IWMW 2018: Participants’ Feedback

This is the first in a series of posts which will reflect on the IWMW 2018 event which was held at the University of York on 11-13 July 2018. Today’s (long) post provides a review of the comments made on the event in its entirety.

IWMW 2018 Event Evaluation

Numerical Ratings

Based on the feedback received on the IWMW 2018 evaluation forms, it seems that 59% of the respondents rated the content of the event as excellent, 38% rated it as very good, 2% as good and 0% as poor or very poor, an average rating of 4.56. The rating for the event organisation was also impressive with 64% rating the organisation as excellent and 33% rating it as very good, giving an average rating of 4.61. This seems to confirm the suspicion that the event was the best ever – and this is confirmed by looking at the evaluation scores since IWMW 2014, when the event was reborn following the cessation of JISC’s funding for UKOLN:

Perhaps this continual improvement should not surprise us: the event has benefitted from the experiences gained since 2014 in organising a large event without the support of former colleagues at UKOLN. In addition this year’s event has benefitted from a new set of working practices adopted by the IWMW 2018 Advisory Group and, in particular, Claire Gibbon’s continued role as co-chair of the event.

Comments from IWMW 2018 Participants

We asked delegates to give general comments on the content of the event. The comments we received included:

• I found all of the talks extremely insightful and really enjoyed getting to hear from a variety of speakers.
• Really good and always relevant to the current challenges experiences at UK HE.
• Varied from very good to truly excellent
• Light on marketing, branding, design content but otherwise great. Enjoyed the UX and content focus.
• Large room events were outstanding.
• Such a brilliant range of talks – so much guidance, support and examples
• Great content about how to write more engaging content for our institutional website.
• It was great to see more range in terms of talks this year. Some overlapping content, or similar case studies but generally fantastic. Some speakers were more engaging than others but it’s good that people from throughout the industry are given opportunity to speak. Loved the lightening sessions – great idea.
• This was very useful and very enlightening… good mix of content and developers too!
• Quality of all talks very high, would like a bit more variety
• Excellent this year. So many good talks.
• On the whole, very high standard of speakers, talking about interesting topics. Especially enjoyed the honesty in Alison and Andrew’s talks.
• Great content, excellent themes
• Some fantastic sessions that everyone were talking about in the evening
• A good range of topics and detail. Some at a broad level, some more specific. I think that the panel session worked much better this year, snd the lightening talks were ace.
• High quality plenaries
• Really great content, varied and interesting
• Really good range of speakers, great to see how everyone continues to improve.
• Workshops good, bit more interactive this year. However I feel the titles could be a bit more ronseal as if you wanted to swap / mixups it was tricky to work out what was what based just on your lanyard.
• Plenty of talks crammed into a short period of time, but didn’t feel rushed.
• Content was appropriate and relevant. The balance of plenary talks vs other sessions was about right.
• Really engaging and relevant.
• Generally good, felt like therapy at times. Would like a little more technical detail at times.
• The breadth and quality of the content was exceptional, I enjoyed hearing from a diverse collection of universities and third party consultants highlighting their successes and struggles within the HE sector.
• Nice and varied
• Content was engaging and thought provoking
• Great mixture of topics, high standard of speakers
• Good balance of stuff; case studies, strategy, personal accounts
