ISG Publishes Support Guidance for EventsAir Users

The University’s virtual digital events platform, EventsAIR, provides a comprehensive online solution for organising and hosting large-scale virtual events ranging from Career Fairs to Open Days. The platform translates the format and functionality of physical large gatherings to the online space by offering exhibition booths, live streaming and point-to-point text and video chat between attendees, exhibitors and organisers.

The online format of large events also provides the opportunity for technical issues to arise related to network connections, browsers, cameras and other computer-related concerns. While ISG facilitates user and supplier management of the service, the day-to-day support for the platform is conducted by the team hosting the event. To better support users of the platform, ISG recently attended the Graduate Job Fair in an on-the-ground live support role to learn more about common issues and user needs. 

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In response, ISG produced a series of checklists and guidance to proactively support EventsAIR events targeted toward Exhibitors, Presenters and Support Roles in preparation for upcoming events. The support documents are intended to proactively spot and resolve connection and compatibility issues for those presenting or exhibiting and reduce the demand of support on the day of the event. For example, a common issue is the inability to hold video calls due to issues with personal network connection, so the checklist encourages participants to run a network check in advance of the event and offer alternate solutions. In addition to the checklists, ISG produced an EventsAIR Technical Support Guide and OnAIR Live Support Quick Responses to answer common faults and issues with simple, consolidated reply options.

The support documents are currently published on a Wiki page available to the EventsAIR User Group. The User Group is comprised of early adopters and current users of the service including Career Services, Student Recruitment and Admissions (SRA), the Business School and Accommodation, Catering and Events (ACE). For members of the University interested in hosting a large-scale event through EventsAIR you can use EventsAIR with your own team or work with ACE to run the event on your behalf: Routes to using EventsAIR | The University of Edinburgh.

The checklists and guidelines are intended to be living documents, as the ISG team will continue to maintain and update them based on service upgrades and feedback from the User Group.