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Birmingham lies at the heart of the UK, just 90 minutes from London. Making it the perfect location should you wish to extend your stay.
Birmingham’s transformation in recent years, into a dynamic, cosmopolitan, accessible and welcoming conference city has been truly remarkable. This, and its distinctive heritage, made Birmingham the logical choice as the host city for IUPS 2013.
Its enviable location at the centre of the UK for national travel, and with an airport linking over 100 destinations for international visitors, means that access to the city is never a problem. The city also boasts 27,000 beds of hotel accommodation, and with 1,000 shops within a 20 minute walk or 200 restaurants including three with , there is no surprise that it has the youngest population in Europe.
You are guaranteed superb science at IUPS 2013, but what does Birmingham have to offer socially? If you are interested in sport, the City is currently home to three premier league football teams and the world-class Edgbaston Cricket Ground. If culture and sightseeing is your thing, the Birmingham Hippodrome is the UK’s busiest theatre outside of the West End and home to two internationally acclaimed cultural institutions, Birmingham Royal Ballet and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and there are many galleries and museums to visit.
Continuing its industrious tradition, it is the home to 31,000 companies including world famous names such as Jaguar Land Rover and Cadbury. The city accounts for 25% of all British exports and is among the top 15 best cities in Europe to locate a business.
World-class facilities and institutions working closely with both education and business mean that Birmingham has one of the strongest research and development bases in Europe.
Birmingham has been the location for some of the most important inventions and scientific breakthroughs. Local inventions and notable firsts include: gas lighting, the magnetron, the first ever use of radiography in an operation and the UK's first ever hole-in-the-heart operation at Birmingham Children's Hospital.
Among the city's notable scientists and inventors are Matthew Boulton, proprietor of the Soho engineering works, Sir Francis Galton, originator of eugenics and important techniques in statistics, Joseph Priestley, chemist and radical and James Watt, engineer and inventor who is associated with the steam engine.