• The overall standard of the content and speakers was exceptionally high. There were just one or two talks that were a bit dry, and one or two that were a bit too similar in content.
• Very varied, would like more content tips in the future
• The content was of interest to me this year more than previous years. There was an increase in UX talk which was really good for where I’m moving towards in my career.
• As someone mostly interested in strategy and governance, the sessions on the details of web content were less relevant to me but still informative from a big picture POV.
• A few of the talks were very similar – web transformation projects. Quality of all presenters was very high – impressive!
• Very high standard, and entertaining
• Varied and current
• Topical, meaningful and powerful. I was especially impressed by Alison’s and Andrew’s presentations, confronting sensitive issues in a positive way. I know it wasn’t strictly digital / web but I think a lot of us have had similar experiences and it was refreshing for it to be brought out in the open in the first presentation.
• Interesting content, speakers were of a consistently high standard
• A great spread of content. I felt there was a strong ‘people’ theme this year which was unexpected but very welcome.
• Every presentation was unique and engaging, whilst also not coming across like a sales pitch.
• I really enjoyed it, useful information
• Very relevant, I’ve taken a lot of ideas back to feed in to how we do things.
• Even though I’m frustratingly out of the loop on content at our institution it was great to see good examples of practice and inspiration. Also very good was the honesty from Alison and Andrew which seemed to be a catalyst for lots of good conversations.
• Really valuable content, all of the plenary presentations were engaging and interesting. They were all presented well and some of them really well. Fantastic!
• Exceptional and very interesting plenary talks and powerful presentations.
• Was surprised how much marketing content was in it – this was a good thing for me
• The content was very engaging, and so much of it complemented each other to give a whole spectrum of the HE digital experience. Contributors demonstrated excellent use of AV. There was a good balance between plenaries and group sessions. The masterclass on customer journey mapping was excellent – the 2.5 hrs flew by!
• I didn’t get to go to any sessions myself, but the feedback was really good from those who did. I look forward to watching them back later.
• Great. I wasn’t sure where on the content management-to-technical support spectrum of web management the conference content would fall. I think there was a good balance. It was enlightening to hear the experiences and challenges of other HE organisations for the first time, and to hear experience the mutual respect and support of people engaged with similar issues.
• Inspiring, enlightening, surprisingly moving, and lots of fun
• Good set of presentations and quality of presentations
• I didn’t see many of the talks but of the ones I saw Andrew Millar and Jenni Taylor were very impressive
• I’m not really the target audience so difficult for me to comment. My favourites were Alison’s opening presentation, Gareth’s one on invisible labour and Dave Musson’s one on social media.
• So interesting! Really liked the shift this year to a more people-centred approach, alongside the usual content and technical talks.
• Relevant content, excellent speakers.
• The programme was excellent in that the mix of sessions on offer provided a good balance between discussions and practical workshops on web content, development and governance.
• I love the conference. Main talks were excellent, however one of the workshops I attended was very vendor focused and that was not clear from the title.
• Good spread of topics and appreciated how candid presenters were
• Mostly good- few sessions really hit home in terms of operational empathy. Master classes related to the vendor experience and not the HE user experience

