CAREER IN EVENT MANAGEMENT
"Event management as a profession
was mostly meeting, organising and project planning".
They were extremely professional and
they used the ingredients we wanted, and put them together
to make an exceptional event that was -- to cap it all
-- fun to put together. It usually consists of conceptualization,
planning, budgeting, and execution of below-the-line
activities such as exhibitions, stage shows, fashion
or rock shows, music concerts, celebrity appearances,
fashion or charity shows, conferences, weddings, product
or brand launches, and sports shows to name few. EM
is the most intimate form of marketing. It is a controlled
activity aimed at the target audience. Today it is much
more professional and more organized a sector worldwide.
Services
Companies approach event managers with a vague idea
and a budget in mind. It is then entirely up to the
event manager to develop and improvise and turn the
idea into a success.
They also have to supervise ticket
and stage design, arrange music, sound and lights, and
look into those numerous details that go into making
an event successful.
Security is another big issue that
is dealt with by event managers. Event managers have
to ensure that events conclude on time, and in case
they stretch beyond the permitted hours, they have to
handle the police and the local bureaucracy.
Specified area
Companies are focusing more and more into events, as
the returns are more specified than elsewhere. Live
entertainment is also another factor for the increase
in events. Television channels are looking towards programmes
based on live events like awards shows, pageants, rock
shows, musical programmes based on Bollywood churn-outs,
et cetera. Sports management is not very well known
in India. Cricket being the dominant sport, event management
usually centers around it. So it involve lots of money.
So are there any courses for EM?
In Mumbai, event management is offered as a one-year
part time diploma for undergraduates and post-graduate
diploma for graduates. The classes are held in the evenings.
Three institutes provide specialised
training in event management, two of which have branches
in other cities as well.
One-year-old and growing is the Bandra-based Event Management
Development Institute, situated in the IES Management
College building in Bandra, northwest Mumbai and has
branches in Pune, Kochi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Coimbatore.
"EMDI aspires to deliver quality knowledge to candidates
ion the intricacies of event management.
Students are selected based on their
performance on written tests and interview. Only students
those who are really keen on the field are selected
and not in it for the glamour.
But isn't glamour part of the reason
why events are so exciting? It's one of the biggest
problem we face. Half the time we spend trying to tell
people that the glamour is what the audience sees as
a final product. Event management is 99 per cent hard
work. One has to remember that to become a successful
event manager, you may need to put in 365 days a year
without even a Sunday off.
National Institute of Event Management
is four years now and it was the first to start offering
event management as a separate course and a career option.
The International Institute of Event
Management, also started four years ago, is the only
institute with recognition from the SNDT Women's University
in Mumbai. It offers a one-year diploma course in even
management that is recognised by an university. There
is no entrance test and candidates are selected through
an interview and counseling session.
All the institutes maintain that they
have the best faculty and the most advanced course materials
to equip the students.
What's the study programme like?
The curriculum is usually a mix of theory and practical.
Theory usually borders around management subjects and
related subjects like accountancy, law, and marketing.
Students are also sent for hands-on
training in event management companies and organisations.
They are introduced into the basic
theoretical aspects of management, marketing, law, accountancy,
costing, communication and media, but in relation to
handling of events.
Event objectives, revenue generation,
sales & marketing, entertainment & celebration,
communication awareness brand equity are some of the
topics that are covered.
Skill sets related to scripting, set
designing, television production, direction, graphics,
operations, legal, backstage management, venue management,
construction, technical and celebrity management are
taught to the students.
IIEM prefers graduates for its course.
They are more serious about their careers, and want
to earn money. So training them is less of a hassle.
And with our curriculum and training, they are able
to start out on their own.
What about placement?
The faculty is usually from the industry, which also
ensures that almost all the students are absorbed by
the companies.
The pay is directly proportional to the amount and quality
of the event managers. "Those fresh out of the
institutes can earn anywhere between seven to 10 grand
(Rs 7,000 to Rs 10,000) and the figure just multiplies
if one is good and hard working.
End
Snehasis Das
|
