and the kind of conversation that actually changes how you work.
We’ve spent 3 years building this in Edinburgh, with editions in Manchester and Bristol along the way. This October, it continues in London.
Sessions built for exchange, not delivery. No stage full of strangers talking at you. With only one stream of education, our format is built around discussion and skips the overwhelm. You’ll leave with ideas you can actually use, not just notes you’ll never revisit.
Networking that’s designed, not left to chance. The best conversations at most events happen by accident, in the gaps between sessions. We build the whole thing around making those conversations happen on purpose, through a mix of touch points – roundtables, mini workshops, team activities, wellbeing sessions – plus plenty of unstructured time to chat over lunch. It’s informal by design.
Take what you need, leave the rest. Nothing here is forced. If the surface level is enough for you, that’s fine – you’re not obligated to sit through every discussion. But if something resonates, there’s always a way to go further and work out how it applies to you. We run every education session twice, so you’re never stuck choosing between the one topic that matters and everything else, and skipping something never means missing out on it for good.
Introductions made for you. Walking into a room of strangers and hoping you bump into the right person is a lot to ask of anyone. We don’t leave it to chance – our team are there throughout to make personal introductions.
A room of the right people. Numbers are kept deliberately limited. You’ll be surrounded by people at a similar stage, wrestling with similar problems, which is exactly what makes a good introduction possible in the first place. You’ll leave having made two or three real connections — not two hundred hollow ones.
Two days that feel different from anything else on your calendar. Ask anyone who’s been before, this isn’t a box-ticking CPD day. It’s the kind of two days you’re still talking about a week later: the session that shifted how you think about something, the person you met over lunch, the idea you can’t quite let go of. It’s the event people plan their year around.
“It was an amazing day, with a great balance between networking and educational content.” — Shannon Hunt, Events Manager, Freshwater
Held in Edinburgh since 2024, with editions in Manchester and Bristol. London is simply where it goes next – deliberately intimate, by design.
Andy Williamson – Welcome Brain
Andy Williamson is the founder of Welcome Brain, a neurodiversity consultancy supporting organisations across the events, venue, and workplace sectors to create more inclusive environments. He co-authored the Neurodiversity in Events Checklist in collaboration with ABPCO and EICC, a widely used resource adopted by event professionals around the world.
Dr Rob Davidson – MICE Knowledge
Dr Rob Davidson is the Managing Director of MICE Knowledge, a London-based consultancy specialising in research, education and training services for the meetings and events industry. His main area of expertise is the MICE industry, and he has written seven books, including his latest book, Business Events.
FAQs
Who is this for? Anyone who plans, produces, or delivers events professionally — in-house teams, associations, agencies, freelancers.
How is this different from a typical industry conference? No stage-heavy schedule, no shell scheme, no rushing between sessions. It’s built around discussion, smaller group formats, and genuine time to connect, not just consume content.
Where is it being held? The two days takes place across three venues – day 1 begins at a venue to be confirmed (Kings’ Cross area) with the networking dinner taking place at Rotunda in Kings Cross. Day 2 takes place at Everyman at The Whiteley.
How much are tickets? Access to the full event is £195 + VAT, and day 2 only is £150 +VAT.
I’ve never been before — will I know anyone? That’s rather the point. Our format is designed to make sure you leave knowing people, not just having sat near them.
Lindsey Whitehouse
MD Integrity Corporate Events Ltd.
With a background that started in large UK conference hotels, Lindsey entered agency event management over 30 years ago working on pharma accounts worldwide. Edinburgh then lured her north, and after three full-tilt years opening EICC as Operations Director, she founded Integrity in 1998. Beginning its life very much with pharma, the business has extended its client base to include tech, finance and associations, managing international events up to 2000 delegates, and more recently large virtual and hybrid events.
Panel Discussion
What Does the Road Ahead Look Like for Healthcare Events?
Mark Upham
Conference Care
Having 4 environmentally aware daughters has made me more conscious of how sustainability impacts on our day to day life. I’m proud to work at Conference Care, a company that has been carbon neutral for over 10 years and this gives me the opportunity to put into practice actionable and practical ideas about how sustainability can have a positive impact on the hospitality industry.
Masterclass
Creating Carbon Offsetting Events
Chitra Ram
eventcloud
Chitra joined eventcloud as a Business Development Manager, and quickly elevated the way that eventcloud approaches sales. Her solutions-focused approach, and focus on strong client relationships has delivered incredible results. She has extensive event experience in the non-profit (Wateraid, UNICEF), global sports (London Olympic Games) and corporate sectors (VW, Forrester Events), and holds dual event-focused degrees; a BA Honours Creative Events Design and Production from the University of Kent and an MSc International Events Management from the University of Surrey.