We asked delegates for comments on the event organisation. The comments we received included:

• Organisation was SUPERB! The level of detail and creativity ensured not only that everything went to plan, but also that there were support and communication networks, ways for delegates to interact with each other and earn prizes, and so many neat touches like the prize-giving and the word game which summarised the 2018 event.
• Everything ran so smoothly – even getting the football live on the screens!
• As always – really well organised with plenty of information leading up to the event.
• Effective and unobtrusive!
• Been excellent – everything has run smoothly and great social activities also arranged, above and beyond!
• Very well organised. Liked the initial handout with all the times clearly listed.
• Super organisation, really well done.
• Excellent and friendly
• Everything was well organised. Nice to have the social events arranged too.
• Truly excellent, every detail was considered
• Everything ran like clockwork.
• Thought the venue worked really well for the talks and the social parts.
• Good organisation and structure
• Check-in for accommodation was not very well organised. Clip on mics should have been used for presenters.
• It felt very smooth! Got a little bit lost on campus on day1/2, but very friendly staff at York helped out. All technical bits worked well – including all videos!
• As with last year, the organisation is incredibly well done- the website has all the resources I need and as a workshop facilitator, the extra info I was given on the room set-up was very helpful.
• Really good, always someone to help
• Good:
  Building was **really good**, rooms well equipped. Plugs in lecture theatre a real advantage (once we found them)
  Tea and coffee breaks good as there were lots of tables so no queues waiting to be served.
  Decent breakfast
  I had a bathtub for no apparent reason and it was amazing.
  Double sided lanyards – yes!
  The bad:
  Conference booklet was a bit rambling. Would have preferred more info on the talks.
  Evening meal was poor – trying to be fancy but failed.
  Bar tokens stingy (why couldn’t I spend both on the Thursday?)
  Accommodation was miles away with practically no signage. (The very late in the day) check in took a million years as there was just one person working.
  Accommodation poor. Uncomfortable beds. No access to kitchen areas felt mean and unnecessary.
• The organisation was excellent.
• Slick, smooth and friendly.
• The attendee booklet was great, but possibly too detailed and hard to find the important information quickly 🙂
• Good, although I found navigating the campus difficult and the accommodation was not great (I appreciate it’s very cheap, though)
• The event was well organised, planned presentation times and breaks were accurately reflected in their actual running times which is an area other conferences have struggled with.
• Very good both during the day and evening events (e.g. BBQ)
• Couple of minor issues with timings and AV but can’t be helped.
• Good communications
• Beyond criticism
• Good, apart from advice to check in to rooms in day 1 coffee break.
• It all went really smoothly. My room was a bit grim, but that’s more to do with York’s halls than anything the event organisers did. Could possibly do with shortening one or two of the sessions. 3 half-hour talks on the bounce feels like a lot to get through in one sitting.
• Very good, timing worked amazingly
• Always a well organised event. There couldn’t have been a better location for the Wednesday night meal, although the food was lovely. And on the 2nd night, it would have been nice to go to a local place of interest. Really enjoyed the trip to the Roman Baths in Bath the other year.
• Very well organised, but some sessions could have been shorter. Long time to sit in those terrible seats!
• Very good – hard to criticise at all
• Very good.
• The event was well organised, the online experience of booking could potentially be improved
• Good event organisation as ever. Just a note that many communications from the ‘mosaic events’ side got spammed by my institutional email.
• Very well organised, lightning talks were a great idea as was the panel discussion
• Well organised and very friendly
• Food was great, accommodation was good and everything worked.
• Event was super – especially the social stuff. Top marks for coping with the very unexpected scenario of the England Football team doing well!
• A real credit to Brian and Claire in that it went like clockwork, even the fire door being accidentally opened tripping the alarm didn’t put us off. Many thanks to University of York for hosting the event, great facilities, really loved my time up there!
• Great location, facilities and social events were very nice.
• I sometimes found the structure of the event content on the website confusing
• The event was brilliantly organised (despite my own issues around changing jobs and delaying registration). Correspondence was individual and informative, and it was a very fluid experience from beginning to end. The venue was great, and the calibre of the live stream was also impressive (a surprising number of my friends and family were watching).
• We joined the event as vendors at the very last minute, and Brian was super helpful and made sure everything was sorted for us.
• Excellent organisation. Really pleased with the timings of sessions and the start and finish time of the conference. The location and hospitality was great and there were excellent opportunities to meet and chat with other attendees.
• Marvellous! The organisers and their advisers are clearly all geniuses 😉
• Things seemed to go very smoothly
• Great. Well done!
• Very friendly, on it and professional – well done!
• Very good. Thank you.
• Loved the delegate handbook this year and organisation great as always. The conference dinner on the first night was a great way to meet people.
• Information about where I was staying etc. could have been sent a little earlier. I was getting nervous that perhaps my registration hadn’t been logged.
• Brilliant! Lovely food, great campus.
• Very good organisation – some way-finding pointers from accommodation may have improved experience
• 2 days would do it- but super well organised, easy to get about, lots of channels to contact people and get info

We asked delegates to give up to 3 examples of the key highlights of the event or ways in which it has been beneficial to them. The comments we received included:

