Event Design and Management MA

Program Overview

Event Design and Management MA

Overview

The Event Design and Management MA is a postgraduate course that focuses on the strategic development, design, and logistical organization of various types of events. The course is designed for individuals who want to enter or make further progress in management-level careers in the fast-expanding field of event management.

Course Structure

The course consists of core and option modules, which provide students with a comprehensive understanding of event management principles, practices, and strategies.

Core Modules

• Research Consultancy Project: Enables students to embark on an extended period of detailed and individual study on a tourism or events topic with the guidance of a supervisor.
• Event Experience Design: Provides students with the skills and knowledge needed to create memorable experiences that captivate audiences and achieve sustainable organizational goals.
• Leadership for Event Professionals: Equips students with a deep understanding of the roles, responsibilities, and skills required to be a successful event leader.
• Rethinking Events: Introduces students to the latest ideas about the 'power' of events and how they can be used to achieve wider personal, community, and societal objectives.

Option Modules

• Live Event Project Management: Focuses on the practical delivery of an event, considering how the staging of an event can achieve a range of business objectives.
• Global Events: Provides students with in-depth real-world and theoretical knowledge of global event management, focusing on sports events and cultural festivals that have a global status.
• Crisis Management and Resilience for Tourism and Events: Offers students a comprehensive understanding of crisis management principles and resilience strategies.
• Designing Event Spaces and Places: Draws on the analysis of events using place-based and urban design perspectives, helping students understand how events affect spaces/places and how spaces/places affect events.
• The Social and Cultural Value of Community Events: Explores how events can build community networks, relationships, and opportunities, and how they can contribute to the places and people that are engaged in their production and consumption.
• Digital Marketing and Innovation: Introduces students to the contemporary digital marketing environment, considering a range of innovative and disruptive approaches to digital marketing communications.
• Entrepreneurial Mindset and Opportunities Creation: Introduces students to the concepts of entrepreneurship and the role of the entrepreneurial mind-set, exploring important entrepreneurial characteristics associated with successful entrepreneurial behavior and process.
• Public Relations and Reputation Management: Considers public relations' role in marketing and corporate communications for both short and long-term brand reputation building.
• Social Media and Content Marketing: Focuses on the creation of optimized content for social media and content marketing, including engaging audiences and incentivizing conversion.

Entry Requirements

• A minimum of a lower second-class honors degree (2:2) or equivalent work experience in the conference or events industry.
• If the first language is not English, students should have an IELTS 6.5 with at least 6.5 in writing and no element below 6.0.
• Applicants are required to submit one academic reference.

Fees and Funding

• UK tuition fee: £1,225 (price per 20-credit module)
• International tuition fee: £1,985 (price per 20-credit module)
• Alumni discount: Available for eligible students
• Funding: Various funding schemes available, including Student Finance England (SFE) and scholarships

Research Groups

• Place and Experience Research Group

Supporting You

• Study support: Workshops, 1-2-1 support, and online resources to help improve academic and research skills
• Personal tutors: Support students in fulfilling their academic and personal potential
• Student advice team: Provide specialist advice on a range of issues, including funding, benefits, and visas
• Extra-curricular activities: Volunteering opportunities, sports and fitness activities, student events, and more

Facilities

• The Learning Platform
• Lecture theatres
• Library
• Bloomberg Financial Market Suite
• Digital Marketing Lab
• Meeting spaces
• Cafe

Course Location

• Marylebone Campus

Related Courses

• Event Design and Management MA (1 year)
• Tourism Management MA (2 years)
• Tourism Management MA (1 year)

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

This MA program in Event Design and Management is specifically designed for individuals seeking to enter or advance their careers in the rapidly growing field of event management. The program emphasizes the strategic development, design, and logistical organization of diverse event types. It explores how events and conferences contribute to community enrichment and enhance communication in business, politics, and professional life.

Objectives:

• To equip students with the skills and knowledge to work in corporate events, conferences, exhibitions, trade shows, and related event spaces within venues or hotel destinations for business.
• To prepare students for a wide range of careers, such as roles in the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions space (MICE), large-scale events, music festivals, community events, live shows, and other public gatherings.