Masterclass
WTH – What The Hybrid
Steve Hill
BIG Partnership
As Creative Director at BIG, Steve works with the design and digital teams across its four offices to strengthen brand identities and deliver award-winning marketing campaigns. Steve has also run successful brand/product workshops for many clients both in the UK and overseas.
Clients include (but not limited to) Highland Spring, NHS, The Famous Grouse, Kraft-Heinz, Scottish Government and The Macallan.
He still plays 5s (badly) and draws but is rubbish at hands.
Masterclass
What Is an Event Anyway? And How Do You Make Yours Stand Out?
Jenny Elliot
Fitwise Management Ltd.
Fitwise is an award-winning employee-owned Professional Conference Organiser (PCO) and association management company, based just outside Edinburgh.
Jenny has worked in the event sector for nearly 15 years and for much of this time has specialised in healthcare conferences, exhibitions and events.
Panel Discussion
What Does the Road Ahead Look Like for Healthcare Events?
Caroline McKenzie
Open Audience
Caroline has worked in the medical and healthcare meetings sector for almost 30 years. She has developed an in depth understanding of healthcare events gained from 12 years spent within the medical communication industry, managing meetings and congress participation for several top 5 global pharmaceutical companies, and 17 years as a PCO and Association consultant, providing meetings management and compliance guidance to; national and international medical associations, venues and CVBs. She has a keen interest in the medical meetings sector and the impact that Healthcare Compliance is having, and will continue to have, as part of the evolution of medical congresses and meetings.
Caroline is Founder / Director of consulting company Global Association Partners and also holds the role of Operations Director for Open Audience, audience engagement experts who also provide full service event delivery to corporate healthcare and medical association sectors.
Panel Discussion
What Does the Road Ahead Look Like for Healthcare Events?
Alistair Turner
EIGHTPR
Alistair Turner is Managing Director of EIGHT PR & Marketing, a specialist creative agency servicing the events industry. Alistair has over 20 years of experience in the PR and events industries, working closely with the key trade associations as well as the UK government.
He is the Past President of the International Live Events Association (UK) and a regular speaker on events, experience and their place in the wider marketing mix.
Panel Discussion
What Does Sustainability Mean for Your Event?
Rob Davidson
MICE Knowledge
Dr Rob Davidson is the Managing Director of MICE Knowledge, a London-based consultancy specialising in research, education and training services for the meetings and events industry.
He is regularly invited to speak at international conferences on themes linked to business events, in particular to present the results of his ongoing research into conference industry trends. Rob also teaches as a Visiting Professor in three European universities, where he educates and inspires Events Management and Tourism Management students every year.
Masterclass
Designing Business Events for Generation Z
Fiona Pengelly
Cameron House & Board Member SITE Scotland
A passionate hospitality professional, with over 20 years’ experience in the corporate and incentive industries, Fiona prides herself on providing tailor made, high quality, never to be forgotten experiences for clients which showcase Scotland as the place to come and visit. As an active member of SITE Scotland, Fiona enjoys networking, meeting new people and demonstrating her passion for the industry and Scotland’s outstanding beauty.
Fiona holds the position of Sales Manager for Scotland at Cameron House and is excited about contributing towards securing a successful future for the hotel. She looks forward to welcoming guests and allowing them to experience a memorable stay, along with the opportunity to take part in incredible activities both on land and water.
Panel Discussion
How Do We Make Sustainability A Necessary Luxury Element Within Scottish Incentives?
Sarah Jane Anderson
Little’s Chauffeur Drive & President Elect SITE Scotland
Sarah Jane is an award winning industry peer who has been working within the Hospitality and Tourism industry for the last 29 years. She is the Business Development Manager at Little’s Chauffeur Drive and her passion for the industry led to her joining the board at SITE Scotland. She currently holds the position of President Elect for 2022 and looks forward to leading the Scottish chapter into its 20th anniversary year with a huge focus on Sustainability and ensuring that Scotland becomes a world leader in this area. She looks forward to opening up the discussion to all attendees at the session on the day.
Panel Discussion
How Do We Make Sustainability A Necessary Luxury Element Within Scottish Incentives?
Susan Spibey
Institute of Event Management
“My work is about guiding organisations to make a difference creatively and commercially both through internal and external communication activities”: events for business.