• Invisible work flow session was great, conversations in between sessions were super helpful, food and hospitality was amazing
• I found Gareth Edward’s ‘Understanding invisible labour’ really helpful, and I’m going to look for ways to include more tutorials/guidance online to try to reduce the number of support calls we get – and I’m going to try to become more comfortable with saying ‘NO’. Another highlight was getting to conduct my own masterclass (Digital training masterclass), and I’m grateful you opened this up to people who have never been to IWMW before. Final highlight was having plenty of time to get to know other members – I’ve met more people this week than I typically do in a couple of months, and everyone is fantastic and so friendly.
• Networking, some new ideas for things to do, ability to see some tools that other institutions are using.
• Plenaries 3 and 4 were at the ‘potentially life changing’ level! Input from otehr plenaries will help me get things done very differently in my organisation
• Talks relating to UX (e.g. user-centred content). Networking/social aspect. Lovely campus and city.
• Hearing brilliant colleagues; sharing best practice and tips; openness about feelings and the emotional impact of high-pressure environments.
• Hearing about experiences of others. Getting outside the day to day. Hearing a more human element.
• The conversations with others and the content of the talks have given me the motivation to go back to projects which have been left in a drawer for too long.
  Discovering that other institutions are facing pretty much the same challenges is re-assuring, that feeling of ‘you are not alone’ is quite powerful.
  The talks that touched on aspects like mental health and confidence were completely unexpected but very useful.
• Meeting people from other institutions and discussing common problems/solutions, masterclass and talks gave great techniques to apply when return to work
• Inspirational speakers with emotive, engaging presentations. Good to see your other institutions tackle the problem of excessive content generation and over abundance of editorial privileges awarded to people with little experience of writing for the web. Loved the inspiration of Alison’s talk and the Scottish guy from the university of Dundee. So honest and refreshing.
• Andrew’s presentation about Stress very powerful, brave and touching
  User Centric Site Design workshop by Paul Boag, very passionate and practical
  lightening sessions short and sweet quick fire info
• 1. really interesting talks that have made me feel less alone in terms of personal and professional struggles 2. VERY useful masterclass that’s helped me plan the training that I need to do 3. getting to meet others working in a similar field and swap notes!
• Learned a lot from the workshop I attended, the talks inspired me to think about my attitudes towards work
• Hugely supportive community. Fantastic talks on things we’re all struggling with.
• – Honest talks about the human side of our work
  – I always come away with enthusiasm
  – People being willing to share things that haven’t worked so well, as well as the positives
• interesting ideas on content, social and governance
• Meeting people and chatting about UX
• – Networking. So good to meet people at other universities with the same / similar problems and discuss.
  – Team confidence. All of my team spoke in some way at this event and all have come back inspired and buzzing.
  – Relationships with suppliers – good to meet and spend time with people who we already work with.
• A great group of people to network and share stories with, top notch speakers and presentations
• 1) Started to build a regional network. 2) Let me reflect on practices in my institution compared to those at others.
• Networking opportunity is amazing.
  The sector is amazingly open, so willing to share experience and good ideas and we all benefit in the end.
  Allows you to work out how well your team is doing in comparison to others (good and bad).
• networking with others
  discussing solutions to similar problems
• The people, Andrew Millar’s plenary session, the structure of the event.
• Lightening talks were great!
• 1. Alison’s opening talk on stress
  2. Claire’s governance workshop
  3. A 1-to-1 Show & Tell with Steve Evans from St. Andrews about how they are managing WordPress (not a session, I just asked him and he helped me)
• Increasing my understanding of the nuances of the HE sector and the challenges we encounter. Helped to put me in contact with other HE professionals to act as a sounding board for ideas and solutions. Helped me to put our own challenges and circumstances into perspective and show that we’re not alone is these issues.
• Talking to other institutional reps. More personal talks (e.g. stress)
• Getting me to approach my work differently.
  There is plenty of support, tools and resources to effect positive change in my working practices/institution.
  Robust governance policies are the best way of ensuring digital transformation/strategy is truly implemented.
• I’ll be sharing some of the recorded sessions (the ones that I’ve flagged as being relevant to specific teams) by playing snippets or full sessions to colleagues/in meetings.
