Onwards & Upwards

Onwards and Upwards: Postgraduate Diploma In Events Management Begins A whirlwind ride has begun into the world of events. Being relatively new to this high-powered, competitive, energetic and sometimes scary industry I was surprised how quickly I began to feel at home among my twenty-four fellow Event Managers (as we were told to refer to ourselves). Being part of environment of such fast-paced learning and experiences has drawn us together rapidly into an ambitious team of event enthusiasts. I would say, and I think others would agree, this course throws you in the deep end. However, before you cringe and shriek (as I did on the first day), it is an amazing opportunity to be in the thick of event planning, accept new challenges and come out smiling on the other side. Site Visit to Hyde Park My first encounter with the real deep end came early, having been approached along with colleague Amy Bear by our fantastic tutors Justine Kane and Martin Turner with the responsibility of managing the first site visit to Hype Park; to lead the group. We had to organize a 5K run on behalf of a charity for 5000 women, with an aim of making a significant sum to donate to a charity. As Amy and I had only just received our first major groups projects for a large-scale event in Brazil (that we only had a week to plan for) our first reaction to this daunting news was a stunned silence.  Justine, eyeing me beadily, even asked “Freya…. are you ok?” Ha.  However, a gut-reaction began inside me, assuring my quaking nerves: ‘You can do this. Don’t freak out. We both know London. We both know Hyde Park. Let’s do this!’ Thankfully the weather was on our side; brilliant sunshine greeted us as we assembled by Speaker’s Corner in the park, and Amy and I took a register (squinting in the glare!) and briefed our group. The dynamics were strange at first, from being just a member of the team, I was now in the position of leader, which felt slightly weird, especially among those in the group I’d spoken to at length before this day. As the day progressed, however, I felt we both began to ease into our roles, and made sure we got around the each of the 8 groups  we were managing in order to keep pace with all of the updates on our progress. I learned very fast that as Overall Events Manager of a site visit, you move A LOT! My choice of wellies to prepare for wet conditions in the park, in this case totally sucked.  Note to self: wellies are not the answer to everything in life…. Altogether the site visit was a success and the latter part of the day was spent back in the classroom together planning and presenting the hypothetical event. This was mapped out on the board, with each group adding their individual contributions to the event journey Amy and I had plumped for. We had good feedback from the group following the day, which left me on a high, I was physically knackered but wanting more. Bring on the next event!

Written by Freya Gosling. Post Grad Student, 26th March 2013.