By Randle Stonier
CEO, AddingValue
Introduction
Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU), the UK's leading university in event management, through the country's first Centre for Excellence in Event Management (UKCEM) have just awarded me an honourary doctorate.
As you can imagine, this is a great personal honour. I remember as a 6 year old winning a school raffle for a budgerigar (it was a few years ago) - this was another budgerigar moment - I was all at once stunned, delighted, disbelieving and so so happy - things like that don't happen to me. And my mother is once again in a state of shock.
Back in 1995, I came across a small article in one for the events magazines saying that Leeds Metropolitan University was considering introducing a degree in events management and requesting feedback from the industry. I dropped them a note, saying it was an excellent idea and that if I could help please give me a shout. Never slow off the mark they replied asking for input from a practitioner and employer's persective, and so I became "an industrial advisor" - something akin to a vision technican (a window cleaner). I went on to become an external examiner for LMU's BA (Hons) and HND in their Events Management course for six years and continued to work with them on various projects.
Growth & Courses in Events
Since the early days of 1996, Event Management at Leeds Metropolitan University has gone from strength to strength, from an initial 35 undergraduates to a 2009/10 freshers intake of some 450 students, and the faculty have developed a raft of events courses and strands. On a full-time or part-time basis, students can study from degrees to postgraduate certificates, diplomas and masters programmes. These include:-
- BA/BA (Hons) in Events Management,
- BSc in Sports Events Management
- BA/BA(Hons) in Conference & Exhibitions Management,
- BA/BA(Hons) in Event Fundraising & Sponsorship
- BA/BA(Hons) in Managing Cultural & Major Events,
post graduate qualifications:-
- Certificate, Diploma or MSc in International Events Management,
- Certificate, Diploma or MSc by distance learning in Events Management,
- Diploma or MA in Responsible Events,
- Diploma or MSc in International Festivals Management,
- Certificate, Diploma or MSc in Sports Event Management
Randle Stonier, CEO of AddingValue, receives an honorary doctorate in education for services to events management from LMU.
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LMU/UKCEM have also developed short courses designed to address specific industry professional development needs including courses related to event planning, marketing, finance, risk management and evaluation.
Why the need for standards in Events
I've been asked why? Why did I believe that back in the early 90's we needed a set of standards to emerge in Events Management, why did we need to professionalise the industry?
In short, fully-fledged professionalisation carries the virtuous badge of statutorily underwritten integrity and expertise centred on a carefully policed register, codes of ethics and credentialism.
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credentialism. We have an increasingly diverse, discerning and demanding population, including corporate and public bodies as well as individual audiences. Back in the 80's and 90's incidents and issues arose all linked to the need for rising standards and quality, which would in turn gave rise to more legislation.
This, coupled with growing international competition, and the subsequent need to generally 'do more with less', 'do better', provide consistency and transparent qualifications, meant we needed a lot less of the enthusiastic amateur (and dog) operating from their front room delivering self catered events, unintentionally providing vol au vents filled with e-colli, or parachuting groups into remote landscapes devoid of risk assessments, contingency plans and medivacs and a lot more professionalism. Professionally recognised qualifications whether from trade bodies or universities have a huge role to play in this journey.
Leeds Met - helped raise standards in the events industry
Since LMU's first events management graduate course, I've watched that baby grow - not only walk and talk but sing and tap dance. It has been an immense priviledge to work with a highly dedicated academic team (both past and present) and even more so, to experience at first hand the raw enthusiasm and progressive talent of successive waves of Leeds Met events graduates. It's more than compensated for having to wear a Dreamcoat gown and a dodgy hat.
Speaking as a doc, my prognosis is for increasing excellence in events, we just have to ensure we are now rewarded appropriately for this enhanced professionalism.