Your first year will give you an introduction to key themes and concepts relevant to the operational aspects of event management, in a broader context of related industries. You will also learn mainstream business skills to help develop your knowledge of how businesses work.
In year two you will learn about event design, and are assessed in a practical module. Other topics include sports events, and the management of venues and other facilities, which helps build on your foundation from year one.
The first half of year three sees you put events in their broader political context, as well as focusing on conferences and corporate events. The second half of year three has an industry focus, when you will either complete a 24-week work placement, or a consultancy based Live Project.
Your final year is focused on your dissertation, a large-scale piece of independent academic research. Other modules focus on event sustainability, and strategic management.
Lead Academics
Dr David Jarman came to Edinburgh to study his undergraduate degree, a period during which he combined study with summers spent working at the Edinburgh festivals. Through the early years of the century David built up his festival experience, completed an MSc, and travelled. This provided a great platform on which to develop his academic teaching and research career with Edinburgh Napier, from 2007 on.
Dr Gary Kerr is a Lecturer in Festival and Event Management in the Business School at Edinburgh Napier University, where he lectures students on International Festival & Event Management degree programmes. Gary has a PhD in Biological Sciences from the University of Warwick and is completing his second PhD at the University of Salford on the social, political and cultural dimensions of science festivals in the UK. As part of his research, he has interviewed over 30 UK science festival directors. He has worked in numerous roles with various festivals including Staff Manager, Event Manager, Venue Manager, Production Coordinator, Creative Producer, and Creative Director. He was Stage Manager for the Olympics & Paralympics Homecoming Parade (2016).
Internationally, Gary has held the role of Quality Controller of the Innovator Festival (UAE) and Local Content Manager and Producer of the world-leading Abu Dhabi Science Festival. In these roles Gary consistently provided his clients with ongoing feedback on the quality of the festival's content and ensured consistency in the delivery of a high quality festival. Gary teaches at up to 20 universities across the UAE each year and is a Visiting Professorial Teaching Felow at The University of Warwick
Prof Jane Ali-Knight is a Professor in Festival and Event Management and a Visiting Research Professor at Curtin University, Perth. She is currently leading and developing the festival and event subject group as well as lecturing at Universities internationally and facilitating training and development in the field. Her core activities fall into three main areas: event and festival related programmes; research and publications and conferences and professional events. She is currently a board member of BAFA (British Arts and Festivals Association), Without Walls, Vice Chair of Women in Tourism and is a Fellow of the HEA and Royal Society of the Arts.
Dr Martin Robertson's career in academia followed his professional development and managerial experiences within the areas of conference organisation, tourism, travel and economic development (private and public sector). He has maintained his contact with the industry environment through Business Events and Conference Management and through Art Festival logistics and also through event resilience and leadership research. This drives his continued desire for a learning, and teaching experience - alongside subject related research, that is professionally and socially useful.
Martin’s concern for teaching and learning application and excellence has been successfully applied in his roles over the last 20 years as an academic. Most of those years have been spent in leading roles for degree programmes, both as a faculty wide Director (3 years) and for 15 years as Programme Leader (PL). Currently he is the PL for MSc Business Event Management, and an Associate Professor.
Dr Louise Todd is a Lecturer and an Associate Professor. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Royal Society of Arts and Royal Anthropological Institute. Louise’s research interests lie in tourism, cultural events, art, experience design, visual culture and marketing communications. She has published her research in journal articles, book chapters and presented at international conferences.
Louise has experience in designing and delivering research dissemination and public engagement events and activities on a national and international basis. In August 2017, she was invited to present key aspects of her research into the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and its stakeholders as a public performance during the Fringe. She has also been involved in the design and development of Knowledge Exchange and CPD activities, including an externally funded Executive Programme she co-delivered in Singapore to members of the Tourism industry. The content of this was informed by her co-authored published research.