• Good to have talks like those by Alison Kerwin and Andrew Millar. Quick fire sessions seemed to work really well.
• Networking, reassurance, ideas
• The two speakers who spoke about their mental health were incredible. That stuff is really valuable, even if it’s not directly about our work. The people you meet are always the best thing about conferences. Sometimes these events can feel a bit showy and competitive, but the atmosphere here was more about sharing problems and expertise – seems a much better way of doing things.
• Meeting people in the sector, listening to anecdote stories and content production talk
• Paul Boag’s workshop on Thursday was great. I’m looking forward to trying out some of the things discussed.
• I particularly found helpful the talk from Keith McDonald on taking back power over web content (as it reflects where I am with my institution’s digital transformation project); Gareth Edwards’ talk on invisible labour and Claire Gibbons’ masterclass on governance strategy and leadership.
• The personal insights on dealing with stress, anxiety and mental health. Watching the football! Benefits for me were making contacts and learning more about dealing with invisible labour.
• sharing ideas & experiences, new techniques to use with team, geese
• Discovering the wider HE digital community – others dealing with the same issues and the opportunity to learn from their success
• 1. Don’t be afraid to address mental health issues. 2. Good content governance tips in Sarah Fisher’s workshop. 3. Divide and conquer tips from Paul Boag.
• Networking. Insight into key people issues. Specialist discussion with peers and vendors.
• Workshops / masterclasses were filled with exciting content.
  Hearing similar problems to our own and how we might overcome them
  And of course networking, it’s always great to meet new like-minded people!
• Loved Alison / Andrew / Gareth / Jenni’s talks
• Hearing the experiences of others. Making contacts.
• So many supportive people encouraged me do a talk and I actually enjoyed it – so that was a bit of a milestone for me.
• I have lots of specific things to go back and do this year – all in a list
  Inspirational, reassuring, validating
• Interesting approach about content and design by the speakers, which was nicely combined with the Masterclasses and the workshops I attended.
• To better understand technical colleagues
  To develop ideas of how I can develop digital marketing in my institution
• Witnessing the degree of professionalism and knowledge on display was really impressive (and reassuring). I think it will be really useful to have videos of talks available for sharing as authority on particular topics (from CRMs to content strategy).
• The customer journey mapping session has made me think more as a project manager. I now want to think about the composition of journeys (and tasks) through the eyes of different groups and how those groups can intervene at particular moments to improve the product or service.
• Great to socialise with HE people and see what’s happening in the sector at the moment. It’s a while since I worked in HE and it was really useful to me.
• Meeting people in similar roles, focused workshops, hearing about other institution’s experiences of systems we use or are considering
• Some great talks on understanding the challenges of your end users – helps with developing our service offering in a way that accounts more for user needs.
• 1) I’ve come away with a concrete list of Things To Try (methods for building
  strategy; tricks for dealing with troublesome stakeholders; the concept of a ‘working policy’ and more) that I’m already getting stuck in to2) I met so many interesting and lovely people, and feel like my network is growing exponentially3) Like last year, IWMW massively reinforced my sense of in-it-together-ness 🙂
• (1) Given the ‘streamlining digital’ theme, I was able to better understand the sorts of problems being experienced in the field. (2) I was able to hear about the solutions being applied and (3) there was a chance to ask more questions between sessions and at the social events.
• I don’t think I engaged enough to give 3 but you two are fantastic at putting people at ease and setting the tone.
• Just to get a wider and deeper understandig of what people are talking about in HE was useful.
• Great contacts.
  HE-digital slack channel is invaluable.
  Good to see best practice in the presentations – great for ideas.
• Inspiration for how to solve common problems, and for new ways of working.
• Alison Kerwin’s opening session on ‘things she wished she’d known earlier in her career’ was a real highlight and set the tone for a very open, honest and inclusive conference.
• As someone who works primarily on content, I really enjoyed the sessions by Dave Musson and Jenni Taylor. I’m keen to revitalise the research section of our website, and there were good tips from both about using long-form ways of engaging users with research, including podcasts.
• 1. Always good as a sanity check to see that others are doing the same sorts of things and fighting the same problems. 2. Some very touching mental health related talk which I shall keep in mind.
• Made new peer contacts, discussed issues and got benchmarks from sector, felt supported in the challenges we’re all facing

