Events planning

The Business School Events Team provides support for over 100 events each year, engaging with a wide variety of audiences including alumni, staff, students and the public. The events we support range from large-scale events of strategic importance to the Business School to smaller events and activities requiring only minimal support from our team.

Because we work within the Central Event Services framework, we’re across all the University policies on events and hospitality – and we’re here to guide you through it all, whether you require full, end-to-end support for a significant event or simply a bit of help navigating all those policies.

We love to help, so help us to help you!

Before you do anything, read through the information on this page! It’s designed to help you understand the different categories of events, the corresponding levels of support the Business School Events Team offers, and the key things you need to consider before requesting our support.

Event planning involves a lot of moving parts, and the right prep can save everyone a lot of time – so please prepare as much information as possible about your event before reaching out to our team.

Our team can support you with:

• Run sheets
• Floor plans
• Room bookings
• Catering
• Guidance on professional photography and filming
• Eventbrite registration
• Guidance on event policies and procedures.

We can also direct you to other service teams within the Business School and wider University, including TechSite Services, Marketing Services, and Alumni Relations and Development.

Make it official!

Once you’ve read through the information on this page, reach out to us by submitting a New Event Request form. This form gives us the essential information we need to understand your event requirements. We’ll then get in touch to discuss the next steps.

But first, read on for the rundown of what you should know before you reach out.

Significant resources and time are needed to deliver a well-executed event. The earlier we get a heads-up, the higher your chances of securing the support of our team.

For most events, our team requires a lead time of at least 12 weeks.

Should you wish to hold your event during our busiest months – May to November – we strongly recommend reaching out well before the 12-week lead time requirement to ensure the best chance of securing our support.

Note: submitting a New Event Request form does not guarantee our availability to provide support. Our team is usually working on several events simultaneously, and some of these may involve a significant workload – not only on the day of the event, but in the days and weeks prior. So please be aware that as much as we love to help, sometimes a bit of flexibility is required. See more about the Business School Events Calendar and the Events Team's capacity below.

We offer different levels of assistance according to the scale of the event. The four main categories are:

• Full support
• Moderate support
• Guidance for DIY events
• Support for online events as appropriate.

Events managed or organised by an external party, such as academic conferences and symposia, are managed by Central Event Services. You’ll need to get in touch with them at eventservices@auckland.ac.nz at least 12 weeks in advance of your event.

Examples of the types of events that fall into each category are listed below:

Full, end-to-end support from our team is reserved for special events of strategic importance to the Business School. Examples include:

• Faculty-wide events hosted by the Dean
• Mānawa Mai Open Day and Info Evening
• Significant Māori and Pacific cultural events
• Accreditation visits
• High profile external engagement events.

Events requiring moderate support include:

• Departmental awards ceremonies for students and staff
• Significant invited research speaker events hosted by Departments or Disciplinary Areas
• Inaugural lectures.

Smaller DIY events include:

• Internal events such as the Cake Competition
• Smaller scale Disciplinary Area and Subject Group events.

Online events:

• Our team can support the delivery of public virtual events like webinars which include alumni, corporate or VIP attendees
• Please read the Guide to Hosting an Online Event (see below) to determine what you may need support with before engaging with us
• Submit a New Event Request form
• Zoom webinars are organised by the Staff Service Centre for a fee of $30 per webinar. If you would like to organise a Zoom webinar, you will also need to complete a Zoom Webinar request form.

Unsure about the level of support you require?
Submit a New Event Request form at least 12 weeks before your event. We’ll be happy to advise you.

It’s a good idea to check the Business School Events Calendar to understand what other events will be running in the Business School around the time you wish to hold yours. This will give you an idea of our team's capacity to offer you support on your preferred date.

Please be aware that budgets for an event need to be fully costed and approved before engaging our team. Budgets can be approved by:

• The Event Owner (see Event Owner and Event Manager below)
• A senior manager
• A head of department.

All staff can request to book a room in bookable spaces across all University campuses, including lecture theatres and seminar rooms. Note: not all spaces can be booked for events, and bookings related to teaching or conferencing activities take precedence.

Consider what sort of space you might require and whether that space will be available at the time you need it. Find out more about the room bookings process or investigate room availability and book rooms yourself on the Space and Resource Booker.

