Event Planning and Project Management (EVNT7051)

Task Description:

For this assessment item, you are required to design a real event. This means you will be assigned to an organisation/event (based on your lecture and tutorial) where you will create the event concept - then implement the event - from start to finish.

You will work in smaller teams to design each component of the event (eg, establishment of sub committees that may include sponsorship, marketing, operations, ticketing and registration (or customer service), or other committees relevant to your specific event). To help you plan for and deliver the event successfully, your team will create an Event Pitch. As part of this process, your team will be required to give a short Event Pitch for the purpose of gaining and using feedback to improve your Event Manual and live event. While this is a pitch, your group should submit a complete set of ALL materials for your planned activities.

THE EVENT PITCH

Your team will present its Event Pitch based on a plan for one (1) of the following topics - based on the group to which you are assigned:

• Leadership and Positioning
• Marketing
• Ticketing and registration/Customer service
• Sponsorship
• Venue/operations

The Event Pitch will be a maximum of 10 minutes.

NOTE: While all members of your team will contribute to the preparation of the pitch, given the strict 10 minute time limit, not all team members have to present. However, ALL members of the team must be present at the pitch and also be prepared to answer questions in the professional consultation .

The pitch will be presented live in the tutorial, and you will need to respond to questions about the pitch live in the tutorial.

Please Note: The pitch will be recorded for marking purposes per UQ Policy.

The Event Pitch will be assessed on your team presentation, persuasiveness, suitability of the content of the pitch to the positioning of the event. The completeness and quality of the materials for your functional area will also be assessed. Additionally, the Event Pitch will be assessed on the congruence and fit with the plans of other functional groups. A professional consultation and questioning will occur immediately after your pitch. Your ability to answer questions and respond to feedback appropriately will be assessed.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION - VERY IMPORTANT:

In the workplace, you are required to turn up to work regularly. Because of the nature of this course (ie, preparation for a real event which requires a complete team effort), you are expected to attend classes/tutorials/consultations every week as this will be the meeting time for committees to liaise with one another and communicate with the other committees about weekly progress. It will also give you the opportunity to check progress and seek feedback from the Event Manager.

Further details about the Event Pitch and Professional Consultation will be discussed in our Week 1 class.

Finally, towards the end of the semester, as part of our course and event debriefing, you will be required to participate in an interactive job interview outlining how you are hirable for an event position based on your performance and reflections in relation to your team event.

PEER EVALUATION

You will also be required to complete a peer evaluation on yourself and each of your team members. The peer assessment can be used to shift your grade up or down depending on how your team members suggest you have contributed to the pitch.

AI Statement

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT) are emerging tools that may support students in completing this assessment task. Students may appropriately use AI and/or MT in completing this assessment task. Students must clearly reference any use of AI or MT in each instance.

A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.

For this assessment item, you are required to design a real event. This means you will be assigned to an organisation/event where you will create the event concept - then implement the event - from start to finish.

You will work in smaller teams to design each component of the event (eg, establishment of committees that may include positioning, sponsorship, marketing, venue/operations, ticketing and registration, or other committees relevant to your specific event). Each team will be assigned ONE component only. 

To help you plan for and deliver the event successfully, and to document the planning and organisation of your event, your team will create an Event Manual.

THE EVENT MANUAL

This assignment will be based on their specific sub-committee responsibility (e.g. leadership and positioning, marketing, operations, sponsorship, customer service).

1. Event background & context
2. A complete account of the roles and responsibilities of your team
3. A complete account of how your group will work with the other functional team to create and stage the event
4. A complete set of materials for your functional group - this should include ALL materials and documents that will be used by your team for the event from conceptualisation to debrief.

IMPORTANT: You should take into consideration any feedback that your team has received in the Pitch in week 5 when compiling this document.

Feel free to use Appendixes in your manual if it helps the flow of the document.

Students will be required to complete peer evaluation as part of this assignment. Further details will be provided in class and on Blackboard.

AI Statement

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT) are emerging tools that may support students in completing this assessment task. Students may appropriately use AI and/or MT in completing this assessment task. Students must clearly reference any use of AI or MT in each instance.

A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.

INDIVIDUAL EVENT REFLECTION AND JOB INTERVIEW

The reflective essay will be in two parts. Part A will be your reflection of your experience of planning and organising an event. Part B will be your reflection on the actual event and its components as produced in the event manual.

PART A

For Part A, you will be required to write an essay of no more than 1,000 words based on YOUR reflections of the experience of planning and organising the event in this semester.

Based on these experiences, you are required to compose an essay that responds to each of the points below:

• outline tasks you undertook and reflect on your learnings about event management (including your own ability to manage events through the event experiences within this course);
• reflect on the value and skill profiles that you established in week one;
• consider the range of challenges, opportunities and learning experiences that have occurred throughout the entire event process;
• reflect on your own contributions to the event, your learnings (including skills you have developed) and the functionality/success of your team; and
• provide an honest account of your ability to problem solve, and your ability to contingency plan.
• provide a summary of your reflections on the actual event and its elements - providing suggestions for improvement if the event was to run again.

PART B

You will participate in a mock job interview with the course staff. The interview will last for five minutes. In the interview you will be asked key questions about your learnings, performance, and reflection throughout the semester. The interviews will take place in week 12 or 13 in the tutorial sessions - you will be assigned a timeslot by the course staff.

NOTE: This assignment involves reflecting on yourself and therefore it is appropriate to write in the first person (e.g. I think; I feel).

As a self-reflective task, academic support and justification in the form of references are not required for this assignment. However, you are welcome to draw from the literature to help make sense of the experiences you are reflecting upon.

AI Statement

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT) are emerging tools that may support students in completing this assessment task. Students may appropriately use AI and/or MT in completing this assessment task. Students must clearly reference any use of AI or MT in each instance.

A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.