A new team, new objectives and an exciting future ahead!
About Newnham College
Organisation type:
-
College
Challenges solved:
- The ability to view all event and residential bookings in one centralised location.
- Empty spaces can easily be identified and utilised, resulting in an increase in commercial bookings.
- Reduced amount of manual work as processes have been automated.
- The improved process of tracking enquiries, both internal and external, right through to the final invoice.
- The very manual task of filling out spreadsheets to view bedroom availability has been replaced with one system, increasing visibility and efficiency.
- Generating file batch lists has been made simple by using one consolidated system, rather than numerous files.
- Improved efficiency has resulted in increased conferencing income.
Size of operation:
- 110 staff.
- Mixture of undergraduates and graduate/postgraduate students.
Client since:
- 2018
Product suites:
- Conferencing & Event Management
- Residential Management
What makes Newnham College unique?
Oldest existing women’s college in Cambridge
A hidden gem in the heart of the city
Supportive famous
alumnae
“Building of the Year” in the RIBA East Awards 2019
Established in 1871, Newnham College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. With a mixture of beautiful historic and contemporary buildings, Newnham College is the oldest existing women’s college in Cambridge and welcomes strong, distinguished and passionate women from across the globe, including well-known alumnae such as Emma Thompson and Mary Beard.
With outstanding event facilities for up to 200 delegates, including a stunning historic hall, a rooftop pavilion overlooking Cambridge and 19 acres of gorgeous gardens, Newnham College really is a hidden gem!
The architect, Basil Champney, designed what was said to be 'the second-longest continuous indoor corridor in Europe', linking the beautiful buildings, in order to prevent the women from stepping outside in the rain. The original laboratories, built when women were excluded from university facilities, is now a performance space available to hire for theatre productions, music recitals, art exhibitions and much more.
Not only does the college deliver outstanding events to its customers, but also offers accommodation during the university vacations including 81 double en-suite rooms.
The Future
The goal for the conference and events team is to build on the existing excellent reputation and grow the college's income, whilst retaining the core ethos of quality, community and learning.
In 2018, the college opened its doors to the Dorothy Garrod building, offering brand new stylish conference facilities to up to 150 people. Now the venue is fully up and running and generating revenue, the conference team are focusing on expanding their client base and exploring new marketing opportunities. As the amount of business grows, the team will expand to meet the demands.
As well as being used for external bookings, the events spaces are widely used by staff and students for talks, performances, meetings and functions. There is an approximate 50:50 split between internal and external business and the team always go the extra mile to ensure a high level of service is delivered to both. However, the goal is to have a person who primarily focuses on the internal market as this will enable the team to develop and maintain these relationships.
In 2021, the college turns 150 years old. The team are planning a range of celebrations, from a summer ball to an arts festival, alongside lectures, formal dinners, and more.
Customer referral at its best!
Newnham College was one of Kinetic's quickest customers to implement the software.
Having previously worked at Robinson College for nearly 8 years, another Kinetic customer, Mel Searle is now the Conference Manager at Newnham College. When she joined the college in 2018, she was tasked with increasing the commercial business and finding a new event management solution.