Martin Robertson
martin robertson

Dr Martin Robertson BA (Hons), MA, PhD, FHEA

Associate Professor

 0131 455 4613

  M.Robertson2@napier.ac.uk

  

Biography

Dr Martin Robertson's passion for teaching and learning application and excellence has been applied successfully in his HE teaching and leadership roles in both the UK and in Australia. His involvement in academic quality assurance has also seen him sit in an executive capacity on a number of related university councils (UK & Australia). He has also been an active contributor to national (Scotland) and state (Victoria, Australia) government academic quality actions. In addition, Martin has both lead and contributed to public consultations (UK and Australia).

Martin has maintained his contact with the industry environment through supportive involvement in related agencies and non-executive directorship or committee roles. This applied activity drives his continued desire for providing a learning, teaching and research experience that is professionally and socially useful, and wherever possible allows for future directions. Sustainability, resilience, regenerative capacity, and social justice are key components of this work.

Martin's has led or co-lead 12 consultations projects for providers of large events (arts, agriculture, business/conventions and sport). As well as having been programme leader for 7 HE degree programmes (UK and Australia), he has also designed and led or co-led the following short professional development courses: 1) 'Leadership Development for Large Charity organisations' (Edinburgh); 2) a certified upskilling short course 'Sustainable, Entrepreneurial & Innovative Tourism Business Management' (Edinburgh) ; 3) an Honours (Research) degree in Business Management (Melbourne), and 4) a certificated Event Management training course for industry (Melbourne).

Martin is Adjunct Associate Professor, Victoria University Business School, & Research Associate, Institure of Sustainable Industries and Liveable Cities, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia (2025-2028). In 2019 he completed 5 years as Adjunct Associate Professor, for the School for the Visitor Economy & the Institute of Sustainable Industries and Liveable Cities, Victoria University. Martin was Co-Chairperson of the Event Studies SIG for the Council for Australasian Tourism and Hospitality Education (CAUTHE) for 8 years. Martin is Associate Editor of three peer review journals. He has co-edited 8 academic journal special issues and has also co-edited 6 published books. He has over 80 related articles , chapter publications and reports.

School

Research Groups

Themes

Research Areas

Esteem

Advisory panels and expert committees or witness

  • ICCA Certification Curriculum Academic Committee Member (2021 - 2022)
  • Business Tourism Group Member, Edinburgh Tourism Action Group (2019-present)
  • Advisory Committee Member, Arts & Cultural Matters, City of Maribyrnong Council, Victoria (2010-11)
  • Forum Member, National Sustainable Events, Sustainability Victoria & Sustainable Living Festival (2009)
  • Founding Committee Member, Associate of Event Management Educators (AEME) (2004-8)
  • Group Member, Scottish Tourism Framework for Action, Scottish Executive (2003-4)

 

Conference Organising Activity

  • Co-Chair Event Studies Special Interest Group CAUTHE Conference 2022
  • Co-Chair Event Studies Special Interest Group CAUTHE Conference 2021
  • Co-Chair Event Studies Special Interest Group CAUTHE Conference 2020
  • Co-Chair Event Studies Special Interest Group CAUTHE Conference 2019
  • Co-Chair Event Studies Special Interest Group CAUTHE Conference 2018
  • Review of transformative festival leadership – a learning and teaching discussion (Cardiff Metropolitan University, AEME 2017)
  • Co-Chair Event Studies Special Interest Group CAUTHE Conference 2017
  • A game of two halves: the value of field trips in event management education. Case studies of Dublin & Lisbon (team) (University of Derby, AEME 2016)
  • Co-Chair Event Studies Special Interest Group CAUTHE Conference 2016
  • Visioning the future city – a discussion on the narrative of sustainability through events and festivals’ (Bournemouth University, LSA 2015)
  • Creative Approaches to Teaching (team) (Falkirk University, AEME, 2015)
  • Co-Chair Event Studies Special Interest Group CAUTHE Conference 2015
  • Duplication of Purchase Law in Sport Event Markets: New Zealand case study (team) ANZMAC 2014 (Griffiths University, Brisbane, 2014)
  • Mountain Bike Sport Tourism: Mediating Space and Visitor Perception – A case study (team) (University of West Scotland, LSA, 2014)
  • Doing the right thing? Festival leadership and sustainability: the case of literary events Global Events Congress IV (2014)
  • Seeing the future of events and festivals as a conceptual framework (team) Global Events Congress IV (2014)
  • Bringing down the fourth wall: co-creation of event performance & space (team) Advancing Event Research Series - Events in Society (Victoria University, Melbourne, 2014)
  • Developing a standard instrument to assess intangible event outcomes from the Ambassador perspective (team) (Flinders University (Adelaide), Global Event Congress IV) (2014)

