CEMS Annual Events & MIM Graduation Ceremony

Frequently Asked Questions

About the CEMS events

Who can attend the CEMS Annual Events and Graduation Ceremony activities?

CEMS stakeholder groups are encouraged to attend the CEMS Governance Meetings.

Annual Meetings: Several governance meetings are open only to respective stakeholders (Deans, Executive Councillors, Management Council, Programme Managers, Communication Directors and Alumni Relations Managers, Alumni representatives, Language Advisory Committee and Student Board). To register for CEMS Annual Events 2023, see please “How do I register” below.

CEMS MIM Graduation Activities: We encourage all our graduands from the class year 2023 to join in the Graduation activities. Places at some events are limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis.

The CEMS Alumni Community is welcome to attend specific alumni events. 

Register early to secure places for you and your guest(s).


About registration

How do I register?

CEMS community representatives, graduands and alumni: To register, please use the login email that you use for your www.cems.org account. Individual emails are needed for everyone – no group emails can be used. 
To register, click on Register Here directly from your invitation email. If your email is not recognised, please click on 'Sign in' on the upper right corner of the page and follow the steps to register. If you have any issues, send an email to annualevents@cems.org.

Guests of CEMS community representatives: Some events are open to guests of our CEMS Community Representatives. All guests must register with an individual email address via the registration portal. Please email any queries to annualevents@cems.org.

Guests of Graduands: Graduands must register their guest(s) as part of their own registration and all guests will require an individual email address. We recommended that graduands register their guests at the time of booking their own attendance.

To all attendees of the CEMS Annual Events & Graduation Ceremony 2023: Some events are restricted to specific community groups. You will be able to access events which you are eligible to attend. If you do not see an event or meeting that you need to attend, please contact us at annualevents@cems.org.

If you don’t possess a login and/or password for www.cems.org, please request access by emailing annualevents@cems.org.

Registration closes for all participating members of the CEMS community on Thursday 16 November. For late registration requests, please contact annualevents@cems.org. Please note that places are limited and are available on a first come, first served basis.
Graduands & Guests Early-Bird: Please register by Friday 8 September to take advantage of the early-bird rate (-10%).
Only registrations with confirmed payments by the early-bird deadline will be accepted. Any payments made after this deadline will revert to the full price of category and/or event.

If you register but are unable to attend due to non-completion of the MIM academic components, a 100% refund of fees paid for graduands and guests will be granted. This will incur a handling fee of €15 [EUR].
Although the registration deadline for graduands is Thursday 16 November, places for all events are limited and cannot be guaranteed at this late date. We recommend that you book as early as possible to secure places for you and your guests.

For late registration requests, please contact annualevents@cems.org.

The payment deadline is Thursday 16 November. The organising committee request payment at the time of registration or before the deadline. Non-payment at the deadline may indicate that you will not attend. The system will automatically delete non-confirmed registrations.
Due to the large numbers expected and to provide the best possible experience to all our guests, the hosting school must provide final numbers to venues in good time before the start of events. Therefore, we must put in place registration deadlines and payment validations. Thank you for your understanding.
If you would like to register, but require more time for payment, email us at annualevents@cems.org.
In cases of no-shows, no refund will be made.

Payment of registration and bank details:
Payment can be made by:
1. Bank transfer in Euros (only payments above €200 can be made by bank transfer)
2. Credit card – Visa or MasterCard
All prices are quoted in Euros, payment in any other currency will not be accepted.
Bank transfer instructions:
Bank charges, if any, will be incurred by the payment sender.

Important notice: If the payment source is not referenced adequately, we will have problems identifying the payer. This may cause your registration not to be validated before the payment deadline. It is therefore imperative that you clearly state your NAME as well as the reference “CEMS Annual Events 2023” on your bank transfer form.
If payment is made for more than one person or covering several participants per school or company, please list all the names of individual participants.
All registered guests are required to send their bank remittance receipt to annualevents@cems.org.

Yes, you can add guests or events to your existing programme by clicking on 'Add an additional event' in your confirmation email before Thursday 16 November.
Please note that the 10% early-bird discount expires on Friday 8 September and that event places are limited and available on a first come, first served, basis.

Cancellations must be confirmed in writing by email to annualevents@cems.org before Thursday 16 November. The following cut off dates will be applied:
• Cancellations made before Thursday 16 November - 100% refund will be granted.
• After this date, no refunds will be made.
• Please note that a handling fee of €15 will be retained from each cancellation order.

Cancelling hotel bookings
Please diarise the cancellation terms for your chosen hotel. The CEMS Organising Committee do not take any responsibility for booking or managing disputes with hotels.

