Angela Kukula is Director of Enterprise at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and Chair of the PraxisUnico Conference Committee. She tells us a bit about what it's like to be responsible for organising one of the largest conferences of its kind.
How long have you been involved with the PraxisUnico Conference? My first involvement with what was then the Unico conference was in 2008 (Praxis and Unico merged in 2011). I was working at Aston University at the time and when the conference came to Birmingham with Aston acting as host university I got involved in co-ordinating a number of conference sessions. I had been attending Unico conferences for many years before that but this was the first time I was involved in organising one.
Why did you want to get involved with the PraxisUnico Conference Committee? For that first conference in Birmingham, my employer at the time, Aston University, thought that involvement with the Unico conference would be a good way to raise the university’s profile, and as the head of a small knowledge transfer function I was the natural person to lead that involvement. I carried on when I moved to my current role at The Institute of Cancer Research, initially as a member of the committee organising sessions and more recently as Chair of the committee.
How would you describe your role? My role as Chair is really to lead and support the conference committee. We have a committee of about 20 people who are all involved in generating ideas and co-ordinating individual sessions. We also have a lot of support from the PraxisUnico office which looks after all of the practical aspects of running the conference, such as booking venues. My job is to chair the fortnightly teleconferences and make sure that all of the activities are joined together into an interesting and exciting conference.
What have you got out of the experience? I really enjoy interacting with all of the people on the conference committee who come from a wide variety of different organisations. This also means that I have a great network of peers that I can call on if I need advice or to sense check anything. It is also great to see all of the hard work that goes into the conference coming together and providing a fantastic experience for the delegates.
What's the best bit about chairing the Committee? Last year’s conference was especially satisfying; it was my first year as Chair and we organised the biggest and most vibrant PraxisUnico conference ever. Of course, much of the credit for this is due to the hard work of the conference committee and the PraxisUnico office, but I was proud to have led all of that hard work.
What's the worst bit? For the conference to run smoothly there are deadlines that have to be met and part of my job is making sure people meet the deadlines. Unfortunately this occasionally means having to “remind” people of actions that need completing. This is not something I enjoy as I know that everyone involved in the conference is very busy with their day-to-day jobs as well as their activities for PraxisUnico and I dislike having to hassle people when they are volunteering their precious time.
What's been your most memorable PraxisUnico Conference moment and why (either personally or as Committee member)? The thing I remember most was chairing my very first conference session. I remember looking out at all of the delegates engaging with the discussion and thinking that I had made that happen. I also remember drinking in the bar with Busted (a boy band – for those who don’t know) in the small hours of the morning after a Unico conference dinner – but that was a long time ago and the least said about that the better!
What advice would you give anyone wanting to get involved with the Conference Committee? Please get in touch – we are always looking for new people to bring new ideas to the conference. It is a great place to start if you want to get involved in PraxisUnico as you don’t need any prior experience, there are lots of people to help and advise and we even provide training. We are now putting the finishing touches to the programme for this year’s PraxisUnico conference, “Expanding Horizons” in Dublin, and we will soon be starting work on the 2016 conference. We are going to be in the Midlands next year so we would particularly encourage anyone with local knowledge and contacts to get in touch.
What are you most looking forward to about this year's Conference? I am really looking forward to seeing the conference go to Dublin. This is the first time the PraxisUnico conference has ventured outside of the UK. We have a great line-up of sessions and speakers, and a very Irish flavour to the social and networking events. I think it could prove to be a very exciting and stimulating event.
This year's PraxisUnico Conference, "Expanding Horizons" takes place in Dublin from June 10-12 and is open for bookings now. The Early Bird discount closes on March 31st.