 

Editorial Activity

  • Associate Editor - Event Management (an international journal)
  • Co-editor: Special issue - ‘Repurposing and Repositioning Events: Real, Responsible and Revolutionary Futures'’ International Journal of Festival and Event Management (2023 publication)
  • Associate Editor, Frontiers in Sport and Active Living (Sport, Lesure and Tourism) (2020-Ongoing)
  • Special Issue co-editor: 'Can Sport, Leisure, Tourism & Events be Powers for Good?' (Frontiers in Sports and Active Living - Sport, Leisure and Tourism)
  • Lead co-editor: ' Special issue - 'Critical Event Studies – Issues and Perspectives' Event Management - an international journal Vol 22 (2018, Issue 6)
  • Co-editor: Special issue - ‘Events futures: innovation, creativity and collaboration’ International Journal of Festival and Event Management Vol 9 (2018, Issue 2)
  • UK Editor, Event Management - an international journal (2016-21)
  • Editorial Board Member, Journal of Tourism Futures (2015-2018)
  • (Co-editor) The Future of Festival and Events (Advanced Series on Events: Research - Routledge)
  • Co-editor: Special Issue - 'Events in Society' Event Management - an international journal Vol 19 (4) (2015)
  • Lead co-editor: Special issue - 'Professionalisation and Event Management' Event Management - an international journal Vol 18 (1) (2014)
  • Co-editor: Special Issue - ‘Emerging knowledge and innovation in event management’ International Journal of Festival and Event Management Vol 4 (3) (2013)
  • Associate Editorial Board Member, International Journal of Event & Festival Management (2010-current)
  • (Co-editor) International Perspectives of Festivals and Events (Advances in Tourism Research - Elsevier Publication)
  • (Co-editor) Events and Festivals: Current Trends and Issues (Routledge)
  • Co-editor: Special Issue - ‘Festival and Events – beyond economic impacts’ Event Management - an international journal Vol 11 (1-2) (2007)
  • (Editor) Sporting Events and Events Tourism (LSA publication)
  • (Co-editor) Festival and Events Management: an international arts and culture perspective (Butterworth-Heinemann)
  • (Co-editor) Managing Tourism in Cities; policy, process and practice (John Wiley and Sons Ltd)

 

External Examining/Validations

  • External Examiner (PhD) - Leeds Beckett University (2023) (Teresa Moore)
  • External Examiner (PhD) - Victoria University, Melbourne (2022) (Abdullah Abonom)
  • External Opponent (PhD) - Mid-Sweden University (2022) (Martin Wallstrom)
  • External Examiner(PhD) - University of Chichester (2021) (Emma Nolan)
  • External Panel Member (MSc Tourism Validation/Approval) - University of Highlands and Islands (2020)
  • External Examiner (PhD) - Sheffield Hallam University (2020) (Emma Abson)
  • External Examiner (PhD) - Leeds Beckett University (2019) (Alistair Palferman )
  • External Examiner, Master of Tourism, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia (2014)
  • External Advisor, BSc (Hons) Sports Events Management, Leeds Metropolitan University (2011-12)
  • External Advisor: BA (Hons) Event & Festival Management, Buckinghamshire New University (2009)
  • External Examiner, BA Tourism Management & BA Tourism & International Tourism, Glasgow Caledonian University (2006-8)
  • External Advisor, BA Tourism Management, University of Highlands and Islands, Perth (2004)

 

Fellowships and Awards

  • ATHE Award for Innovation - Building Leadership and Management Capacity in the Visitor Economy (2018-2019)
  • Bournemouth University VC Award (Qualification achievement) (2017)
  • Student/ Student Union 'Your briliant' Award (x2) (Bournemouth University) (2017)
  • Honorary Fellow, Institute for Sustainable Industries & Liveable Cities, Victoria University
  • Award for Teaching Excellence (Victoria University, Internal) (2011)
  • Highly Commended Certificate (Miles Clark Business Events Communication Award) "The Business of Teaching Business Events" (Team) (2010)
  • Best Education or Training Programme (Team award) Australian Events Awards (2010)
  • Fellow, Higher Education Academy (HEA) (2002-current)

 

