ElevateNI 2023 Student Conference

The idea behind ElevateNI is to run a student conference to inspire students in Queen’s and beyond with all the proceeds going directly to charity. The conference is due to contain 4 tracks of talks, exhibitions, workshops and student lightning talks, ranging from technical topics through to Diversity and Inclusion and WNB (Women and Non-Binary) in STEM. We plan for this to be widely recognised by local companies as an annual student event. This will be our first year running ElevateNI and we are hoping to grow larger in scale every year. Our aim for this year is to sell 250 tickets to students from across the country and raise over £3000 for Pure Mental NI. We will also be working very closely with other societies within Queen’s. We will be inviting companies to attend the conference and hold stalls and have students be the heart of our conference and host talks for our attendees which will help inspire the wider student population and help inspire the next generation of industry leaders. One of our key focuses is to highlight Diversity and Inclusion in STEM. We will achieve this by working closely with a wide range of different societies within Queen’s such as QUB Women in STEM, Pride Soc and Queen’s International Student Society hosting various workshops and talks highlighting the importance of Diversity and Inclusion. This conference is designed to be welcoming to all students regardless of their age, skills or background. This student led conference aims to provide a comforting atmosphere delivering the best part of conferences to students who may be apprehensive to attend other non-student led student conferences as ElevateNI is student focused and organised and hosted by students and will have speakers who are also students showcasing their passion on a certain topic. Student conferences help students to grow their network allowing them to learn more about their career opportunities, learn more about the local and global companies with offices in Belfast improving their employability. We hope for ElevateNI to be a gateway for students to explore more about their opportunities beyond the lecture hall/ classroom by providing them a great insight into what the student population is capable of. With student lightning talks we encourage those who lacked the opportunity to present a talk to a wide audience a chance to do so in a less stressful environment, building up desired skills for their future career. We will also be hosting a charity raffle with company sponsors for attendees to take part in and win some amazing prizes which will also help raise significant funds for Pure Mental NI. We have ensured that the venue is fully accessible and has quiet rooms (sensory-controlled calming area) for students that may need a break from the conference. The venue also has gender neutral toilets on each floor and disabled bathrooms.