Tourism and Hospitality

For the third year running, Sport & Physical Activity students participated in the international student seminar of the European Association for Sport Management, held just before the large annual academic conference. After students actively participating in Istanbul and Coventry, it was Christian Fizia (Sports Development and Coaching Science) creating an impact in September in Dublin – for example, he continued the streak of BU students to finish in the top 3 of the management game with their international teams, which allowed him to present in front of a larger audience during the main conference as well.

“While our sport students are enthusiastic to go abroad during their placement year or as part of our high quality study abroad programme, it is important that we leave a mark at leading international conferences and also offer extra-curricula opportunities for international experiences. Christian did show great passion and dedication for the case all groups where presented with and he worked professionally with his intercultural team members. These are only some of the learning experiences which he will add to his employability and which he will explicitly and implicitly share with fellow students in his final year, too” says Dr Tim Breitbarth, Principal Academic Sport Management and Coordinator Internationalisation.

 Here is Christian’s brief report:

“The student management game, which took place before the conference, contained approximately 50 students from 8 countries assembled in small teams. Our task addressed the internationalisation of a national sporting federation (Gaelic Athletic Association) in a digital age; this allowed me to use knowledge from my course and my internship at a sports market intelligence company. I gained valuable presenting experience with my work, firstly addressing the students and judges (7 tutors) and then after progressing to the final presenting at the conference itself to a room of students and academics numbering roughly 70 to 100. The trip enforced my keen interest in sponsorship and provided me with a new network which could be utilised in future employment.

Culturally I was able to learn about the history of Gaelic sport and how it plays such a pivotal role for Irish people and their national pride. The tribal nature of the sports and amateurism generate a unique community feeling as players can only play for the county they’re born in. I was able to play a little bit of Gaelic Football, Hurling and Handball and will be looking to join a Gaelic Football club in England in the near future to try and play the sport competitively.

At the large international academic conference, the experience I gained was phenomenal and I was able to attend several presentations from some of the leading academics and professors in the sports field who were presenting their most up to date research. The topics spanned across the majority of sports management and sports development issues, below is a list of just some that I chose to attend and which inspired my thinking:

–          Fan Engagement (Basketball – USA/Germany & Football – Austria)

–          Marketing Communication (Alcohol brands strategies – France)

–          Economic Value (Skiing World Cup – Norway & Football transfer market – Eastern Europe)

–          Online Fan Engagement (Twitter – Tour De France & Football – Dutch team at Brazil 2014)

–          Corporate Social Responsibility (Football – Denmark, Basketball – Europe and Belgium sport)

 Within the sport department, the application process for the EASM conference was straight forward and it only required a short expression of interest form and short interview with Dr Breitbarth. Global Horizon Funding was offered by BU and provided a great incentive to apply. It was useful to maintain communication with the conference organisers and the university in order to ensure I knew what to expect from the trip.”

Sport Management Golf student Kasia Selwent was one out of three BU Sport & Physical Activity Level I students to benefit from the wonderful study opportunity at our German partner university SRH Heidelberg in 2014/15. She will even be back in late 2015 to work at the Solheim Cup, a very significant international golf event.

Read about her various experiences:

“I have decided to come to Heidelberg (Germany) for a student exchange programme for a couple of reasons. Funnily I wanted to be closer to my home, friends and family, as I am a foreign student at Bournemouth University and felt homesick sometimes. Originally I am from Poland, my hometown is close to German border, therefore I thought moving to Germany would be a perfect solution. I also love to experience new cultures, discover new places, and get to know people with international backgrounds. Lastly I am a golfer and Heidelberg is well known from one of the best golf courses and facilities across Germany. Combining all of above Heidelberg seemed to be a right place to be for me. And it certainly was.

I can easily say that last 6 months were one of the best in my life. I have made some amazing friendships widening group of my international friends. I have learned so much about different cultures, tolerance and doing businesses worldwide. As a European citizen I am happy to say that I finally have a good knowledge about European Union, its rules, laws and advantages of being a part of it. Also I feel proud to say that I am a European with no divisions, barriers and inequality between members’ countries. I am satisfied with the programme we covered at SRH Hochschule and I have gained a lot of useful and practical knowledge during the International Business course. However I appreciate much more knowledge gained from others’ students and professors’ experiences. Books are an amazing educational tool, but I know now that experiencing things by yourself is the best possible way to learn and acquire the most important life skills.