Invited Speaker

  • 'Learning for future challenges: tourism futures and deep learning applied to teaching the UN SDGs', 2nd Tourism Futures Convention 2024 (TFC), Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences, Heilbron, Germany (November 13th, 2024)
  • Keynote Introduction to 5th International Conference on Tourism and Business (ICTB) (Rethinking Tourism Sustainability: The Role of Destinations), Mahidol University International College, Bangkok, Thailand (21-23 August, 2024)
  • Measuring Business Events Shaping Tommorow (BEST) (2023) (Convention Bureau Edinburgh )
  • "Mega-events: the ethical, environmental & social cost" - Online seminar for the Law Society of Scotland (2022)
  • "Destination Events: the Success of Edinburgh Festivals", for University of Bagiou, Philippines (2021)
  • "Applying Blooms Taxonomy in the development of event management curricula (in challenging times) - a personal future reflection" - at Event Education Symposium, Hochschile Hannover, University of Applied Sciences and Arts (2021)
  • "Major events and legacy: women and social change" Victoria University/ Women's T20 World Cup - at Melbourne Cricket Ground (2020)
  • Visit Britain Keynote Presenter and workshop facilitation, ‘Ambassador Programmes & Competitive Resilience’ (2018)
  • Conference Discussion Panel Member, 'Critical Event Studies', Associate of Event Management Educators Form (2017)
  • Discussion Panel Member, ‘Event studies: extending the knowledge’ at Events in Society Symposium, Victoria University (2014)
  • Presented 'The future of major events', at Tourism in Tomorrow's World/ Stenden University, Qatar (2014)
  • Presentation of results for International Conference and Convention Association (ICCA) “Investigating Ambassador Programmes: Motives for Bidding for International Meetings and Events Bureaus” at 51st ICCA Congress (Puerto Rico) (2012)
  • Melbourne Writers Festival 2009: 'UNESCO City of Literature: Creative Collateral and Cultural Evaluation of Festivals: Edinburgh and Melbourne' (to Directors of 22 International Writers Festivals)

 

Media Activity

  • Wisdom Wednesday (for members of SITE ) - by Edinburgh Napier University (May 2020)
  • The Knowledge effect of conferences (Convention Edinburgh News Event) August, 2019)
  • Expert comment on “Future technology and soccer” UEFA Direct April 2017, p6-10
  • ‘Common ground: how mountain biking will leave a lasting legacy’ in The Conversation, 30th July, 2014
  • Expert comment in ‘Ballarat’s Asian Cup Wish List’ The Courier (Ballarat) - 12th Feb, 2014
  • Expert Comment in ‘Open for debate? Taxpayers’ big investment in a fortnight of tennis’ (Crikey.com.au) 15 Jan, 2014
  • Expert interview on “21st century spectator sports” in article ‘Global gathering’ in Vision (Fresh perspective from Dubai), p27-31. Sept, 2013
  • Discussion of Australian Grand Prix success on ABC Radio. Jan 17th, 2012
  • Article: ‘Australian Open: why the tennis works but the Grand Prix struggles’ in The Conversation. Jan 16th, 2012

 

Membership of Professional Body

  • Member, Regional Studies Association
  • Member, The Tourism Society
  • Business Event Committee Member (Edinburgh Tourism Action Group)
  • Member, Leisure Studies Association
  • Association of Event Management Education (member)
  • Associate Member (& Co-chair of Event Studies SiG), CAUTHE

 

Non-executive Directorship

  • Board of Directors/ Committee Member, b-side Multi-Media Arts Festival, Portland (2016-2018)
  • Co-chairperson, Event Studies SIG, CAUTHE (2015-Feb 5th, 2022)
  • Committee Member, Western Melbourne Tourism (2012-2015)
  • Secretary, Tourism Society Scotland (2002-2005)

 

Public/Community Engagement

  • Measuring and Awards for Postive Impacts: Business Events Shaping Tommorow (BEST) (2023)
  • Edinburgh Business Tourism Providers - Community Calculator (Community Consultation and Matrics Creation) (2021-22)
  • #ILovePortland 2019 - A public consultation on the Isle of Portland, UK (2019)
  • b-side Arts Festival Non-Executive Director (Sustainability) (2017-2018)
  • Committee Member (and Logistics Manager) Yaraville Arts Festival (2008-2011/2)

 

Visiting Positions

  • Adjunct Associate Professor, Victoria University Business School, & Research Associate, Institute of Sustainable Industries and Liveable Cities, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia (2025-2028)
  • Adjunct Associate Professor, Institute for Sustainable Industries & Liveable Cities, Victoria University, Melbourne (2019-2021)

 

Filter by

Date


103 results

Understanding inclusion in the workplace through the experiences of women working in Edinburgh arts festivals

Presentation / Conference Contribution
Piccio, B., Todd, L., & Robertson, M. (2025, May)
Understanding inclusion in the workplace through the experiences of women working in Edinburgh arts festivals. Paper presented at ENclusion Conference 2025, Edinburgh

Exploring Safety at Mass Gathering Events Through the Lens of Three Different Stakeholders

Presentation / Conference Contribution
Hutton, A., Robertson, M., & Ranse, J. (2025, May)
Exploring Safety at Mass Gathering Events Through the Lens of Three Different Stakeholders. Poster presented at 23rd Congress of World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine (WADEM), Tokyo, Japan
Introduction The work here reviews the role of those with responsibility for managing people and their safety at Mass Gathering Events (MGE). These are event managers, police,...

