Sydenham International Conferencefor Students and Young Doctors

GENERAL INFORMATIONConference dates

SYD also includes attendance at CMF’s national Students Conference, where delegates will join about 350 medical students from across the UK and Ireland, for the weekend. The itinerary for the week is outlined below:

Sunday 8th February Arrival

Monday 9th FebruaryTuesday 10th FebruaryWednesday 11h FebruaryThursday 12th FebruaryFriday 13th February

Saturday 14th FebruarySunday 15th FebruaryMonday 16th February Suggested Departure

Visas

Once places at the conference have been allocated, those delegates that require a visa for entry to the UK will be sent a formal Letter of Invitation. If you are unsure whether you need a visa, please refer to the following website: www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas-immigration/do-you-need-a-visa/

An electronic pdf version of the Letter of Invitation will be emailed to the delegates before the original is sent to ensure that all personal details are correct before it is sent to avoid any mistakes.

As the original letter of invitation will be sent via the post, it is essential that an accurate and full address is given on application forms. If you are attending from countries in Central Asia in particular and live in a smaller town, we advise that you give us a forwarding address in a larger city if possible as the postal service is more reliable. We expect that it may take up to 14 days to arrive, however if you do not receive the invitation letter after this time please let us know as soon as possible.

We advise that you apply for your visa as soon as you receive the invitation letter, in order to allow maximum time for processing your application. According to the advice of the home office, an invitation letter should be sent to the visitor, who should produce it as requested by the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO)/Immigration Officer (IO). Letters are not sent directly by CMF to the Embassy. You should apply for a business visa, not a student visa.

Please do not book flights until your visa has been granted; if applications for visas are unsuccessful, applicants do not get their money reimbursed.

Flights

Delegates are responsible for booking and funding their own flights. Please however do not book your flights until you have received confirmation that you have been allocated a place. If you require a visa to attend, please do not book your flights until you have successfully been granted your visa.

SYDENHAM INTERNATIONAL

8th-13th February 2015CMF Office, London

CMF STUDENT CONFERENCE

13th-15th February 2015Swanwick, Derbyshire

Sydenham International Conferencefor Students and Young Doctors

GENERAL INFORMATIONThe conference officially begins with Sunday evening service at St Helen’s, Bishopsgate, at 6pm on Sunday 8th February. Delegates should therefore arrive on the morning or afternoon of Sunday 8th February and accommodation will be provided from the Sunday night onwards.

Transport will be provided to travel between the two conferences – departing from London on Friday afternoon, and returning to London at approximately 8.30pm on Sunday 15 th. We therefore advise that you book your return flights on the morning of Monday 16th and accommodation will be provided for on the Sunday evening.

Please take into consideration when booking your flights, that on average it can take up to 2 hours to travel from the airport into central London, after clearing customs. If you are considering flights that are due to arrive in the UK after 10pm, or flights departing from the UK before 8am, please be aware that there may be fewer connecting trains/buses at these times, and we would advise not to travel in the night alone unless unavoidable.

London travel information

There are good transport connections from all London airports to central London, where the CMF office and the accommodation are situated. Please make your way straight to the accommodation on arrival. We assume that delegates would be able to make their way independently.

From Stansted or Luton:

We suggest you take the ‘Easybus’ to Baker Street (the final stop – about 1 hour 15 minute journey). From there take Underground, using the Jubilee line (grey) southbound to London Bridge Station. From here the hostel accommodation is a 2 minute walk. Follow the signs for ‘Borough High Street’ on leaving the Underground station. Total journey time is on average 1 hour 45 minutes.

Easybus is cheapest if booked online in advance at www.easybus.co.uk. Tickets can be bought from £4 return if you book, but £20 return if you pay on the bus.

From Heathrow:

Please use London underground (signposted in all 5 terminals) - Piccadilly line (dark blue) to Green Park and then change to the Jubilee line (grey) Eastbound and get off at London Bridge Station. The hostel accommodation is only a 2 minute walk away – follow the signs for ‘Borough High Street’ on leaving the station. Underground (tube) tickets can be bought readily at the station. Total estimated journey time is 1 hour 15 minutes.

From Gatwick:

Please take the train from Gatwick airport to London Bridge Station. Some trains are direct, for others you need to change at East Croydon – please ask station staff. Do NOT use Gatwick Express trains unless you have the correct ticket for them (which is more expensive than the others). From here the hostel accommodation is only a 2 minute walk – follow signs to Borough High Street. Total estimated journey time is 40 minutes.