I was lucky to have an amazing group of people around me during my student exchange, both German and international students. I can definitely say that we will stay in touch with some of them for a long time. SRH Hochschule’s staffs were taking care of us for the whole time making the most of our time here in Heidelberg. Additionally the city of Heidelberg is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. The atmosphere of an old town mixed with typically student’s town make the place really special. Beautiful, historical architecture combined with fabulous landscapes is what describes Heidelberg the best.

I had a chance to play and practise at one of the most wonderful golf courses in Europe and for me as a golfer it was a really important aspect. What is more I am coming back to Heidelberg in September to volunteer at one of the biggest world golf events Solheim Cup (Ladies’ Ryder Cup), which I am really excited about.

In the end I barely was visiting my home country and homesickness disappeared completely while being in Heidelberg. Now I know it is all about people and ERASMUS programme is one of the best opportunities to meet some amazing personalities and make friends for life.

If anyone would ask me if it is worth to go for a student exchange programme my answer would be; there is no better present you could do for yourself during your studying. I am not sure how it is in different places, but I can certainly say that anyone who would come to spend a semester here in Heidelberg will fall in love with this place within a couple of days.”

Sport Management student Dominic Buchan was the first BU Sport & Physical Activity student to benefit from the fantastic study and internship opportunity a new partnership with the internationally renowned Norwegian School of Sports Sciences offers. Read his brief account:

“Studying abroad at the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences (NSSS) was a fantastic decision and an experience I will have for the rest of my life. Based 20 minutes from the city center of Oslo via the metro system, NSSS offered everything I needed; from the sand volleyball courts to the local hiking trials NSSS had it all.

The programme I opted for was divided into two parts. The first part was simply studying abroad for the first semester, and the second part is being positioned in a sporting body undertaking an internship.

S1) Study Abroad

This was divided into three topics: sports marketing, event marketing and volunteerism in sport. These topics were international courses therefore we conducted in English. In these classes were a range of nationalities: Norwegian, Canadian, German, Polish and English. The majority of my classmates were also international students to which of whom I got very friendly with and will forever stay in contact with. These topics were interesting topics and were relevant to my internship. An added bonus was the fact that as a class we got to work at the Cross Country Ski World Cup in Lillehammer which was a great couple of days. Also, staff and pupils were very friendly and welcoming even though Norwegians are very introverted. I think being part of the ‘fadder week’ (Freshers week) helped with this a lot, since the school has a small amount of pupils getting to know everyone is very easy.

S2) Internship

I was lucky enough to have my internship at the Lillehammer Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee (LYOGOC). This enabled me to witness and take part in the professional business environment and witness first hand how an international event starts from nothing to evolve into something. With this internship I was able to take part in all of the ski events taking place in Oslo and Lillehammer, which was absolutely brilliant. Also had a hand in developing ideas for LYOGOC campaigns themselves such their ‘1 Year to Go’ campaign that was televised across Norway and the Torch Tour.

All in all this was an absolutely incredible year away and I would recommend doing this or something like this. I have learnt so much individually and professionally I didn’t want it to end. However I would also say its all about what you put in because if you get involved with the school, the pupils and other international students you will certainly have a terrific time!”

Sport & Physical Activity students interested in study abroad opportunities should contact the department’s coordinator internationalization, Dr Tim Breitbarth, at tbreitbarth@bournemouth.ac.uk

Agency Grass Roots Meetings & Events has appointed an events management graduate following Meeting Professionals International’s (MPI) inaugural MPI Connects event in April.

The MPI Connects event, which took place at Westminster University in April, was designed to bring together industry employers and new talent who are looking to make a start in the events industry.

As a result, Grass Roots Meetings & Events has appointed Takara Patrick, a Bournemouth University events management graduate, to the role of events coordinator.

