The NEC Group welcomed 30 event management undergraduates to its campus in Birmingham for its annual Event Week Live programme (4-8 March).
Students from Birmingham City University, Coventry University, and for the first time, University College Birmingham, were invited to meet, shadow, and network with industry professionals to give them invaluable experience for their studies.
Coinciding with National Careers Week, the focus for this year’s cohort was to gain experience, hearing talks from people in different disciplines across the NEC including event management, security, sales, and marketing, plus those from the industry’s Association of Event Venues and not-for-profit organisation The Power of Events – the place to go to learn about the full breadth of the UK events Industry.
In addition, the students were being given the opportunity to shadow event managers during one of the NEC’s biggest shows of the year – Crufts.
The week culminates in a networking lunch for the students, with the Group inviting promoters and event organisers alongside senior team members to engage with the students.
Michelle Baldwin, head of events at the NEC and co-ordinator of Event Week Live, now in its 13th year, said: “A key priority for us at the Group is to showcase the variety of careers in live events and to generate career pathways for those in the region. Being able to offer students this experience means a lot to me – seeing their growth in the week that they spend with us is just fantastic and thereafter for our ‘Elite’ students we continue to mentor for another 12 months.”
Kathryn Hayat, head of department (Hospitality & Tourism) at UCB, said: “The excitement among our Events Management students about Event Week Live has created such a buzz on campus! The week promises to be a one-of-a-kind experience for students, with many longer-term benefits to their careers as future event managers. We look forward to offering this to more students next year.”
