Two teachers make the case for face-to-face events as the best forum for building community (and sharing sweet treats)
In March 2020, when the world was gripped by a pandemic, restrictions and prohibitions on travel drove many of us towards meeting online.
Five years on, the ubiquity of online events, in our experience, is being countered by an upsurge in the old-school desire for in-person networking meetings with more free-form social interactions.
Let there be cake (and coffee)
Reinstating in-person events
Aeons ago, in the pre-pandemic era, the Edinburgh chemistry community held regular face-to-face meetings for the purpose of networking, supporting and generating new ideas. In May 2025, we decided to build upon this success and reinstate the meetings.
Drawing upon our contacts, we held the event in the fabulous conference room at The Royal High School in Edinburgh. Another top-notch resource, our local section of the RSC (go find yours) came onboard with a guest speaker and were kind enough to support the event financially.
Not just a jolly
The benefits of networking offline
So, why should you put time and effort into arranging a face-to-face meeting? It is not just a jolly. Yet it’s the informal environment with the social lubricants of coffee and cake – which permit those water cooler moments that spark new connections and rekindle old – that highlights the juxtaposition between in-person and online events.
There are numerous benefits that we want to highlight, including generating support networks. This is particularly important for our younger or more inexperienced members of staff who can draw upon the cumulative hundreds of years of experience in the room.
In-person events are great opportunities to share resources and skills. For example, tech-savvy members can share knowledge of AI with those who have less experience.
And what do teachers themselves have to say? Quite a lot when plied with free coffee and cake.
Our May event was well attended, and 86% of attendees reported via the post-event feedback forms that they found the meeting to be of great help. In a follow-up survey of 53 teachers across Edinburgh secondary schools, 74% reported they prefer face-to-face network meetings to online meetings.
The image below, showing data gathered from the post-event feedback form, highlights which factors are most important to teachers when having a network meeting. The verdict is clear – in-person meetings work better.
Our May event was well attended, and 86% of attendees reported via the post-event feedback forms that they found the meeting to be of great help. In a follow-up survey of 53 teachers across Edinburgh secondary schools, 74% reported they prefer face-to-face network meetings to online meetings.
In our survey, we gave attendees the chance to rank what they seek from any networking meeting, online or in-person, in order of importance.
At the top of the ranking was having ‘a clear agenda of meaningful and informative topics’, closely followed by having ‘the chance to meet other teachers’. At the bottom? ‘Being able to attend meetings while at home’. The verdict was clear – in-person meetings work better.
How to set up a networking meeting
Firstly, take the time to consider dates and locations. You should avoid certain months due to assessments – for Scotland, this is March and April. Choose a location that’s as central as possible and which involves a fair travel time for all participants.
Next, generate a clear agenda. You can do this by gathering ideas via a questionnaire or that attendees have put forward at previous meetings.
Think about your invite list – do you want to involve the wider chemistry community? You can also consider local businesses, university outreach and RSC contacts pertinent to the scope of your agenda.
At the time of writing, the RSC offers an Empowerment fund targeting projects improving chemistry teaching and networking across schools: this might be something to consider for your event (rsc.li/46ld3EL). Approaching private sector organisations can also be fruitful, if the topic of the meeting is relevant to their business.
At the time of writing, the RSC offers an Empowerment fund targeting projects improving chemistry teaching and networking across schools: this might be something to consider for your event. Approaching private sector organisations can also be fruitful, if the topic of the meeting is relevant to their business.
Go in with the idea of building upon the meeting. Uncover the wealth of talent in your local community. Who wants to lead a workshop on areas where others would like assistance? Create working groups for projects. Share resources, equipment and skills across schools where possible. Does anyone have industry contacts? Are there any willing mentors for new teachers? And crucially, who is baking next time?
There is clearly a desire among teachers to return to face-to-face networking events and we hope that through reading this article, you will feel inspired to arrange the next meeting at your school – and maybe invite us!
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