More details on receptions
Conference delegates receive free entry into all the receptions and the banquet. Accompanying guests can purchase a ticket, in advance, which entitles them to attend all the receptions and the banquet. For full details, see the registration page.
Welcome Reception at Discovery Point (Sunday 24th June 5.30-7.00pm)
The welcome reception is hosted jointly by ITiCSE and the British Computer Society. Professor Andrew McGettrick FBCS invites you to join this part of the BCS 50th anniversary celebrations. It will be opened by Dr Mary, Dowager Countess of Strathmore, and will take place at the Discovery Point Visitor Centre, adjacent to the historic ship RRS Discovery (opposite the Railway Station). View the conference map.
Discovery was built in Dundee and launched in 1901. She was one of the last wooden three-masted ships built in Britain and the first to be constructed specifically for scientific research. Her scientific voyages took her to the Antarctic with Captain Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton on board. She returned to Dundee in 1986 and has undergone extensive restoration (still ongoing).
Delegates and accompanying guests can purchase tickets to view the RRS Discovery during the evening at a special ITiCSE price of £3.20. The Discovery shop will also be open during the reception for people who wish to purchase souvenirs to remember the evening.
Wine, soft drinks and nibbles will be served during the reception, after which delegates may wish to take dinner in one of the city centre restaurants, (view the Eating Out page).
For more details on RRS Discovery see the official website.
Conference Banquet at Guthrie Castle (Monday 25th June 7.00-11.00pm)
Free coaches to Guthrie Castle are provided for delegates and guests holding banquet tickets. Four coaches will leave at 18:00 sharp from Perth Road, immediately outside the conference centre. It is your responsibility to be on time for the departure from Dundee. The journey time is approximately 30 minutes. If you are making your own way there, please inform the Conference Registration Desk. There is no dress code for the evening: you can be as casual or formal as you like, and you may like to wear something tartan.
Guthrie Castle is set in beautiful grounds, and you are free to wander through the gardens on arrival, and at any point during the evening.
Dinner will be served at 19:00. This will be a 3 course sit down meal, including a glass of wine, plus water, and followed by tea/coffee. There will also be a cash bar available.
At 21:30 the ceilidh will start. A ceilidh is a social event, typically with Celtic music and dancing. The music is cheerful and lively, and the basic steps can be learned easily; a short instructional session is often provided for new dancers before the start of the dance itself. The dances are typically danced in pairs (can be same or different gender), and occasionally in 3s. The ceilidh band is called the Phenobarbitones, and are based in Dundee; one of the musicans is a CS graduate! Members of the Local Committee will also demonstrate dances for you.
Return coaches have been booked at various times to satisfy those who wish to leave early, and those who wish to dance the night away! Sign up for your coach at the Conference Registration Desk. Coaches will leave Guthrie Castle at 22:00, 22:30 and 23:00, and will drop delegates off at Swallow Dundee, Invercarse, West Park Centre, Travelodge Dundee Central, Hilton Dundee and Apex City Quay Hotel & Spa (not necessarily in that order).
For more details on Guthrie Castle see the official website.
Evening civic reception at Queen Mother Building (Tuesday 26th June 6.00-9.00pm)
This event is hosted by the Deputy Lord Provost of Dundee, Dr Joe Morrow, and will take place in the Queen Mother Building, which is the home of the School of Computing at the University of Dundee. The building is number 61 on the campus map.
At 19:00 the Deputy Lord Provost will welcome delegates to Dundee.
At 18:15 and 19:45 there will be performances of an interactive theatrical performance. It is designed to illustrate some of the aspects of Inclusive Education, and is linked to the Wednesday keynote address by Vicki Hanson. The performance will take place in the Wolfson Theatre; 55 delegates may attend each performance.
During the evening delegates are also free to view the exhibition Now Those Days Are Gone – photographs of the Beatles by Michael Peto. The University of Dundee campus shop will also be open until 20:00 for delegates wishing to purchase branded items.
Wine, soft drinks and nibbles will be served during the reception, after which delegates may wish to take dinner in one of the city centre restaurants, (view the Eating Out page).
Closing receptions (Wednesday 27th June)
Delegates can choose between two closing receptions: Angus Civic Reception at Angus College in Arbroath (transport supplied), or the University of Dundee Closing Reception at the Botanic Gardens.
Taste of Angus Evening, 5.30pm-8pm
Delegates can sign up for this event as late as Tuesday (subject to space) – at the Conference Reception Desk. The coach will leave at 17:30 from Perth Road in front of the conference centre.
This closing reception takes place at Angus College in Arbroath (25 minutes by free coach). Your hosts will be the Provost Ruth Leslie Melville (Provost of Angus), and John Burt (Principal of Angus College). You will visit the IT showcase to experience 21st century Further Education in Scotland, and can sample the finest Angus fare at a buffet supper.
Director of Learning and Teaching, Barbara Nelson, says: Let us take you on a journey to experience how we engage with a range of needs across a spectrum of ages to meet both educational and vocational requirement of our economic environment. Lifelong Learning in Action presents challenges which we are addressing through modernising both learning and teaching using a range of e-learning, technology and mainstream media.
At 20:00, the coach will return to West Park via Arbroath Abbey where the Declaration of Arbroath was signed in 1320.
To sign up for a place on the bus to Angus College (until Friday 22nd) email us. After that sign up at the Conference Registration desk.
University Botanic Gardens, 6pm-7pm
This closing reception will take place in the lovely surroundings of the University of Dundee Botanic Gardens. If the weather is fine, delegates can take full advantage of the plant collections. If not, there are two glasshouses, a Visitor Centre and an education suite to shelter in.
We have permission to enter the gardens through the back gate, rather than walk along to the front entrance. From the conference centre, turn right onto Perth Road (away from the city centre), and walk along to the gates of Tay Park House at 484 Perth Road, which are signed as University of Dundee buildings. Follow the footpath down to the left to the gate into the gardens. Once in the gardens, follow the path back to the Visitor Centre area where wine, soft drinks and nibbles will be served.
Delegates may then wish to take dinner in one of the city centre restaurants, (view the Eating Out page).