Five GSM London Events students and one graduate managed to participate as a team for the Festival Dragons Den competition, which was organised by the British Arts Festival Association. The event took place in South Bank University on 25 November 2015. Four of the students presented. The effort was hard and included many meetings in every of the three campuses we have. Imagine that the students were in the competition venue of South Bank University doing rehearsals since 8.00 in the morning until 6.30 when we left.
Our students had to pitch their idea for a Winter Festival. They were complimented for the originality of their ‘12 Eras of Christmas’ theme. Their theatrical performance at the beginning of their presentation received the warm acceptance of the audience. The students, the graduate/ alumnus, and the Programme Leader Fotios Vasileiou had the opportunity to network with festival organisers coming from every corner of UK (including Brighton, Southampton and Edinburgh). The students did learn many practical issues when preparing festivals as well as had amazing time to socialise with students from many universities across UK. The team was supported by our Events Management alumnus Alex Chum, because of her experience in organising festivals (like the successful Purley Festival). The team was awarded the third position in the competition, but the most important was not the result; the benefit was the experience, the publicity and the networking. The students are Marieke Haneuse, Francesca Marzullo, Giulia Tolotti, Afreeca Taiwo and Natalie Frederick.
Fotios Vasileiou commented: “Results like these prove the difference our students make and the determination they have against the odds. That’s why we have implemented a new approach in Higher Education to the events and entertainment degree at GSM London, where students like the above contribute to the degree structure through our OSAM programme.”
