Delivering Employable Event Studies Graduates: Student Perspectives on the Benefits of Experiential Learning

The past decade has seen increasing competition between graduates for jobs, and universities are now frequently scrutinized and evaluated on their graduate employment success rates. This study reports on student perceptions of a revised event management course designed to enhance graduate employability through the use of experiential learning, based on the new Threshold Learning Outcomes for event studies in higher education in Australia. Thematic analysis of individual student reflections (the final assessment piece in the course) finds that students perceive significant benefits from the experiential learning activities, and most are able to articulate these in relation to employability. Professional skills and personal attributes developed include communication, problem solving, collaboration, leadership, and confidence. Students also perceive value in being able to link theory to practice and immerse themselves in a hands-on "real world" events industry experience that cements both events knowledge and events processes.