Evaluating the benefits of professional events and venues for academic scholars and institutions & their host cities

Report
Robertson, M. (2025)
Evaluating the benefits of professional events and venues for academic scholars and institutions & their host cities. Edinburgh: Edinburgh International Conference Centre
This study is response to a gap in knowledge regards higher education institutions – and their subject or discipline areas - and the motivations for hosting conferences in pr...

Exploring safety at mass gathering events through the lens of three different stakeholders

Journal Article
Hutton, A., Robertson, M., & Ranse, J. (2025)
Exploring safety at mass gathering events through the lens of three different stakeholders. Frontiers in Public Health, 12, Article 1451891. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1451891
Introduction: The work here reviews the role of those with responsibility in managing people and their safety at Mass Gathering Events (MGE); event managers, police, and medic...

Business Events and the Efficacy of UN SDGS for the Knowledge City

Presentation / Conference Contribution
Robertson, M. (2025, February)
Business Events and the Efficacy of UN SDGS for the Knowledge City. Paper presented at Tourism Research Seminar, Edinburgh Napier University, UK
Models of knowledge cities, the learning city, the incubation city, the smart city, and knowledge region are well established. With the evolution of the innovation paradigm, ...

An investigation of the rotation patterns of international association meetings and events

Presentation / Conference Contribution
Drake, C., Lockstone-Binney, L., Robertson, M., & Thi Phuong Dung, L. (2024, February)
An investigation of the rotation patterns of international association meetings and events. Presented at The 34th Annual Council for Australasian Tourism and Hospitality Education (CAUTHE) Conference, Hobart, Tasmania
International association meetings and events (IAMEs) are a significant segment of the business events sector. Noting the dearth of longitudinal research to confirm how these ...

A New Year’s Celebration Like No Other

Digital Artefact
Robertson, M. (2024)
A New Year’s Celebration Like No Other. [Podcast]
Discover the magic of Hogmanay in Edinburgh, a historic four day festival that transforms the city into a hub of celebration. With massive street parties, live music, DJs, and...

Preparing Tourism, Hospitality and Events graduates to be industry ready: Extending the three-factor model of authentic learning

Journal Article
Kitchen, E., Goh, E., Steriopolous, E., Harkison, T., Drake, C., Robertson, M., Losekoot, E., & Waterston, L. (online)
Preparing Tourism, Hospitality and Events graduates to be industry ready: Extending the three-factor model of authentic learning. Studies in Higher Education, https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2024.2420868
Authentic learning is a critical pedagogy and curriculum requirement in higher education to better prepare students for future workforce requirements. As such, educators adopt...

Learning for future challenges: tourism futures and deep learning applied to teaching the UN SDGs

Presentation / Conference Contribution
Robertson, M. (2024, November)
Learning for future challenges: tourism futures and deep learning applied to teaching the UN SDGs. Presented at 2nd Tourism Futures Convention 2024 (TFC), Heilbron, Germany
This research presentation discussed the importance of future and foresight thinking (visioning) and the utility of scenario building as part of active design thinking as peda...

The festival industry and gender inequality: the case of Edinburgh, the world's leading festival city

Journal Article
Piccio, B., Todd, L., & Robertson, M. (2024)
The festival industry and gender inequality: the case of Edinburgh, the world's leading festival city. Tourism Management Perspectives, 54, Article 101317. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2024.101317
This paper explores issues women face in achieving leadership positions in the festivals sector, and their experiences of gender inequality. The setting is Edinburgh, the UK's...

Pre-Napier Funded Projects

  • Arts Council England Catalyst Small Grant Application (Bournemouth University & b-side Multimedia Festival CIC) (Awarded 2018)
  • Pathways to sustainability: festival leaders and transformative futures (leader/ internal) (2017)
  • Developer, Coordinator and Trainer: Professional Diploma in Event Management, Office of Knowledge Exchange, Victoria University (leader) (2013-14)
  • ICCA Commission (team member): Investigating Ambassador Programmes: Motives for Bidding for International Meetings and Events Bureaus’ (2012-2013)
  • Sport events and rural destination narrative. UCI MB Championship (leader/ internal) (2012-13)

Current Post Grad projects

Previous Post Grad projects

Non-Napier PhD or MSc by Research supervisions

  • PhD (Victoria University, Melbourne): Micaela Joy Spiers (Families with adolescents: vacation decision making) (Professor AM Hede, Dr R. Garma & Dr. M. Robertson) (Awarded 2017)