We asked delegates to provide up to 3 examples of ways in which the event could be improved. The responses we received included:

• Masterclasses could be more focussed on the titles and related back to HE- seemed to be a long sales pitch. Maybe some non-HE non-sales industry representation for future trends so it doesn’t become an echo chamber
• A little more time for getting into accommodation would save the rush on teh first afternoon.
• A better balance of content. Better standard of accommodation. A system to view and manage booking details (which sessions booked, dietary requirements, etc)
• Social events less focused around the pub and drinking. Less nostalgia about previous events and the history of the event. Less selling of services by companies at masterclasses.
• Less vendor selling in workshops and masterclasses. Better presentation skills for some workshop presenters.
• 1. I can’t speak for others but the level of cleanliness in my flat wasn’t the best, I understand the flats are probably ‘used and abused’ but that flat needs a deep-clean. It wasn’t the worst I’ve seen but there are issues to solve: grouting, cleaning around fixtures like taps, shower head, etc., toilet seat needs to be replaced, shower head can’t be moved and water is directed to the front of the toilet seat so the floor tends to flood if you are not careful. There is a sign by the sink asking you to be careful not to let water out and tuck the curtain into the bath or shower but there’s nothing to tuck it under!
  2. A variety of books were mentioned throughout the event, it’d be good to have them all in a list, somewhere online, to refer to (maybe this exists already! haven’t come across it yet)
  3. Talks or attendance from decision-makers at the higher level in the institutions. A better understanding of the challenges they face and what they expect from their digital teams would be beneficial.
• Such a great range of workshops/masterclasses – it’s a shame can only go to one each during the conference
• The accommodation was bit grubby in places.
• Event itself was fantastic. My only improvement bits are for the website. I’d like to see more information about accommodation on the website before the event (think it would help new people to know we’re in halls, room types, what’s in the rooms, what meals are provided – breakfast included etc). If I hadn’t known that from last year’s event I’d have been a bit confused. Also there were a few pages on the website I couldn’t find/get to until I was emailed links – so better navigation would be good.
• Workshops needs to be spread between presentations ( presentation should not last more than half an hour and workshop for two hours ) to allow participants attending more
  Event should start at 12pm end at 6pm on day one, 9am-6pm day two and 9am-1pm day three ( Wednesday – Friday )
  Regional Groups (Scotland, Wales, London, South East, South West, Midlands, North East and North West ) have presentation/workshop each
• 1. If possible to have slightly more descriptive abstracts for workshops etc (one wasn’t as relevant to me as I would have hoped). 2. Have a back-up buddy scheme, even an alternative email to connect with Brian/Claire (mine was ill and so felt a little lost thinking I was going to have a connection that was taken away!). No 3.
• Less dependance on content from external companies/sponsors, a greater focus on workshops and masterclasses
• Accommodation. Mattress and pillows were lumpy. Shower was tiny and I was half expecting a marriage proposal from the show curtain given how friendly it was getting in the space it had.
• – Smoother switchovers between presenters. Quite a few of the speakers had trouble getting started (either because their slides weren’t appearing, or they weren’t sure how to plug in their laptop), which can be a bit flustering for them. Not sure what the technical factors would be, but I’ve been to other conferences where all the slides / laptops are plugged in and ready to go, so it’s just a case of switching inputs for the next presenter.
  – Streamlining the amount of content that’s given/sent to delegates. I do appreciate the amount of thought that you put in to explaining how the conference works to new attendees, but it did feel like there were a lot of webpages (+ the physical handbook) to look at, making it hard to know where to look to find some things. The language used can be a bit confusing too – words like ‘plenary’ and ‘abstract’ aren’t the sorts of words that normal people use
  – Talks on ‘out there’ topics and new technologies. I’ve really enjoyed talks in previous years such as Martin Hawksey’s ‘The Google Analytics of Things’, which were right at the cutting edge.
• short snappy session introductions, larger group discussions
• Structured content with photos – such as photos of each venue
• I think that some of the workshops / masterclasses could still be improved. Some of them are quite long and if the presenter doesn’t include any activities, it can be ‘death by powerpoint’.I really think that’s it!
• Need a proofreader for the delegate handbook (I’d be happy to get involved to do this next year!)
• Get rid of the paper brochure? Allow delegates to identify they’re willing for their details to be shared, so post-event networking.
• Accommodation not up to scratch: I mean there’s student halls and there’s whatever that was.
• No goodie bag? Some sponsors didn’t have cards to buy our drinks.Slightly out-there key speakers would be interesting. ContentEd had Alex Ayling from BBC Studios and it was great to hear from someone outside the industry with similar issues.
• It would have been very helpful to have had a list of the participants.
• Can’t think of any!
• Clarity around the location of the meals/events outside of the main conference (e.g. dinners / breakfasts).
• 1. More technical detail at times
  2. Better accommodation
  3. I’d love to see more attendees