Outline:

Course Structure:

• Core Modules:
• Dissertation:
This module allows students to choose a subject of interest and conduct in-depth research, culminating in a comprehensive piece of work offering new insights and understanding relevant to tourism.
• Event Concept and Design: This module introduces event design at the postgraduate level, addressing key theoretical concepts and management issues related to event development across various experience environments.
Students gain a comprehensive understanding of the holistic process of designing effective and engaging events that meet both business and leisure demands and supplier requirements.
• Event Planning and Management: This module focuses on the practical aspects of event management, covering project management, budgeting, evaluation, ROI measurement, volunteer management, supplier negotiation, contemporary health & safety issues, and crisis management.
It also explores the use of social media, technology, and events as a marketing tool.
• Event Strategy: This module prepares students to analyze the complex environment, understand client needs, and articulate the role of events in delivering sustainable business results.
It emphasizes the strategic use of events by organizations in the private, public, and third sectors.
• Research and Communication Skills: This module develops essential communication and research skills for academic life and professional practice.
It provides guidance on communicating analytically and creatively in written, digital, oral, and visual forms. Students also develop key skills for successful research project completion, professional problem-solving, and decision-making.
• Option Modules:
It evaluates the economic and commercial performance of airline and airport operators and examines the broader impacts of air travel on the economy and environment.
• Delivering the Event Experience: This module focuses on the strategic design and operational delivery of events, developing problem-solving and practical skills for working within a team to successfully stage events that meet strategic objectives.
• Global Festivals and Events: This module uses global events as examples to understand the strategic management of sports events and cultural festivals.
It analyzes the production and consumption of events internationally, examining the influence of globalization and the relationship between events and host cities.
• Professional Practice: This module introduces strategic management and develops professional skills through industry practice via a team consultancy project or a research work placement in the tourism and/or events industry.
Students examine a current issue on behalf of their industry partner, building on existing knowledge and reflecting on and transforming their professional skills.
• Responsible Management for Tourism and Events: This module explores the principles of responsible practice in event and tourism management, considering the contexts for sustainable practice from both industry and stakeholder perspectives.
It addresses responsible business practice, improving the quality of life of host communities, conserving the local environment and culture, and sustainable design.

Course Schedule:

• Part-time day/evening: September 2024 and September 2025
• Full-time: September 2024 and September 2025

Duration:

2 years

Assessment:

• Practical: Presentations, podcasts, blogs
• Coursework: Essays, in-class tests, portfolios, dissertation

Teaching:

• Teaching Methods: Lectures, seminars, workshops, problem-based and blended learning, practical application
• Faculty: Experienced academics and industry practitioners
• Unique Approaches:
• Industry links: The program has a network of local professionals and international connections to prepare students for careers in tourism experiences and events.
• Central London location: Students study in the heart of London, one of the world's leading events destinations, with numerous venues on their doorstep.
• Study visits and field trips: The program includes visits to London event venues, visitor attractions, and cultural sites, as well as a residential field trip to a UK destination to enhance learning and industry knowledge.

Careers:

• Potential Career Paths:
• Conference centre manager
• Event business owner
• Event destination manager
• Event marketing executive
• Event media/PR executive
• Event organiser
• Event project manager
• Event risk manager
• Event sales manager
• Opportunities:
• Corporate events
• Conferences
• Exhibitions
• Trade shows
• Association events
• Venues
• Hotel destinations for business, leisure, and tourism
• Public and third sectors
• Freelance work
• Starting own businesses
• Outcomes:
• Graduates are equipped with the skills and knowledge to work in a diverse range of event management careers in Britain and internationally.

Other:

• Climate Action Statement: The course promotes understanding essential to accelerate climate action in the tourism and events sector.
It equips students with the knowledge, skills, and practical responses to mitigate the risks of ecological and social disruptions and to share their learning when entering employment.
• Affiliations: The program is affiliated with the following education and research associations:
• Association of Event Management Education (AEME)
• Association for Tourism in Higher Education (ATHE)
• Association for Tourism and Leisure Education and Research (ATLAS)
• British Arts Festivals Association
• Geographies of Leisure and Tourism Research Group (GLTRG)
• National Outdoor Events Association
• Tourism Management Institute (TMI)
• Guest Speakers: The program features guest speakers from organizations such as:
• Sport England
• Great Run Company
• IMG (who have delivered events such as Winter Wonderland and Active Training World)
• Nirvana Europe
• Westminster Employability Award: This award allows students to formally document and demonstrate their personal and professional development activities and achievements, enhancing their employability.
• MORE 2023 Degree Show: This annual exhibition showcases postgraduate students' thesis projects, demonstrating their talent, creativity, and strategic work.