National commendation for Events Management students

Page published: 10 March 2011

Events Management students from BU were honoured by the UK's leading outdoor events trade association

A group of Events Management students from BU have been honoured by the UK's leading outdoor events trade association.

Seven students from the School of Tourism were runners up at the National Outdoor Events Association's annual convention last month in the 'Small Event of the Year Award' category for an event they staged for Macmillan Caring Locally.

The National Outdoor Events Association (NOEA) is the UK's leading outdoor events trade association and this award is given in recognition of the outstanding work done by organisers in staging events with less than 2,000 people, with a community focus.

With the objective of raising awareness for the Macmillan Caring Locally brand, the BU group pitched against other student groups in a Dragon's Den style event to secure the opportunity to act as consultants on the project.

Having secured the bid, the group came up with a novel idea of hiring a traditional red Routemaster bus, and parking it in the middle of Saxon Square in Christchurch on a busy Saturday morning. This aimed to gain maximum profile for the charity, which is close to where Macmillan Caring Locally is based. They created the strap line 'Jump on board with Macmillan Caring Locally'.

The students were able to gain coverage in the Daily Echo, raised £500 from their fundraising efforts, and did it all through free sponsorships with local business and organisations.

Neil Williams, the Macmillan Caring Locally, expressed his gratitude and positive feedback for the group. He said: "They were a joy to work with. I didn't need to manage them at all. They worked as a very efficient team and kept me updated on their plans. I would not have any hesitation in employing any of them."

Lecturer in Events Management Dr Dorothy Fox said: "We are really pleased that the students have received national recognition for their event. They were only in their second year of their degree programme, so this is a major achievement, reflecting their talent and the hard work and dedication of all their tutors."