Wednesday 29th October saw the launch of the stunning new INTO building on the campus of the University of East Anglia. 
 
INTO, a private sector organisation which creates partnerships with universities round the country, provides international students with an academic and English language preparation for taking a degree course at the partner institution. At the heart of the programme, is the INTO Centre, a building which provides students with world class facilities from where they can embark on their higher education. 
 
The inaugural partnership with the University of East Anglia has now become a network that includes some of the UK’s finest universities, including Exeter, Newcastle, Manchester and Glasgow Caledonian, and their first in the USA with Oregon State University. INTO is expected to announce more partnerships in the coming months, both in the UK and worldwide. 
 
The building itself, designed and built by LSI, a London and Norwich based firm of architects, cost in the region of £30million and is comprised of teaching areas, laboratories, a library, restaurant and accommodation for 415 students. Whilst appearing functional from the outside, once inside, the stunning building brings to mind a Chinese lantern, with a myriad of curves and brightly coloured walls. 
 
The stunning launch event, celebrating the culmination of a huge on-campus building project, took over 6 months of planning, managed every step of the way by Sarah Softley of Softley Events. Having beaten off stiff competition from three other top event organisers in East Anglia, Sarah was delighted to work with the team from INTO.
 
“It has been a huge honour to work with INTO on this highly prestigious opening of their new Centre. The building itself is incredible and lends itself perfectly to a wonderfully visual and colourful event. Perfect for an evening with an international flavour, which was the theme of the night.”. 
 
Every aspect of the evening was designed around INTO’s global culture, with guests welcomed on arrival by a Brazilian Dancing Band and a glass of fruit punch in the INTO colours. Guests were then given a tour of the impressive facility, conducted by students, to ensure a truly authentic experience. 
 
Speeches were given by Bill McMillan, Vice Chancellor of the University of East Anglia and Andrew Colin, Chairman of INTO, before the building was officially opened by Professor David Eastwood, Chief Executive of The Higher Education Funding Council For England (HEFCE). 
 
Once officially opened, the party began, with a Chinese Dragon bursting from the wings and glitter bombs exploding from the ceiling, during which guests were deluged with champagne and canapés. Special visitors and agents for INTO were taken on to further evening entertainment in a vintage double decker bus. The celebrations for the centre’s staff went on long into the night, with guests enjoying high class fish and chips served in bamboo boats, prawns in Tempura batter and Eton mess, before dancing the night away with music provided by the Dynamite band. 
 
Sarah Softley said:
“This event has been a real meeting of minds, with the requirements of both INTO and the University of East Anglia to consider when planning and I have worked every step of the way with INTO’s Centre Director, Debbie Price and INTO’s Services Director, Property Team, Tina Whitfield. Obviously, with the building aimed at foreign students, I wanted to give the evening an international theme, whilst working with and complementing the building, which was of course the focus of the launch.”. 
 
With this in mind, Sarah worked hard with her suppliers, ensuring the caterers kept to an international theme with a British twist, and the florist perfectly complimented the building’s bright colours, with stunning displays including birds of paradise, garlands hanging from the glass balconies and over 400 gladioli adorning the facilities. 
 
Sarah Softley said:
“I was thrilled with the overall look and feel of the event, but most of all delighted that my clients were happy with the end result. Obviously, a lot of hard work and planning goes into an event such as this, which is very often over in a matter of hours, but for me, the most important aspect is a satisfied client.”.