Grass Roots Meetings & Events operational director Sue Massey said: “The MPI Connects event was a great opportunity, which not only benefitted the jobseekers but ourselves as employers.

“Off the back of the event, we have been able to employ a fantastic graduate in Takara and we are excited about her future in one of our client implant teams in London. The whole idea of bringing employers together with those searching for careers within the industry should be applauded.”

C&IT’s State of the Industry Report has revealed that recruiting new talent is the top challenge facing event agencies in 2015, with Smyle managing director Rick Stainton stating: “The top challenge for anyone at the moment is talent. There doesn’t seem to be any. It’s very difficult to find really good, multi-discipline, multi-sector experience or talent out there.”

The MPI Connects event was attended by more than 50 event management students who were advised to ‘take the initiative, pick up the phone’ and demonstrate a thorough understanding of the industry to find employment.

Hamish Reid, UK commercial director at MPI, added: “One of our main aims is to aid students with the transition between full-time education and finding a career.

“MPI Connects was created for the sole purpose of connecting jobseekers and students like Takara to potential recruiters so for a global company such as Grass Roots to hire as a result of the event is a real success.”

In March, Grass Roots made three ‘significant’ changes to its leadership team ahead of new ambitious growth plans.

In March MSc Retail Management and Marketing students had a chance to explore the London Borough Market, enjoying the unique opportunity to sample European food  (e.g. cheese and homemade bread) and to wander through Western market stalls. The students observed how market traders consistently use various experiential tactics to indulge visitors’ senses such as colourful product displays, delicious scent from the displayed products or cooking, friendly staff inviting visitors to sample products, welcoming store ambience, quirky and clear signage and, more importantly, the market traders apply hardly any pressure on the visitors to buy from them. These tactics exemplify the principles of great customer experiences proposed by Watkinson (2013) i.e. indulging consumer senses, being socially engaging, offering a stress-free environment, and empowering the customer with a sense of control.

After the market trip, students visited Dalziel and Pow (a London-based agency with over 30-years’ experience in retail branding and design, and met with Mr David Wright, the Group Marketing Director. Mr Wright gave a talk on the company’s history and the strategic roles that retail design play in branding a retail business and delivering added-value customer experiences. During his talk, Mr Wright shared some stories from their projects commissioned by leading retailers such as Argos, Primark, The White Company, and Monsoon. The trip to Dalziel and Pow concluded with a tour around the company and its design studio. This field trip was a great opportunity for the September and January cohorts to bond with each other and the tutors, Dr Jason Sit and Dr Gregory Kapuscinski.

Last Friday a guest speaker Alistair Turner, PR Director for Britain for Events Campaign, for BVEP – Britain Visits and Events Partnership came to give a talk to our Event Management students.

Dr Mary Beth Gouthro, a Senior Lecturer In Events Management said:  “we are very pleased to have Alistair Turner join us for a guest lecture on the heels of the recent release of the DCMS Business Visits and Events Strategy.”  This strategy is the first of its kind in that there hasn’t been an overarching strategic approach to business events before, so as to develop domestic and  international market opportunities.  In addition, the strategy also acknowledges future governance, infrastructure and funding, visas and ‘welcome from Britain’ to international visitors, marketing and strategic partnerships.  The strategy is also meant to play a key role in 2020 Export Drive, ie in optimising unique world events to boost UK exports.

One of the key features of the strategy (and a first) is the creation of a Business Visits & Events Board, made up of events industry representatives, government departments and agencies, under the auspices of the GREAT programme. The new board is tasked with identifying business opportunities and to win more events for Britain, and represents new resources for the events industry.

Alistair plays a key role in its promoting its execution go forward and reflects progressive steps eg policy implications and further legitimisation of the events sector in UK.

Alistair shared a great example for Britain bidding to host the Olympics 2012. If you haven’t seen the video yet you can view it here: https://vimeo.com/37241441

Daniele Quattromini, manager at ClubLounge39 at Canary Wharf and winner of the Gold Service Scholarship 2015, shares his top tips for providing quality service. 

http://www.bighospitality.co.uk/Venues/Daniele-Quattromini-of-ClubLounge39-on-delivering-top-quality-service