Winnipeg and its celebrated venues have always been a conduit for business events and conferences.
So, it should come as no shock that this city provided the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) with an illuminating outlet for its 2024 Student Congress, which took place from September 13-15 at the Fairmont Winnipeg.
In the interview below, we ask co-organizer
Deepika Kalluri –– an electrical engineer who volunteers for the IEEE Women in Engineering (WIE) Winnipeg section –– what it was like working with Tourism Winnipeg and why the city’s venues, attractions, professionals and academic community are fully charged to impress delegates. 
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How did you start working with Tourism Winnipeg to bring the 2024 IEEE Student Congress to Winnipeg?
The partnership with Tourism Winnipeg began a long while back. We [
IEEE Winnipeg] knew of them [Tourism Winnipeg] from various other conferences that we hosted earlier, but specific to this event it started with Maria [Paletta] reaching out to Dr. Tom Murad about having a student congress in Winnipeg. It instantly clicked because Tourism Winnipeg has been a great partner for us, and they have always created a seamless experience for all our past delegates.It is very nice for organizing such a large-scale event and promoting it through Tourism Winnipeg, and it has continued to be a great experience for us. They are incredibly supportive in terms of the venues, logistic support, and also for getting local experts to attend. So, it was just very professional.
What made Winnipeg a great fit for this conference?
Winnipeg was an ideal location for starters, because it is centrally located, so it’s easily accessible from everywhere. We held it in the fall –a beautiful time in the city. Also, Winnipeg has a variety of world-class venues and convention centres, so all the diverse needs of IEEE were catered to.
Another main reason is that Winnipeg has a strong tech and academic community. With the University of Manitoba being in Winnipeg, we do have a lot of academics available, along with a lot of companies that are focused on technological innovation and education.
It’s a reputable place, and it made us choose Winnipeg as the host of the student congress this past year.
What venues did you use?
The main meetings were completely held at
The Fairmont Winnipeg, but we also took our members to the University of Manitoba to see our laboratories and we introduced the students to some of the lab techs. Because this was a student congress there were a lot of students from various sections coming to get an experience, so we had our University of Manitoba students lead them around the place as part of the conference.
What were you excited to showcase about Winnipeg to your delegates?
We chose to showcase Winnipeg’s wider culture and several local attractions. We brought them to
The Forks and The Canadian Museum for Human Rights, and we talked about Winnipeg’s heritage and how Winnipeg is a city of many languages and so many great restaurants, which is a major point of interest for students. Our delegates had a couple days before and after the workshops to explore, and we made sure that they were exposed to the culture here and the really great food.
Where were your delegates from?
Our guests were from across Canada –– Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, London, all across Canada, plus cities that are closer to us like Saskatoon. There were 35 engineering schools across the country represented.
What advice would you give to someone looking to bring a conference of business event to Winnipeg?
For future business events, I would say start early and engage with Tourism Winnipeg, as we’ve had an excellent experience with them. You can work on venue selection, and curating local experiences for delegates, and all that kind of planning.
So that’s my main advice: Plan ahead and focus on creating well-rounded experiences for the delegates at your conference. Blend your professional content with cultural exploration, because then the event can become a memorable and impactful one –– not just one more tech event that involves just interacting [with other delegates]. You should create some memories and also create some collaboration between various local stakeholders.
*This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
