How to organise your reunion

Do you miss the good old student days? Has it been some time since you have seen your uni mates? Perhaps you are coming up to a significant anniversary since you graduated? Whatever the reason there is no time like the present to get the old gang back together. 

Event bookings 

Did you know that you can hire an event space on campus? Whether you would like to book an evening dinner event, space for dancing, informal get together or a conference, we might just have the space for you. 

Alumni receive 10% discount on all event room bookings. 

To find out more about booking your event on campus click here. Contact details for bookings and enquiries can be found on each location page.

Catering 

Hosting an event in Carlisle, Lancaster, or Ambleside? Book our catering team in partnership with Baxtor Storey! Together, we offer a range of catering options to suit all your needs, including hot and cold buffets, breakfast, lunches to go, drinks and desserts. Our menus have something for everyone. 

Find out more and see sample menus here.  

Accommodation 

Do you want to stay in your old university halls? We have a range of reasonably priced accommodation options for groups. Please note university accommodation is only available during the summer months when not occupied by our students and can book up quickly. 

Click here and choose your location to view accommodation options.  

Book a campus tour 

Perhaps you are coming to campus as part of a larger reunion event, or you and a small group of friends just fancy an informal look around. Do you want to see how campus has changed or visit your old classroom? We would be delighted to meet you. Campus tours are available Monday to Friday 9-5 and are subject to availability. Contact the alumni team alumni@cumbria.ac.uk to book. 

Promote your event through the alumni community 

We hold a database of over 60,000 alumni, we send out a newsletter every month and have social media channels with good reach. If you are planning your reunion or you simply want to get back in touch with your old mates we can help. Email alumni@cumbria.ac.uk  

Share your memories with us 

We love hearing stories about your student days. It is important to us to keep the memories alive of all our legacy institutions and campuses through the years. Sharing your memories can help your classmates to reminisce and encourage others to get back in touch. Visit Memory Lane here to read our alumni memories. Submit your own memories here. 

Top tips 

• Choose 1 or 2 people only as the event planners – What you would like to do won't suit others. It’s best to make decisions that you think will suit most people and stick to it, otherwise, you can find yourself going around in circles! 
• Event planning takes more time than you think - Plan well ahead, a good idea of a lead time would be 12 months for a larger event. Calendars book up so plenty of advance notice is always good, also consider some classmates may live further away. 
• Share the guest list - If guests give their permission then share updated names of those attending. If you have not seen each other in a long time people can feel reassured or persuaded to attend by seeing specific names. 
• Provide a contact list - With permission from guests consider putting together a list of contact details to share so people can stay in touch post-event. (Do bear in mind data protection law of course!) 
• Music – Do you want to play music, have a band or a DJ? Make sure you discuss this with venues to ensure they have licenses and or can help with equipment. 
• Old photos are always a good idea! Consider creating an area for old photos, make a display or a powerpoint, these are excellent conversation starters and get people reminiscing. 
• Consider name badges - If it's been a significant time since you all saw each other, consider name badges, it can help with those awkward moments! 
• Does the event have a dress code? Party dresses and full glam or more jeans and a nice top vibe? Letting guests know what to expect is always useful. 

To book an event on campus, catering and accommodation visit: https://www.cumbria.ac.uk/business/conferences/ choose your location to see the contact details. 

To get help with promoting your event to the alumni community or to book an informal campus tour, contact the Alumni Association alumni@cumbria.ac.uk  

Don’t forget to send in your reunion photos to the Alumni Association, we would love to see them! Alumni@cumbria.ac.uk