The Events Management students, who must complete a practical assessment in their final year, were able to safely organise and present a live event featuring music and a quiz while abiding to government restrictions.

Online event viewership has skyrocketed since the advent of the coronavirus pandemic, with statistics showing that cultural events and performances specially created for online viewing are the most popular of this format.

This means students looking to advance into the professional events industry must be flexible and innovative, and such attributes were shown in abundance when the Event Management live event titled AirBeds took place in late 2020.

Klaudia Mrozek, one of the final year students who has shown great versatility in managing to adapt to an era of online events, believes Airbeds was a good opportunity to show off her talents. She said:

“Running an online event during such difficult times was an excellent opportunity to improve my skills and learn how to overcome issues while delivering a live event.

“Even though the process was very challenging, I appreciate that the University made it possible for us to have a practical experience of event planning despite the circumstances.”

Proceeds from Airbeds went towards Essex & Herts Air Ambulance making it a charitable event as well as an entertaining one.

Iiy Daley, project manager of Airbeds, says she enjoyed working alongside her fellow students to produce a successful event. She said:

“Being able to work with a team of innovative individuals made the project really exciting and fun to manage.

“The team displayed resilience in our collaborative approach to having regular meetings, daily group chats and occasional phone calls where necessary.

“We adopted an online marketing approach in sourcing our viewers through our social media contacts and the Beds SU website.

“Given the limited time available to plan and execute the event, I am so proud that we were able to meet complex objectives due to the team members’ adaptability.”

Dr Violet Cuffy, Senior Lecturer in Tourism and Events Management, hosted the latest online Beds Talks event earlier in the year. She is proud to have seen how the students have adapted quickly to the current events climate. She said:

“It was very pleasing to see our students adapt quickly to the current era and adjust to online learning even for their Live Events Project.

“Their flexibility and perseverance shined through and they delivered a great event despite the odds.”

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Get information on studying Events Management at the University of Bedfordshire - see BA (Hons) Business Administration (Events Management)