UniSpace Sunderland has secured a contract with Swedish-based Operation, Maintenance and Acoustics International Association to host its two-day annual Maintenance Performance Measurement and Management (MPMM) conference in September 2012, bringing the event to the UK for the first time ever.
The win marks the first international event secured by UniSpace, which launched to the national and international conference market at Confex in March. The MPMM opportunity was created as a result of links between the University’s Institute for Automotive & Manufacturing Advanced Practice (AMAP) department and is the first win generated by UniSpace’s new ambassador programme.
The conference will see around 200 Delegates from across the world head to Sunderland to discuss engineering concepts, optimisation of equipment and energy efficiency to the impact of the global recession on the maintenance industry. Plenary and workshop sessions will take place on the Sir Tom Cowie Campus on the banks of the river Wear, with an industry exhibition in the Prospect Building. The delegates will also have an interactive reception at The National Glass Centre, including glass blowing demonstrations.
Dr David Baglee, MPMM committee representative and senior lecturer in the University’s Faculty of Applied Sciences, will chair the conference. He said: “We are delighted to be hosting this highly specialised conference for the first time in the UK.
“As a committee, it is important that we select venues with both great facilities and a reputation for excellence in our field: UniSpace offers both of these features in abundance. Hosting the conference on campus will help to showcase the excellent research carried out within the university, and in particular AMAP.”
Sharon Olver, University Commercial Services Manager responsible for UniSpace, said: “We are delighted to have secured an international event so soon after making our big push to the wider market. The MPMM conference gives us an excellent opportunity to showcase the diversity of our venue on an international scale. Moreover, Conferences like the MPMM not only raise the university’s profile as a venue for large association and academic conferences, but also strengthen the region’s proposition. This event in particular has a tangible positive economic benefit to Sunderland and the region as a whole.”