• I found out about the Slack group through one of the emails, but I got the general feeling that there were a few attendees (including colleagues) who hadn’t read about it. So maybe there is something that could be done to improve the visibility of that for all attendees.
• Air con in the bedrooms. Hardly slept 🙂
• A few of the talks were on similar themes.
• It would be great if there was a way to share the learnings or record for playback the workshops and masterclasses. I would have liked to attend a couple of other sessions and couldn’t be in two at once!
• Seems like a great formula. I can’t think of anything.
• The website/digital presence and the booking process. Await the outcome of our design sprint! Input from the nascent regional groups
• Aside from shortening some of the sessions, I think it’s pretty much spot on. The only danger, I think, is that because there’s obviously a hard core of people who go every year, there’s the potential for it to feel a bit cliquey. I was lucky to know one or two people there, and I think everyone is friendly enough that this isn’t a big deal. I think it’s just something to be conscious of, rather than something to improve.
• Put more talks on the first day rather than the last day
• The Yorkie Bars, Jammie Dodgers session – I honestly expected there to be Yorkie Bars or Jammie Dodgers. But there wasn’t any :-(I’m not sure if other’s would agree, but I really struggle to sit in lecture theatres for ages. The seating is so uncomfortable and there’s no elbow room which makes taking notes on a laptop really difficult (for me).
• The accommodation wasn’t great. But this is more a negative for York University. My shower didn’t drain properly and was smelly.
• Try not to organise it when there’s a large sporting event on 🙂 ; the arrival process for delegates on the same day conference starts could be tightened a little, it wasn’t clear what we were expected to do other than to kill time – seems like a missed opportunity considering how wonderful the rest of the event was; ask Steve Burrows – his design sprints masterclass got us all to think of ways of improving the IWMW experience and there were some really top innovative ideas.
• More diversity in talk topic, shorter sessions.
• Receiving the information book ahead of arrival would have been useful (information about casual dress code etc.)
• 1. Perhaps have a seating plan that mixes up the delegates for greater networking and meeting new people at the first dinner. A lot of people sit with groups they know – I’m guilty of this too! 2. Have evaluation forms at the end of the conference as you’re likely to get more natural and instant feedback.
• More streamlined booking experience e.g. ability to access/change workshop bookings
• I love the format and enjoy it as is.
• Its hard to think of any, but maybe more ‘organised fun’? The quiz during dinner was great, more team games like that to make it easier for everyone to break the ice and get to know each other would be really good.
• More international HEI organisations / more informal conversations / digital transformation topics
• Always tricky, but wider sharing of the learning from the Workshops and Masterclasses would be great – I got the feeling that they were all pretty great this year, and would like to know more.
• As lovely as it is to share experiences among kith and kin from across the sector, we need to get senior others involved and I would recommend inviting a VC to IWMW 2019 so that they a) can see us, b) can hear us and c) give us their impression of things.
• Arrange for a high-profile speaker to share the expertise and please ensure that the ambient light doesn’t affect the presentations slides on the screen.
• Event website
• I don’t think improvements are needed. I think it would be nice if there were small bursaries available for self-funded delegates in financial need. I was able to fund my own attendance, but there may be others less fortunate. (And I think there is more to be gained from attendance than simply watching the livestream.)
• As a vendor, the day sessions (i.e. not the evening socials) were not set up in a way that it was easy to have conversations or make leads. Breaks were quite short and people just needed to have coffee and nip to the loo before the next long session started.
• 1) A little more pre-coordination of post-social event activities
  2) More lightning talks
  3) Workshops earlier in the day, so there’s a clearly defined end time
• Not so much improvements as ‘experiments’ to be tried (1) A wider range of workshops/masterclasses, but shorter sessions to cover more ground. (2) Shorten Plenary sessions to 30 minutes and squeeze a few extra presentations in. (3) (low cost!) key note speaker at the dinner on the first evening.
• I hate to say it but give it a better name. Sorry Brian. Bring it up to date.
• No comments
• Make it easier to remember which sessions you signed up for.
  Enable attendees to change their sessions closer to the date.
  Try a different format for breakout sessions – maybe discussion groups, forums, etc – use groups to tackle specific issues and come up with good ideas.
• I was disappointed my first choice of masterclass was cancelled due to illness. I realise this is unavoidable sometimes so would like to see something similar run next time. The delegate handbook was so useful but a lot of it was about preparing for the event and travelling to it so it would be extremely useful to have it in advance. Also, my back is not very used to sitting down for such long periods (ie in the plenaries) so perhaps some quick 5/10 mins stretch breaks could be incorporated?
• Just an email or two between registration and receiving all the logistical stuff would be beneficial.
• Be alerted to attendees from region ahead of going for travel or car share options, pre-designed table plans to encourage networking and split groups up

Many thanks to IWMW 2018 delegates for their feedback!