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| Year : 2015 | Volume
: 25
| Issue : 3 | Page : 325-326 |
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| The Stall Grid Contest |
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Shyamkumar Nidugala Keshava, Sridhar Gibikote
Department of Radiology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India
Click here for correspondence address and email
| Date of Web Publication | 24-Jul-2015 |
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How to cite this article:
Keshava SN, Gibikote S. The Stall Grid Contest. Indian J Radiol Imaging 2015;25:325-6 |
Sir,
We wish to share a managerial technique that we newly incorporated during the recent radiology conference organized by the Department of Radiology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India, namely, the Stall Grid Contest. [1],[2] This was carried out first at the 66 th Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry Annual Indian Radiological and Imaging Association (IRIA) Conference in December 2013, and subsequently at the XIIth Annual Conference of Indian Society of Paediatric Radiology (ISPR) in September 2014. "Stall" represents medical exhibition stalls and "grid," a term familiar to radiologists, indicates the arrangement of stalls. The aim of the contest was to improve interaction between the delegates and the personnel manning the stalls. Such interaction helps each party to get to know the other and gives a window of opportunity to get to know medical companies and their products.
Each registered candidate of the conference was given a sheet [Figure 1] along with the registration kit. A notice was displayed near the registration desk as well as mentioned in the conference website with a sample format. One side of the A4 size sheet contained the contact details of the candidate and a grid containing multiple squares, each filled with a stall number and the emblem of the company. The rules of the contest were simple: The candidate had to collect an acknowledgement (a seal or stamp) from the respective stalls. The other side of the sheet contained the arrangement of stalls, which also served as a map. The grids with the maximum number of seals/stamps were included in a lucky draw with a prize (which was an ipad Mini on both events), sponsored by the organizing committee. | Figure 1: Front and back pages of the stall grid contest conducted during the 66th Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry Annual IRIA Conference in 2013
Click here to view |
When this was conducted for the first time (66 th Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry Annual IRIA Conference, December 2013), nearly 130 of the total 400 delegates had completed the entire grid; which meant that they had visited all 26 stalls. There were nearly 200 partially filled forms where the candidates had visited more than 15 stalls. The winner received an iPad mini during the valedictory program. The feedback from our trade partners who had set up the stalls was very positive. They acknowledged that the attendance was the highest at the stalls for a State conference, and in fact, their representatives needed to be available in the stalls throughout the conference. Our trade partners very much wanted a similar contest to be held at the second event (ISPR 2014) too. After this, we noticed stall grid contests being organized in other conferences. [3],[4]
We believe this initiative to be a "win-win" opportunity for delegates and companies alike. The oft-heard complaint of delegates not visiting the stalls can be easily overcome by introducing such methods of participation. Increased interaction would encourage delegates and trade partners in participating in future events.
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Correspondence Address:
Shyamkumar Nidugala Keshava
Department of Radiology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0971-3026.161472
[Figure 1] |
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