Susan has spent more than 30 years creating and delivering event strategies for business development with clients across a range of organisations and professions globally. As the UK is hosting in 2021 COP-26, the UN Conference on Climate Change, Susan is now working with event professionals to further develop ISO20121 and also with the IEM to respond to the UN Sustainable Development Goals in preparation for the Conference.
Masterclass
How Do We Create a Sustainable Event Sector?
Aaron McKeen
EICC Association Researcher
Aaron is the EICC’s association research expert and leads on the conference centre’s ESG activities. A qualified project manager, Aaron has headed up ambassador programmes, carbon mitigation efforts, public outreach events, and more.
In his spare time, Aaron is a keen outdoorsman and amateur mycologist. He also loves swimming in the frigid Forth estuary by his home in South Queensferry!
Masterclass
Sustainable Meetings. Step Change by the EICC
Pauline Beattie
Conference Care
I feel strongly about the whole topic of sustainability and believe the UN SDGs should be embedded in everything we do. I have worked in events and hospitality all my life and I am proud to work in a business (Conference Care Ltd) that has sustainability running through our decision making and operation. The time is now for us all to help to create change and think about our carbon output. Measuring, reducing, and offsetting events will help us to play our part in the journey to lowering carbon emissions.
Masterclass
Creating Carbon Offsetting Events
Kim Myhre
Experience Designed
An intersectional design thinker, thought leader, innovation activist and brand storyteller with a unique combination of strategic, creative, commercial and international experience, Kim has a strong background in strategy and planning, creative and talent management. An action-oriented executive with a track record of winning new business, creating results for clients and driving agency growth.
Masterclass
Designing for Future Events
Ian Webb
Eventsforce
Ian is an event technology specialist who has spent the last 15 years managing conferences and developing complex technology solutions for hundreds of events globally. At Eventsforce, he advises clients on how they can use technology to maximise the value of their events – from registration and marketing to engagement and event reporting. He also works closely with them on managing complex data integration projects which allow organisations to manage their event data a lot more effectively.
As a regular speaker on the circuit, Ian is passionate about the potential of technology and its role in changing the way the events industry works.
Masterclass
How Covid-19 is Changing the Role of Event Data – Challenges & New Opportunities
Panel Discussion
Embracing New Technologies for Maximum Benefit
Graeme Dowie
SITE Scotland
As General Manager, Scotland for Spectra DMC Graeme’s passion is introducing clients (new and old!) to the unique experiences that his homeland has to offer. Having worked for a small DMC in Ireland for 14 years he’s used to a hands-on approach from researching new products & creating proposals right through to programme delivery. Since returning home in 2010, the excitement of discovering new properties, venues, attractions and experiences around Scotland continues to rub off on clients and colleagues alike. An active SITE member, including serving as Chapter President, he’s completed his CIS & his CITP certification is next.
Panel Discussion
How Do We Make Sustainability A Necessary Luxury Element Within Scottish Incentives?
Robert Dunsmore
Independent Creative Director
Freelance creative director concept and content creator – storytelling strategist delivering limitless experiences defined and shaped by culture first – everything else is just infrastructure. Message me for rapid response ideas.
Event stories that touch your audience, and stories your audience can touch. Ideas that duet live, and live-online, product and purpose, behaviour and belonging adding “one new thing” to every event – the only thing anyone will remember. Every event is an experiment, as live returns plan to deliver extreme accessibility, extreme sustainability, and extreme likeability.
Masterclass
Ideas Factory
Stuart Mitchell
Catch the MICE
Stuart Mitchell started his career in event hospitality at the Oval Cricket Ground, London and later managed the Greater Manchester Exhibition Centre (GMEX – now Manchester Central) before becoming National Operations Director for Compass Group, the largest contract-caterer in the UK. After publicly clashing swords with Jamie Oliver on national television, he moved into luxury international hotel sales; specialising in the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibition (MICE) market. He has represented some of the most prestigious hotels, venues and private islands worldwide. His business Catch the MICE has successfully switched to virtual and hybrid events, providing short and medium terms solutions for event planners. His key objective is to support event professionals as we all adapt to new ways of delivering events in a post-Covid world. Stuart is a keen festival aficionado and is an active member of the fundraising team for EventWell the “Mental Health and Wellbeing Voice of the Event Industry.”
Masterclass
The Importance of Finding the Real Person Behind the Mask
Panel Discussion
What Does Sustainability Mean for Your Event?