The Distributed Computing Group would like to thank all 57 MEW attendees who completed the feedback survey. A number of areas for improvement were identified, and we’d like to take this opportunity to respond to the points made.
It is currently our intention to use the Adelphi Hotel again for MEW23, because overall we consider it to be an improvement over the previous location, and most of the feedback comments you provided support this view.
Prize winner
We are delighted to announce that the winner of the £25 Amazon gift voucher, drawn at random, is KP Lam of Keele University.
Catering
We will be asking the Adelphi to make some improvements to the catering. In particular, to ensure that hot and cold drinks are available on a continuous basis (including registration), and that lunch is available on time. We’ll arrange for both exhibition halls to be catered equally. Please note that we will continue to provide only nibbles during the evening wine reception as there is an extensive range of local restaurants to choose from for a full meal.
Accommodation
We received a number of comments about the lifts, the rooms and breakfast in the hotel. Unfortunately these things are all outside our control. One of the reasons for moving from Runcorn to Liverpool city centre is that there is a much greater choice of accommodation in the immediate vicinity. As in previous years, we’ll ensure that there is a list of hotels available on our website.
Footfall
We understand that some vendors were concerned about a reduced number of delegates visiting the second exhibition hall. We note that this room is actually very similar in size to the first hall. We will endeavour to increase footfall in the second hall by closing and blocking the corner door that allowed direct access from the first hall to the breakout room, thus ensuring that delegates have to circulate. We will ensure that refreshments are served in both halls equally, and we will provide additional signage to inform delegates that this is the case.
Communication and signage
There were a number of comments highlighting issues to do with communication and signage. We would like to point out that overnight security was provided for the exhibition. Unfortunately we neglected to inform all vendors of this. Similarly, we didn’t publicise the private meeting room, and some delegates had difficulty locating toilet facilities etc. So the next MEW will feature greatly enhanced signage throughout. We also aim to provide at least one large screen with a Twitter feed and general announcements. Please note that the registration desk is manned throughout the event and our staff are very happy to help you with any queries.
Wifi
Some delegates pointed out that wifi in the hotel was unsatisfactory for their needs. This is again outside our remit, not least because we do not have funding to provide network access. So wifi is provided on a “best endeavours” basis only. Should this be a real issue for you, we ask that you make your own arrangements (for example, by using a 3G dongle).
We never intended to deliver the “keynote” speech via Webex and Skype but were forced to do so by the last-minute inability of the speaker to attend in person. Your comments on this reinforced our view and we have no plans to attempt this in future unless we are absolutely certain of the capability of the technology.
Hotel guests
At MEW22 there were a number of unexpected visitors to vendor stands, as hotel guests used the exhibition halls to access the ballroom at the rear of the hotel, or took a tour of the stands on the way to their rooms. We had asked the hotel in advance to prevent this happening, and were therefore slightly surprised when it did. For the next event we will provide a cordon at the top of the main stairs and will re-iterate to the hotel management that it is not acceptable for the general public to visit our exhibition.
Presentation format and breakout sessions
There were two main issues with the main conference talks: firstly, that too many of them were sales pitches; and secondly, that there were no non-vendor talks relating user experiences. We do try to ensure that vendors provide technical presentations, and we must provide speaking slots to all vendors who request them. Hence user talks have been squeezed out in recent years.
We are considering reducing the length of speaking slots for the next event, with a view to encouraging vendors to concentrate on their perception of technology trends rather than product. This would also allow us to provide a small number of slots for user talks.
We also think it may be worthwhile reducing the number of parallel breakout sessions, but ensuring they are relevant. For example, we could poll you on topics you consider to be important and select the top two ideas. If you have any thoughts on this subject in the mean time, do please contact us.
Thank you again for participating in our survey and we look forward to welcoming you to MEW23!
