The staff at UT Conferences is making last-minute preparations for Destination ImagiNation’s Global Finals event, which runs Tuesday – Friday, May 26 – 29, and will utilize campus residence halls, the Tennessee Recreation Center for Students (TRECS), Thompson-Boling Arena, the Knoxville Convention Center and other venues.
Students will begin arriving on campus Monday, May 24, for event registration at TRECS.
UT Conferences has prepared an Employee Survival Guide to inform UT faculty and staff about the week’s activities. View the Employee Survival Guide here.
Global Finals brings together 16,000 participants from across the U.S. and more than 38 countries for teams to showcase their solutions to Destination ImagiNation’s team challenges.
“We’re thrilled about this year’s Global Finals,” said Chuck Cadle, CEO of Destination ImagiNation. “This is the 10th year we’ve held the event at the University of Tennessee and we can’t thank the UT Conferences staff enough for their help in holding this event.
“Global Finals is the annual culmination of the Destination ImagiNation program, and we’re all very excited to see the many creative ways teams have solved our challenges,” Cadle added.
Past research studies have shown that the Destination ImagiNation event has an annual economic impact of $20 to $25 million on the Knoxville area.
Destination ImagiNation Inc. is a non-profit organization that provides educational programs for students to learn and experience creativity, teamwork and problem solving.
The program is offered primarily in after-school settings, in which students work in teams to solve mind-bending challenges and present their solutions at tournaments.
Teams are tested to think on their feet, work together and devise original solutions that satisfy the requirements of the challenges. Participants gain more than just basic knowledge and skills — they learn to unleash their imaginations and take unique approaches to problem solving.
UT Conferences and the UT Conference Center provide professional meeting management services, conference facilities and dining services to businesses, professional groups and educational meetings for the university as well as for the private sector. For more information call 974-0250.