From 15 to 18 September 2010, La Cité hosted its largest international convention to-date, the 22nd Conference of the European Association for International Education – EAIE. An all-time record for La Cité and for the conference… During 4 days, 3,642 delegates from 83 countries networked at La Cité with a unique programme of activities on internationalisation of higher education. The event boasted 400 speakers and featured 34 workshops, 106 sessions, 3 seminars and 126 exhibition booths covering 3,400 m² of exhibition space (gross). 384 institutions were represented at the exhibition.

Brought to fruition by the Conférence des Grandes Ecoles des Pays de la Loire (CGE PdL) – gathering 19 graduate schools -, the conference is a fantastic way to reward the territory’s education network for its excellence and attractiveness. For this reason, Nantes Métropole and the Pays de la Loire Region have been active partners of the 2010 EAIE event. A competitive and innovative city, Nantes has developed a number of areas of excellence such as biotechnology/healthcare, complex composite and metallic materials, information and communication technologies as well as cultural and creative industries.

Showcase

The EAIE conference also represents an excellent showcase for La Cité and the city of Nantes, as illustrated in the amazingly rich programme of events offered during the four days: the Opening ceremony addressed by Jean-Marc Ayrault, Member of Parliament and Mayor of Nantes and Leymah Gbowee, executive director of the Women Peace and Security Network Africa, the reception held in the Castle (Château des Ducs de Bretagne) followed by a concert performed in Saint Peter’s Cathedral, and the EAIE Dinner at the Machines of the Isle of Nantes (a major art project at the crossroads of Jules Verne’s “invented worlds”, Leonardo da Vinci’s mechanical universe and Nantes industrial history) on the outstanding site of the old shipyards. The programme also included visits to local universities and graduate schools and to regional companies and industries.

Teamwork

This most successful event is a result of five years of teamwork within the region. The adventure began in 2005, when La Cité was contacted by the well-known Ecole des Mines in Nantes, one of the 7 research and education institutions with whom La Cité has concluded a partnership agreement. The project developed through close collaboration between all the parties involved, from EAIE to the host committee, CGE PdL, and Colloquium, professional congress organiser in charge of the convention. As a major partner, La Cité brought its expertise in a number of areas: bidding to host the event in Nantes against Berlin, welcoming the EAIE delegation for a site inspection, providing host staff in the social venues and federating the local partners. For example, 3,000 hotel rooms were allocated for the event (14,400 overnights in total) and a partnership was set up with the local public transports to offer customized services.

Eco-friendly

La Cité has made carbon footprint reduction one of its major priorities and Corporate Social Responsibility a key element of its general strategy. Indeed the venue aims at complying with ISO 26000 and already boasts the expertise of an “eco-event advisor”. In addition to eco-friendly products, EAIE delegates were the first to enjoy La Cité’s latest innovative technique: high speed broadband Internet access (124 mega) with the new generation of WiFi for optimal coverage secured in allocated parts of the premises (up to 5,000 users simultaneously!).

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