Our Travels to Dubai for HIS Middle East Infection Prevention Summit 2015
Stacy Martin and Derrick Lothian’s Adventure with Fitwise
What better place than Dubai for the first international event outside Europe for both Fitwise and me. As the event manager for HIS Middle East Infection Prevention Summit 2015 involved in liaising with speakers, exhibitors, venue and the AV company, I was selected to attend the event with Derrick Lothian, who has a wealth of International experience.
Pre event activity involved all our usual tasks and in many ways it was the same as arranging a UK event, with the exception of visa arrangements for speakers and shipping our kit out two weeks in advance.
18 months in the making and the time finally arrived…
Day 1
Arriving at 3am meant we could have a leisurely first morning, but emails don’t wait for anyone and straight after breakfast it was time to get down to work with one small difference: my office space.
My morning office
My afternoon office
Now, you can’t go to Dubai without a bit of sightseeing, so in the afternoon Derrick and I ventured up the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, before taking in the wonders of the dancing fountains.
Day 2
Well, it had to happen at some point and this is where the hard work began. Our office and prep area on day two was a bit different than the previous day, it was a very cold board room with a beautiful view of a multi storey car park… back to reality with a bump.
After meeting with the venue, taking a quick tour of the rooms and locating our kit it was time to begin preparation for the conference in the morning.
5pm and I was wondering where the day had gone? It was time for our meeting with the organising committee, which finished just in time to mark out the room for stand sizes and make sure the self-build stands were ready to be built through the night.
Day 3
Day three in Dubai marked day one of HIS Middle East Infection Prevention Summit 2015. I met Derrick onsite at 6am, for the two least morning people on earth we were surprisingly cheery. We dealt with new registrations, missing packages, speaker presentations, power requests, last minute requests for tables and chairs and before we knew it, the first sessions were beginning.
When everyone is in session it doesn’t stop for us. We have to check catering, print new badges and deal with ad hoc requests. The day continues in this manner until 6pm when all sessions finish. Phew, that was a busy day!
We then had a quick change before hosting dinner for all our speakers and committee and it was lovely to speak to everyone in a more informal setting. Roll on 10:30pm and bed time at last.
Day 4
At the start of day two of conference, I met Derrick onsite at 7am which was a much more acceptable time of the morning and thankfully, as most people registered the day before, it was a much quieter morning, with time to catch up on emails and other work. We also fitted in a picture at the request of one of our lovely delegates, which marked Derrick’s first ever selfie.
We were informed by a few delegates that they required their certificate officially stamped by HIS upon departure and before we knew it, a few people turned into a long queue! Oh dear, time to put the thinking caps on. Fortunately, my little printer comes to the rescue and successfully prints over 200 certificates while Derrick comes up with a great DIY stamp involving an ink pad and a HIS delegate bag toggle. MacGyver would be proud.
Day 5
Day five and it was time for a bit of relaxation. We checked our emails and did some other work in the morning before heading to the Souks, by far my favourite part of our Dubai experience, it turns out Derrick is a great negotiator, and with many scarfs and spices later, it was time to head home.
My everlasting impression of Dubai will be how helpful and friendly everyone was; from the venue and AV team to the delegates and speakers, the list goes on. This event marked a huge landmark for Fitwise and hopefully the start of many more to come.
