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Students awarded prize at UK’s leading outdoor events competition

The university has won Student Event of the Year at the 2018 National Outdoor Event Association Awards in Bath last night (21 November).

Students from the Events Management course received the award in recognition of a series of pop-up events they ran in conjunction with last year’s Cheltenham Jazz Festival. Festival-goers were treated to over eight hundred unique, student-led interactions exploring ideas of sustainable development.

Working in teams, students developed unique activities focusing on the United Nations’ Global Goals for sustainability, including arts and crafts, mini golf, an immersive ocean plastics experience and a treasure trail.

The National Outdoor Events Association is the UK’s leading outdoor events trade association dedicated to enhancing professionalism in the industry.

The students’ pop-up event was an assessed activity, funded by the university’s Learning Innovation for Tomorrow (LIFT) programme, with support from RCE Severn. LIFT is a professional support programme that links sustainability-oriented learning to curriculum development across the university.

University Course Leader for Events Management, Clair Greenaway, said: 
“This is a huge achievement for the Events Management course at the university. It recognises all the work and efforts from the students at the Jazz Festival. This same pop-up village project was also reported on in the United Nations in New York earlier this year.”

President of NOEA Andy Grove said: 

“The quality of the award winners was genuinely outstanding, and showed innovation, creative thinking and experience. These are great events, run by the best event professionals, and are a credit to the industry. We’re delighted to be giving them the recognition they deserve through NOEA.”

Chair of the Judging Panel Alistair Turner said: 

“The standard of entries keeps getting higher and higher, which demonstrates the commitment of organisers to produce high quality event experiences. To win a NOEA award you need to be doing something really great.”

 For more information about the pop-up events at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival, watch the Events Management film​.