You may want to check the general FAQ also. There is also a sheet with lots of local information.
We want to start on March, Friday, 27th, 2009 in the afternoon and will end on March, Sunday 29rd, 2009 at noon. More exact information is contained in the program.
The conference will take place at the University of Manchester.
The University of Manchester on Google Maps
Overview map of the University of Manchester (we are in the Oxford Road area)
Address
When you check the rooms in the program you'll find names for the rooms consisting of the building and the room number inside that building. These are the buildings:
This is building 35 on the map.
It is also a placemark on the conference map.
On Friday we have rooms in the University Place and may be the Arthur Lewis Building. On Saturday and Sunday we have rooms in the Humanities Bridgeford Building.
Manchester Piccadilly station is a central transport hub in Manchester where lots of trains and busses arrive and depart. The University of Manchester is close to Manchester Piccadilly and thus easy to reach.
In this sheet we explain most routes by going from or to Manchester Piccadilly.
Manchester Piccadilly is also a placemark on the conference map.
The University of Manchester is close to Manchester Piccadilly, where regular trains link to all areas of the UK. Please check the University's maps and travel page for detailed information.
For general information please refer to the UK Border Agency. Depending on where you come from you may need a visa to enter UK. Please note that it can take some time to receive a visa. You may also want or need to contact the British embassy in your country.
Manchester airport is the destination of many cheap airlines (such as Ryanair, Easyjet) so it is probably easy to find a cheap flight. In addition you can fly to Liverpool or Birmingham which are quite close.
If you fly to Manchester airport, there are frequent direct train service that will take you to Manchester Piccadilly (20 minutes train ride). Please check http://www.trainline.co.uk for timetable and fare.
You can also take bus 43 (takes about 1 hour).
Estimated taxi fare: 25.00 GBP (one way).
If you fly to Liverpool, you can take bus 700 or Terravision bus to Manchester Sackville Street (about one hour bus ride).
If you fly to Liverpool, you can take bus Arriva Bus 700 which takes about 75 minutes and costs 6 GBP for a single ticket (10 GBP for a return ticket).
Or you use Terravision bus which will take about 50 minutes and costs 6 GBP for a single ticket (8 GBP for a return ticket).
Estimated taxi fare from Liverpool airport to Manchester City Centre: 40.00 GBP (one way).
If you fly to Birmingham, you can take train to Manchester Piccadilly (about 2 hour train ride).
Opodo is one of the best sites for cheap flights. There is also Cheap flights which lists cheap flights to the UK. Expedia is another site for cheap flights.
Please see the question What about (cheap) flights? for this information.
If you attended the COMMUNIA meeting in London just before the 4th Oekonux Conference you may want to visit http://www.worknets.org/wiki.cgi?FromLondonToManchester to check for others who want to do the same.
We recommend the Etap hotel in Manchester (directions, reservation). It is a cheap standard hotel. Some speakers are also hosted by this hotel so this will be a nice place to meet them during breakfast. It is also a placemark on the conference map.
The hotel sells rooms per night which can be occupied by up to three persons. To save money you may choose to share a room with another conference participant. We set up a Wiki page to organize sharing of rooms.
To go to Etap hotel, take metro from Manchester Piccadilly (direction to Eccles) to Exchange Quay or Salford Quays. The hotel is within 100m of Salford Quays metro stop. Fare: Single 2.00 GBP, Return: 2.20 GBP.
You may also consider Manchester Youth Hostel. However, this is probably more suitable for groups.
Unless someone is ready to organize it including finding an appropriate place for mass accommodation there will unfortunately be no mass accommodation. Sorry.
Contrary to many other conferences we don't require a conference fee, but we would appreciate if you would contribute to the funding of the conference with some amount (default value: 20EUR/GBP/US$).
In any case, however, please register yourself by using the registration form. We need that to get an organizational overview.
Please, please, register for the conference. Right now we have no idea how many people will come and you help us very much if you register using the registration form at http://www.oekonux-conference.org/registration.html .
There is no deadline for registration but if you register as soon as possible then we can plan better.
On Thursday, 26th we will meet at Dimitri's at 20:00 for a pre-conference dinner.
On Sunday, 29th we will meet at Dimitri's at 14:00 for a post-conference lunch.
Address:
Dimitri's is also a placemark on the conference map.
On Saturday we will offer an option to have Subway sandwiches for on-site lunch. Apart from that there will be no food on-site.
We do not know exactly yet whether and where there is Internet access.
Here is a wifi community map containing free and paid wifi hot spots.
Sorry but we were not able to organize a general get-together. However, we will tour Rusholme on Saturday evening. Locals say this would be a good choice anyway :-) .
The conference office will provide a visitor package with much information.
Sure. Take your choice from
Please refer to GMPTE for information on this topic.
Manchester offers a wide range of cuisine at various prices. There are plenty restaurants/cafes/pubs/convenience stores/supermarkets on Oxford Road and in the city centre that would suffice the diverse needs of visitors.
Plenty of curry houses (mainly Indian/Pakistani restaurants and take-away) in Rusholme (the Curry Mile)
Many pubs offer food all day long. E.g., Varsity, Waterhouse,
For more information and dining in the city centre, please visit the restaurant guide or restaurantsofmanchester.com.
The weather in Manchester in March is still chilly. It's strongly suggested to keep an umbrella at all times. Daytime average temperature is around 8 Celsius, evening temperature around 2 Celsius. You may want to check the weather information.
We prepared a sheet with lots of local information.
For all questions, wishes, suggestions, and complaints about the conference please contact the Oekonux project team.