Martin Robertson

martin robertson

Dr Martin Robertson

Associate Professor in Festival and Event Management

 0131 455 4613

  M.Robertson2@napier.ac.uk

   

Biography

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). Martin 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 PL for MSc Business Event Management. In previous employment he has been, respectively, PL of BA (Hons) Event Management; PL for Bachelor of Business (BB) (Honours) & a BB Event Management suites of programmes, including BB Tourism & Event Management, & BB Music & Event Managment; PL for BA (Hons) Tourism Management and related suite of programmes, and Interim PL for BA (Hons) Festival & Leisure Management and related suite of programme.

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, with a particular focus on the related study areas of event and tourism management. He is an Honorary Fellow of the School of Business, Victoria University, Melbourne. He is also Co-Chairperson of the Event Studies SIG for the Council for Australasian Tourism and Hospitality Education (CAUTHE).

He is UK Regional Editor for Event Management an international peer-reviewed journal and has editorial roles in three other peer review journals. He has co-edited 6 academic journal special issues and has also co-edited 6 published books. He has over forty related articles or chapter publications.

Martin's excitement at – and involvement with - events and festivals of all types is witnessed by his recent involvement as director/ committee member of two large community Arts Festivals (one as logistics manager), and in the organisation of many conferences (in and out of academia). He has led or co-lead 10 consultations (evaluation) projects for providers of large events (arts, agriculture and sport). He has also designed and led a certificated event management training course for industry (Melbourne).

School

Research Groups

Themes

Research Areas

Esteem

Advisory panels and expert committees or witness

  • 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 Activity

  • Review of transformative festival leadership – a learning and teaching discussion (Cardiff Metropolitan University, AEME 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)
  • 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)
  • Developing a standard instrument to assess intangible event outcomes from the Ambassador perspective (team) (Flinders University (Adelaide), Global Event Congress IV) (2014)
  • Duplication of Purchase Law in Sport Event Markets: New Zealand case study (team) ANZMAC 2014 (Griffiths University, Brisbane, 2014)
  • Seeing the future of events and festivals as a conceptual framework (team) Global Events Congress IV (2014)
  • Doing the right thing? Festival leadership and sustainability: the case of literary events Global Events Congress IV (2014)
  • Mountain Bike Sport Tourism: Mediating Space and Visitor Perception – A case study (team) (University of West Scotland, LSA, 2014)
  • Bringing down the fourth wall: co-creation of event performance & space (team) Advancing Event Research Series - Events in Society (Victoria University, Melbourne, 2014)

 

Editorial Activity

  • UK Editor, Event Management - an international journal (2016-current)
  • Lead co-editor: ' Special issue - 'Critical Event Studies – Issues and Perspectives' Event Management - an international journal Vol 22 (2018, Issue TBC)
  • Co-editor: Special issue - ‘Events futures: innovation, creativity and collaboration’ International Journal of Festival and Event Management Vol 9 (2018, Issue TBC)
  • Editorial Board Member, Journal of Tourism Futures (2015-current)
  • 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: Special Issue - ‘Festival and Events – beyond economic impacts’ Event Management - an international journal Vol 11 (1-2) (2007)

 

External Examining/Validations

  • External Examiner (PhD) - Leeds Beckett University
  • 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)
  • Bournemouth University VC Award (Qualification achievement) (2017)
  • Student/ Student Union 'Your briliant' Award (x2) (Bournemouth University) (2017)
  • Honorary Fellow, College of Business, Victoria University, Melbourne (2015-current)
  • Award for Teaching Excellence (Victoria University, Internal) (2011)
  • Best Education or Training Programme (Team award) Australian Events Awards (2010)
  • Highly Commended Certificate (Miles Clark Business Events Communication Award) "The Business of Teaching Business Events" (Team) (2010)
  • Fellow, Higher Education Academy (HEA) (2002-current)

 

Invited Speaker

  • 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)
  • Presented 'The future of major events', at Tourism in Tomorrow's World/ Stenden University, Qatar (2014)
  • Discussion Panel Member, ‘Event studies: extending the knowledge’ at Events in Society Symposium, Victoria University (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

  • 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

  • Business Event Committee Member (Edinburgh Tourism Action Group)
  • Member, The Tourism Society
  • Member, Leisure Studies Association
  • Association of Event Management Education (member)
  • Associate Member, CAUTHE

 

Non-executive Directorship

  • Board of Directors/ Committee Member, b-side Multi-Media Arts Festival, Portland (2016-2017/18)
  • Co-chairperson, Event Studies SIG, CAUTHE (2015-current)
  • Committee Member, Western Melbourne Tourism (2012-2015)
  • Secretary, Tourism Society Scotland (2002-2005)

 

Public/Community Engagement

  • Committee Member (and Logistics Manager) Yaraville Arts Festival (2008-2011/2)

 

Pre-Napier Funded Projects

  • Arts England Council 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)