We recommend that you book your required space(s) before advertising your event and before submitting your New Event Request form to avoid disappointment should the space(s) not be available. Don’t forget to check that the capacity of the room(s) meets your event requirements!

Even if you only need to book a room and do not require any event support from our team, you will still need to book your room at least 3 days in advance, as the room bookings team need to ensure that services such as lighting and air-conditioning are pre-programmed.

The room booking system for the upcoming year becomes available to all staff from 1 November.

If you have any general queries about a space within the Sir Owen G Glenn Building, please contact the Business School Venue Coordinator on be-roombookings@auckland.ac.nz. They can provide guidance on the OGGB’s rooms and spaces.

Advanced room bookings

Significant events of strategic importance to the Business School can potentially be booked more than a year in advance. If your event meets the criteria for an advanced room booking, please complete a New Event and Advance Room Bookings Request form by 30 September in the year before your event.

Please note that advance bookings will not necessarily be processed in a first come, first served basis. Instead, there is a priority order which will be followed. If you supply alternative dates and venues in your original booking request, the Events Team is more likely to be able to accommodate your preferences.

Every event needs a designated Event Owner and Event Manager.

• The Event Owner is the client who owns the concept, content and liability associated with an event.
• The Event Manager is the person organising the event.

One person can be both Event Owner and Event Manager. Note: in order to complete a New Event Request form, you will need to name a contact person for both of these roles.

Also consider who else might be able to contribute or provide support in delivering your event, for example a Group Services Coordinator. You’ll need adequate departmental support for any associated mail-outs, registration and payments.

What sort of promotion might your event require? Please note that the Business School Marketing and Communications team need to be briefed at least six weeks in advance for the creation of printed material, merchandise, or other marketing collateral.

The University needs to be aware of all events to ensure the appropriate use of all facilities and the safety of all attendees and other affected parties. This means you need to complete an Event Notification Form (ENF) at least 3 weeks before your event.

The Event Coordination Group (ECG) will review your ENF at their next meeting and provide a colour band (green, orange or red) which will indicate the risk level of your event and the corresponding next steps. Depending on the colour banding assigned to your event, you may need to engage an Event Compliance Officer (ECO).

Find more information on event compliance and safety requirements, or reach out to either your assigned events planner or the Events Coordination Group for further guidance around ENFs.

The University uses Eventbrite, a cloud-based system for event registration and ticketing.

If you are interested in using Eventbrite and our team is already supporting your event, please liaise with your assigned events planner for Eventbrite assistance.

If you are interested in using Eventbrite and our team is not supporting your event, please liaise with your Group Services Coordinator for Eventbrite assistance.

The following links and resources provide helpful context or information around hosting events at the University, especially if you are planning to manage your own event:

• Event Planning Checklist: this is a useful guide to ensure that protocols are followed and are in accordance with the Events Management Policy.
• Events Management Policy
• Hosting an Event: this covers a range of topics relevant to holding an event at the University, for example information on the University’s preferred catering suppliers.
• Event and Conference Services
• Guide to Hosting an Online Event
• Event compliance and safety
• Room bookings
• Advanced Room Bookings
• Learning Environment Support Unit (LESU): LESU manages the AV (audiovisual) in lecture theatres and seminar rooms.
• EVS Tech Ops: if you require additional AV for your event, reach out to the EVS Technical Operations team to discuss your requirements.

• Bree Grooby, Senior Event Planner
• Alysha Bellamy, Event and Conference Planner
• Thelmar Phiri, Event and Conference Planner

• Business School Events Team: businessschoolevents@auckland.ac.nz
• Business School Venue Coordinator: be-roombookings@auckland.ac.nz
• Event Services: eventservices@auckland.ac.nz Event Services is a central service set up to enable the delivery of University events managed or organised by an external party, such as academic conferences and symposia.

1. Have you read through the information on this page?
2. Have you prepared as much information for our team as possible?
3. Have you gone through the Event Planning Checklist?
4. Have you booked your event space(s)?
5. Then go ahead and submit your New Event Request form, and we’ll get in touch to get things underway!

We look forward to working with you soon!