The redeveloped Physicians International Conference Centre at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh was officially opened today (1 February 2019) by HRH The Princess Royal.
Costing £3.5million, the conference centre redevelopment transforms the event experience for delegates and visitors, creating Edinburgh’s newest and one of its largest city centre conference venues.
The Royal visit coincided with the College’s flagship Futuristic Medicine conference which was arranged to mark the official opening.
As guest of honour, The Princess Royal toured the new facilities, chatting with those involved in the conference, and joined the almost 200 delegates in the new facilities. The Princess Royal is an Honorary Fellow of the College, and previously opened a refurbishment of part of the historic buildings in 1991. She is known to have a keen interest in issues relating to health, medicine and research.
Commenting on the opening, College President Professor Derek Bell OBE said:
It is an honour to welcome HRH The Princess Royal to our wonderful, refurbished conference centre. We are particularly proud of our new facility – refurbishing any building is a complex task, but more so when the buildings in question are nearly 300 years old.
As an Honorary Fellow of the College, it is very fitting that Her Royal Highness should open what is a new chapter in the long and illustrious history of this great Edinburgh institution.
Allan McKain, the College’s Venue Manager added:
It is exciting for us to be able to show off our wonderful new facilities to such an honoured guest, and Her Royal Highness took the time to join the conference that was running as well as meet a few of the poster exhibitors. We are now looking forward to working with these new facilities and opening them up to as wide an audience as possible.
Located in Edinburgh’s New Town, The Physicians International Conference Centre at The Royal College boasts one of Edinburgh's largest auditoriums and a range of modern and historic meeting rooms. The auditorium can host up to 300 delegates and is equipped with state of the art audio-visual and teleconference systems.
One of the main drivers of the refurbishment was to make the Physicians International Conference Centre and the wider College more accessible. The venue now includes a newly redesigned and refurbished reception and foyer, a new public exhibition space, upgraded conferencing facilities, and a new, fully accessible entrance on Queen Street. The refurbishment also created a dedicated exhibition space where the College can display its historic collection of books and items.
1. The College also runs as a venue, and has a suits of rooms and conferencing facilities available, from grand Georgian to ultra-contemporary https://venue.rcpe.co.uk/.