Adelaide Convention Bureau hosted a group of industry leaders last week at its 2022 Adelaide Industry Showcase, highlighting the South Australian capital’s key growth sectors and how they can be leveraged for national and international business events.
The three-day program, which took place 16 – 18 May, included networking at the Adelaide Convention Centre (ACC) with industry leaders from across varying STEM sectors followed by a tour of the Centre, and featured site visits to Adelaide’s innovation districts.
Highlights included a visit to Adelaide BioMed City – conveniently located less than 10 minutes’ walking distance from ACC – where the group was taken on a guided technical tour of the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI).
The next stop was Lot Fourteen – the city’s newest innovation precinct with a focus on cyber, machine learning, and space exploration. Here, the group learned about a number of exciting new projects and developments, including the $200 million Tarrkarri – Centre for First Nations Cultures – an architectural masterpiece which is currently under construction and expected to open in 2025.
Throughout the familiarisation, the group was also treated to some of the city’s finest food and beverage experiences. Kicking off with cocktails and share plates at Eos by Sky City’s rooftop bar Sol, the group was officially welcomed to the showcase with a spectacular five-course, wine-matched degustation dinner at Adelaide Oval’s fine dining venue Five Regions.
Other dining highlights included a gala dinner at Adelaide Zoo, where resident pandas Wang Wang and Fu Ni joined the group for pre-dinner champagne and canapés, even though they preferred their own delicious bamboo.
The final day of the famil started with a hearty breakfast at Sofitel Adelaide’s Club Millésime followed by a tour of Light Adelaide, a not-for-profit organisation where creativity, innovation and hospitality come together for immersive and artistic events and experiences.
Speaking to Spice News, the delegates said they were most impressed by what an innovative and progressive city Adelaide is and its world class conference facilities.
“I am blown away by the facilities that are here and the convenience of interweaving conference facilities with culture and technology in the innovation precincts,” Australian Association for Adolescent Health board director, Ella Cehun said.
Back in Adelaide for the first time in 20 years, World Federation for Laser Denistry – Asia Pacific Division director, Dr. Ambrose Chan said that he was amazed by how much the city had grown and evolved.
“I’ve always thought of Adelaide as a very laidback place, and I don’t think I realised just how much it has evolved, but as I’ve now learned, Adelaide certainly has the infrastructure for innovation, for future developments – especially in the technology space – and it also has the leadership, the people, and a relaxing atmosphere that is good for sharing knowledge and ideas, as well as socialising,” Dr. Chan said.
Hematology Society of Australia and New Zealand, executive officer, Valerie Orton said her highlights were the incredible dining experiences and the high level of professionalism and generous hospitality from the ACB hosts.
“The food has been absolutely extraordinary and the ACB team is just amazing! They have gone through so much trouble, they’re incredibly professional and well organised, and they’ve taken us to places that I didn’t even know existed – I can’t speak highly enough of them,” Orton said.
Orton said her organisation holds rotating conferences around Australia and was supposed to have a conference in Adelaide in 2020 and then 2021, but ended up going virtual.
“Without a doubt we will definitely be back here!”
