Informed consumers? Students, choices and events management degrees

Abstract

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“It's not just parties, it's so much more”: student perceptions of the credibility of UK events management degrees

“…Moreover, event-focused special issues have featured in journals from a number aligned fields, such as Hospitality (Van Niekerk, 2017) and Leisure (Caudwell and McGee, 2018), not to mention the growing number of event-related papers featuring in aligned fields (Dolasinki et al , 2020; Getz and Page, 2016; Yeung and Thomas, 2021). Each of these developments is a strong indicator of the growing maturity and diversity of this subject field (Fletcher et al , 2017; Dashper et al , 2020).…”

“…The large number of Events Management-related courses and the variety of providers offering educational provision illustrate the breadth of Events Management education in the UK, despite challenges in the broader HE environment (Dashper et al , 2014, 2020; Fletcher et al , 2015, 2017; Dashper and Fletcher, 2019). However, the field of Events Management is entering a critical moment as questions surround UK Higher Education, and the credibility of vocational degrees especially.…”

“…In so doing, it should be acknowledged that Events Management is an interdisciplinary subject that draws on insights from a wide base, including business studies, management, marketing, sociology, economics and many more. This interdisciplinarity could be perceived as a strength – demonstrating the subject's diversity and vibrancy – but it could also be perceived as being indicative of an incoherent and fragmented subject area (Fletcher et al , 2017; Dashper et al , 2020). This aspect was previously identified by Bouchon et al (2017) and Bladen and Kennell (2014) who contend that the close relationship between Events Management and its parent fields has limited the ability of Events Management to form a distinct identity.…”

“…Events Management is increasingly recognised as a degree-level subject in service led economies (Park and Park, 2017) and has proven popular with students over the last 25 years (Dolasinki et al , 2020). Nevertheless, the value, appropriateness and credibility of these Higher Education programmes have been questioned by academics and event professionals alike (Jiang and Schmader, 2014; Dashper and Fletcher, 2019; Dashper et al , 2020). Kashef (2015) and Ledger (2013) have shown that event professionals perceive Events Management graduates to lack key knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to enter the industry.…”

Accessibility, diversity, and inclusion in the UK meetings industry

“…There is thus work to be done to communicate to parents, teachers and others, particularly in minority communities, that the MICE sector provides numerous viable opportunities that can lead to successful careers. Dashper et al (2020) discuss the ways in which lack of prior knowledge and experience of events management as an academic subject and potential career can affect potential students' choice of degree and university. Our findings here suggest that this lack of wider knowledge may be particularly problematic for minority groups, contributing to ongoing lack of diversity in the MICE industry.…”