Students put their events skills to the test
Published 20 May 2013
To increase their understanding of the events industry, and to gain hands-on experience, students on the International Event Management BA(Hons) course plan and host a variety of public events each year.
The students are responsible for designing an event concept, its testing, development and organisation. They also market the event, sell the tickets and ultimately delivering the event itself. This year the students, based at the University of Brighton’s School of Sport and Service Management will have run nine varied events, three of which were held in March:
Rising Arts Showcase
The Rising Arts Showcase was held at the Kings Centre in Eastbourne and was created by a team of five students calling themselves 'Reach Events'.
Their objective was to create an enjoyable and memorable experience for guests whilst fundraising for Great Ormond Street Hospital. The team completed an application, and were successful in obtaining free venue hire via the Kings Centre’s charity initiative. They also secured eight acts for the evening which included singer-song writers, bands, dancers and a magician.
The team's ticket sale expectations were exceeded with more than one hundred being sold for the event. They also exceeded their fundraising target of £100 seven fold.
Reach Event's team member, Holly Costello, commented on the experience of developing the concept, organising and selling tickets for the event:
"The most important lesson we learnt from organising our event was that regular communication with all stakeholders is vitally important, especially if they are not being paid for their involvement. Having a contingency plan that can be implemented at any stage is essential."
"We found organising our event challenging but hugely rewarding. Seeing it all come together successfully and everyone thoroughly enjoying themselves on the evening, made all the hard work worthwhile. Raising over £700 for Great Ormond Street Hospital was the icing on the cake for us!"
Blitz Party
Six students under the team name of ‘Synergy Events’ hosted a Blitz party at Eastbourne’s Territorial Army Centre. The students dressed the venue in 1940s style, provided a fish and chip supper and entertainment was provided by a Burlesque Troupe.
More than 40 guests travelled far and wide to get to the event including Mr Witcombe who had come all the way from Birmingham. He wrote of the event: “We had a great time thank you; I hope you all enjoyed it too and raised a few pounds as well. The party was well organized 10/10. Thanks again and we both hope you do brilliantly in your studies. “
The event raised in excess of £200 for their chosen charity, Help for Heroes, a fitting charity for the venue.
Major Keiron Francis of the Eastbourne Territorial Army was particularly impressed with the event and the students:
"I write to congratulate the University and the group of students called Synergy Events who organised and ran the Blitz party last Friday evening at the Territorial Army Centre in Eastbourne. Having organised several social and large scale public events during my military service, my team and I were very impressed with their planning, execution, attitude, enthusiasm and drive to the whole event. They left no stone uncovered and getting press coverage in the local newspapers as well as raising money for Help for Heroes was a great achievement.”
“I personally attended and enjoyed the evening's entertainment. I feel positive with these people entering the workplace in the next couple of years. The whole event has shown the University and its staff and students in a very positive light and I hope this may long be the case here in Eastbourne particularly.
Treasure Hunt
‘Zeitgeist Events’, comprising of six students, designed a concept for an event that was to deliver an educational treasure hunt in a school. The students contacted schools in the local area and finally decided that they would like to host their event at The Lindfield School in Hampden Park, Eastbourne. The Lindfield School provides secondary education for pupils with a statement of educational needs; they may have speech and language needs, autism or learning difficulties and may also have associated emotional and behavioral difficulties.
Zeitgest Events worked closely with the teaching staff at the school in order to develop an event that met the needs of the pupils, and was also educational and fun. Over 60 students took part in the Treasure Hunt and had to complete six activities in an hour to win the treasure; the activities included food tasting, a pair’s game and making Easter cards. Despite guiding so many children through the activities the event ran to time.
Julie Marks, the enrichment coordinator at the School had the following to say: “The students approached the school before Christmas with the idea for the Treasure Hunt. The meetings we had were very productive; they had lots of ideas of their own, but were open to my suggestions about how the activities could be adapted for our pupils. The whole group came to spend the day in school to observe the pupils and get to know their capabilities. They liaised closely with me at all times and had a brief meeting with the Head. I was impressed with their ideas, their commitment to the planning and the organisation on the day.”
“It is not always easy to differentiate activities for pupils with special needs, but keeping things short and simple worked very well. All our pupils really enjoyed the activities and feedback from staff was very positive on all aspects of the event. We would be happy to welcome them back anytime; I wish them all the best for the rest of their course."
Read more about events courses at the University of Brighton’s School of Sport and Service Management.