From London City Airport

Take the Docklands Light Railway (DLR – Light green) to Canning Town Underground Station. Then take the Jubilee line (grey) to London Bridge Station. Total estimated journey time is 40 minutes.

The Transport for London website (www.tfl.gov.uk/) is extremely useful when planning journeys around London. This has Underground Maps and also has a ‘journey planner’ function. Alternatively the following website gives train times from Gatwick / Luton / Stansted Airports that are not by underground: www.nationalrail.co.uk

Buying and using an Oyster Card for travel on the Underground

Sydenham International Conferencefor Students and Young Doctors

GENERAL INFORMATIONAn Oyster card is an easy way to pay for travel on the London Underground, and it is significantly cheaper than buying paper tickets! You can buy an oyster card from machines with a yellow card reader (see right), or from a ticket booth at the station. You cannot buy Oyster Cards from Gatwick, Luton or Stansted so you will need to buy a paper ticket into central London and then buy an Oyster Card once you are there.

The card costs £5 refundable deposit and you can then put money on it for your travel. CMF will pay for any travel associated with the conference. You will be expected to pay for any journeys you make in addition to those that are part of the conference (e.g. if you go shopping in your free time). When you buy your Oyster card, please put £25 credit on it if you are coming from Heathrow, or £20 credit if you travel from another airport.

To get your deposit back, you can return your Oyster card to any manned ticket booth at any London Underground station, including at Heathrow. If you are travelling to Gatwick, Luton or Stansted then you must return your Oyster card before leaving central London.

Images and videos to help you understand how to use the Oyster Card can be found here: http://oystercard.webege.com/index.htm

Accommodation

The hostel is called St Christopher’s Inn. The address is:

161-165 Borough High StreetSouthwarkLondonUnited KingdomSE1 1HR

Accommodation will be provided from Sunday 8th February until and including the night of Sunday 15th February. If you are planning to extend their stay beyond these dates, you will have to arrange your own accommodation for the extra nights.

You can check-in to the accommodation from 2pm on Sunday 8th February, or if you arrive earlier than that you are allowed to leave your luggage in a secure room. The accommodation will be in dormitories, with shared bathroom facilities and breakfast provided. Please note that it is a fairly basic youth hostel. A full list of facilities provided can be found at: www.st-christophers.co.uk/london-hostels/london/london-bridge/facilities

Breakfast is provided each morning at the hostel. Pillows and bedding are provided, but towels are not. Please make sure you bring your own towel. Note also that weather in London is unpredictable. February is usually cool (5-10C), and fairly often wet. Please bring appropriate clothing.

Money

CMF will cover all of your costs associated with the conference when you are in the UK. However if you want to bring your own money to spend please do so. There will be some space in the programme to visit London’s shops if you wish (but be warned it isn’t cheap!).

ATMs are easy to find and usually accept Visa / Mastercard etc. If you prefer to bring cash, it is easy to exchange US dollars / Euros for UK pounds – currently a pound is worth about $1.60, or €1.20. It is possible to exchange other currencies also, though you may get a less good rate. Please note that the UK does NOT use the Euro.

Sydenham International Conferencefor Students and Young Doctors

GENERAL INFORMATIONYou will be given a pack of books at the conference, and there will be lots of opportunities to buy books throughout SYD and the national Student Conference. It is a good idea to leave some room in your bags for this so you don’t need to pay for the extra weight on your way home.

Sunday evening, 8th February

For those delegates who have arrived, we will attend a local evangelical church on the evening of Sunday 8th. We will meet outside St Christopher’s Inn Pub at 5.30pm to walk over to St Helen’s Bishopsgate Church for their evening service. If you arrive later than this you are still welcome to join but will have to make your own way there. After the service, we will join the students at St Helen’s for supper. We recognise however that many of you will be too tired to come to the service; feel free to go straight to the hostel instead!

More information about the church and its location can be found at: http://www.st-helens.org.uk/about/contact-information?ref=nav

Contact information

The address of the CMF office (where the conference will be held) is: 6 Marshalsea RoadLondon SE1 1HL

Useful contact telephone numbers:

Giles Cattermole: 07570 582669 CMF Office: 020 72349660

St Helen’s Church, Bishopgate

London Bridge Rail and Underground Station

St Christopher’s Inn

CMF Office: 6 Marshalsea Road,SE1 1HL