Professional journalism training is more important than ever
#SPANC18 awards winners announced
The 2018 Student Publication Association National Conference is just DAYS away, and we are, if you couldn’t tell, extremely excited.
We’ve got a few bits of important information to pass on to you. To anyone who isn’t attending this year, we hope to see you there in the future.
So…
What do you need to bring?
We’ll be holding our ever-popular student publication ‘swap shop’ on the Saturday of #SPANC18. It’s a chance for everyone to admire each others’ efforts throughout the year, so please bring along copies of your paper or magazine to hand out.
We’re also running workshops at #SPANC18 this year – including mobile journalism, and CV advice. If you’re planning on taking part in these, make sure you’ve got a smartphone, charger (if you’ll need it) and an up-to-date copy of your CV.
Oh, and don’t forget your suit and tie/sparkles and tiara for the awards…
When does it start?
Check-in for #SPANC18 is at Cardiff University Students’ Union (Cardiff SU), on Friday, 6th April. The conference will close at around 4pm on Sunday, April 8th.
If you’re arriving on Friday with either conference only tickets (and you’ve sorted your own accommodation for the weekend) or two-night accommodation tickets, please check in from 3pm at Cardiff SU. We’ll be hosting a first-night social at the SU bar so you can all get a chance to meet before things kick off properly on the Saturday.
If you’re arriving on Saturday with either conference only tickets or one-night accommodation tickets, please check in from 9am at Cardiff SU.
Where do I need to go?
All #SPANC18 events, including check-in, both days of the conference, the Friday night social (at the Cardiff SU bar) and the Saturday evening awards ceremony (7pm arrival) and afterparty, are being held at Cardiff SU.
That all-important address is: Cardiff University Students’ Union, Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3QN.
There won’t be much parking at the SU so if you’re driving, we’d advise leaving your car at the hotel and either walking, using public transport or sharing an Uber/cab to and from the SU with other conference attendees.
What else will be going on at the conference?
We’ve finalised the schedule for the entire weekend, and while you’ll all be getting a copy of this on arrival, we couldn’t resist giving you a sneak peek now. Check out the #SPANC18 brochure here…
And aside from the wealth of talks, workshops, and roundtables we’ve got planned for you all, one other very important event takes place at #SPANC18 every year – the SPA’s Annual General Meeting (AGM).
This will be held on the Saturday, and it’s when all our members have the chance to elect five executive officers to run the SPA throughout the next year. You can read about the current exec team on our website. If you think you might be interested in running for a position, please feel free to chat to any of the current officers.
There’s absolutely no requirement to have been involved with the SPA in any capacity beforehand in order to run, and you only need to put yourself forward at the AGM itself.
Being involved with the SPA, and helping other student journalists and publications connect, grow and succeed, is hugely rewarding.
We can’t recommend it enough.
And that’s your lot!
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch via any of the contact emails below or drop us a message via the SPA’s Twitter or Facebook page.
We can’t wait to meet you all, have a blast, and hand out those trophies.
See you in Cardiff,
The SPA executive committee:
Dan | Chair | chair@spajournalism.com | @Falvey_Dan
Megan | Marketing & Events | marketing@spajournalism.com |@
Conor | Development | development@spajournalism.com
Jess | Membership & Communication | communications@spajournalism.c
James | Digital | digital@spajournalism.com | @james_chesson
Jessica Frank-Keyes
Jessica Frank-Keyes is a former SPA marketing and communications officer.