We can not open places to current students at this time because of high numbers of participants and we must prioritise our Graduands and their guests first. Any available places, either for the Ceremony or the Parties, will be opened at the closing of registrations on November 16.  However this is not guaranteed.

Each graduand can bring two (2) guests to the graduation activities on Saturday 9 December.
Graduands may bring different guests than those attending the Ceremony and Reception to the Graduation Party on Saturday 9 December; this is limited to two (2) guests. If you would like to bring different guests to the Graduation Party on Saturday 9 December, please provide their names in your registration form. Please note, in this case, these guests may not attend the Ceremony and Reception.
Each graduand can bring one (1) guest to the Pre-Graduation Party on Friday 8 December.

If at the registration deadline, places for events are still available, extra guests can be added. To enquire, please email annualevents@cems.org after Thursday 16 November. Please note that extra places are not guaranteed.

We do not have a waiting list for bringing extra guests to the graduation activities. Please note that all graduation activities are limited and are available on a first come, first served, basis.

Graduands: Smart formal, including:
- Tuxedo, national costume, or a formal dark suit and tie.
- Long dress, smart suit, or a formal cocktail-length dress.

Guests: Formal dress is preferred. 

For all other events, there is no stated dress code.

The CEMS MIM Graduation is a special moment for graduands and their guests. The ceremony will include speeches and entertainment, and most importantly, an opportunity to applaud each graduand receiving their diploma.
After the ceremony, our newly graduated alumni and guests are invited to join the CEMS community for a welcome drink, followed by a formal dinner and a party.

The size of the event requires a special venue at a time when demand for events in London (during the festive period) is extremely high. Costs have been negotiated to provide the best possible rate for all participants, while providing an authentic London experience
Guests attending the Graduation Ceremony and evening activities on Saturday 9 December can participate in the celebrations for a small fee. The cost of the dinner includes food and drinks and a participative contribution to the overall organisation. Participation fees can be viewed on the registration platform.

CEMS community representatives: Made up of colleagues who contribute to the governance and delivery of the CEMS Global Alliance, including Deans, Executive Councillors, Management Council, Programme Managers, Communication Directors and Alumni Relations Managers, Alumni representatives, Language Advisory Committee and Student Board.
Graduands: A person who is about to receive their academic degree.
Guests of graduands: Family and friends of the graduand.

About your trip

Do I need a visa to travel to London?

You may need a visa to travel to London, so check the regulations and apply in good time if a visa is required. Visit the official UK government website: https://www.gov.uk/apply-to-come-to-the-uk.

Your visa invitation letter can only be accessed after your registration. Once you register, your visa invitation letter will be autogenerated in a downloadable form. Download this letter and use it for your visa application letter. Please register early so that you have enough time for the visa to be processed before you arrive in London.

This year’s host, The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), has negotiated preferential rates at the hotels listed on the accommodation page. Hotels have been chosen for their proximity to the main venues, the LSE Campus (for governance meetings) and ExCel London (for the CEMS MIM Graduation activities).
London is very busy throughout December in the run-up to Christmas and we recommend you book your hotel accommodation early to secure the preferential rates that have been negotiated.

Accommodation for the Annual Events participants
CEMS community representatives attending the Annual Events programme are encouraged to stay at the hotels located in WC2 (Holiday Inn Bloomsbury, Doubletree by Hilton West End and the Leonardo Royal Hotel St Paul’s). Browse hotels for Annual Events participants.

Accommodation for graduands and their guests
Browse hotels for graduands and guests with preferential rates located at or close to ExCel London.

London has six major airports. Check out the links below for the transport information from airports to central London.
Fastest journey times to central London:
London Heathrow: 15 minutes from terminals 2 and 3 to Paddington Station via Heathrow Express.           
London Gatwick: 30 minutes to Victoria Station via Gatwick Express.
London Stansted: 47 minutes to London Liverpool Street Station via Stansted Express.
London City: 22 minutes to Bank Station via Docklands Light Railway.
London Luton: 40 minutes (average) to several London stations via Thameslink.
London Southend: 52 minutes to London Liverpool Street Station via Greater Anglia.

The CEMS MIM Graduation Ceremony will take place in the ICC Auditorium at ExCel London. The nearest station is Prince Regent (Docklands Light Railway - DLR). As the venue is large, we strongly recommend that you exit at Prince Regent (DLR) otherwise, you will have a long walk through the building. If you are travelling on the Elizabeth Line, change onto the DLR at Custom House.

The average temperatures in London during December ranges from 4°C to 8°C, and rain or snow is likely. For more detailed information about the weather in London, check  London (Greater London) weather - Met Office. Umbrellas are recommended!