MBA in Event management is easily the most happening and creative prospect in modern career options. The aspect of using innovation and management skills to watch a large-scale event unfold before your eyes is a treat. Whether it is your best friend’s wedding or the Met Gala, event managers are in demand and rewarded handsomely.
The objective of Event Management
Events are driven towards a target audience. For instance, weddings are about family bonding and celebrations, while corporate events are inclined to mix professional and personal. Hence, the concept, menu, location, and logistics depend on the entire project. Moreover, as a guest, you are likely to overlook the several technical aspects behind launching an event as the manager overlooks the entire fiasco.
Here are some standard events that event managers specialize in –
- Exhibitions (from art fairs to Comic-Con)
- Parties, Award Show, Launches, and other VIP events
- Meetings and Conferences
- Educational events like seminars, training programs
- Weddings, Birthday Parties, and other social events
- Festivals and Concerts (including Coachella and Sundance Film Festival)
- Charity Events
- Fashion shows, Movie Premiers, Stage Shows, and other entertainment events
- Marketing events like Roadshows, Product Launches, and other promotional activities
- Sports Events (like the Olympics or the Football World Cup)
Event management is not exclusive to any industrial domain. Business, healthcare, life science, tourism, hospitality – all the sectors use large-scale events to connect with people and expand interpersonal relationships. Pick up articles online and research for a better idea of an MBA in event management scope. As an aspiring event manager, you are never restricted in expertise or experience.
Understanding the Job
We love well-organized, fashionable events and often undermine the days of planning and projection that went behind staging the perfect day. Before we delve into the nuances of pursuing a career in event management, here are the essential tasks that are involved –
- Setting The Objectives: Events have a purpose and a setting, which the managing needs to agree upon primarily. Clear objectives ensure any decisions taken henceforth are not wasteful and follow a precedent.
- Creating An Achievable Timeline: The first meeting initiates the entire timeline until D-Day. The larger the events, the more complexities are involved in scheduling and coordination. It includes catering choices, venue arrangement, equipment set up, transportation, design, etc.
- Location Selection: Venue drives the tone for the event. Space requires planning depending on the logistics of the event. Hence, research and contact are critical before finalizing the venue.
- Using Your Network: Multiple modules combine to create a single event. Hence, each section from catering and lighting needs extensive contacting and nominating, followed by cost planning. The finalized suppliers receive the contract. Hence, event managers need to build a network and keep supplies on speed dial.
- Chalking Out Finances: Budget largely depends on your objectives. It is critical to optimize the cost to quality and quantity ratio to ensure clients receive their money’s worth. Event managers are set apart on their skill of delivering a great event within a constrained budget.
- Going Public: Once the event is set, you need the guests. Event managers learn and excel in communication and marketing through social media platforms, direct invitations, ad campaigns, roadshows, etc., depending on the audience and reach.
- Risk Management: Events are composed of several uncontrollable variables, but ideal planning considers the odds. With suppliers, guests, venue logistics involved, event managers need to address conflicts and issues smoothly and be on their toes. It is challenging yet exciting and engaging.
- Sustainable Planning: Well-planned events make a strong statement, and in modern times, event planning must consider the social and environmental impact of the program.
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Taking the Professional Route
An MBA in event management is an excellent option to kick starts your exciting journey. The course is a two-year program covering all the technical and non-technical aspects behind all sorts of events. Recent trends indicate a stellar rise in demand for proficient event managers. MBA offers candidates with or without a background in event management to advance their skills and pursue a full-time career.
The course objective includes presentation skills and grooming, communication skills, personality development, and problem-solving ability. Training is practically oriented so that students can work and learn with real-life event management cases.
Eligibility and Admission
MBA is a post-graduation course, where the minimum academic requirements are a high school degree and graduation. You can find out about the marks and co-curricular activities from the individual college websites. Indian institutes either allow direct application to schools or through an entrance examination. Generally, you will undergo a personal interview and group discussion session before finalizing your admission.
For an MBA in event management abroad, candidates need to successfully clear GRE/GMAT and TOEFL/IELTS to initiate the admission process. Include a Statement of Purpose, transcripts, and letters of recommendation to improve your chances for consideration. Exceptional students with relevant industry experience and internships are also eligible for scholarship programs.
You can pursue a career in event management with a graduation degree in any subject. Having some experience in the field may help your case. An MBA degree focuses deeply on the practical and technical end of the business. You pick up a hands-on experience on how the industry works and actively participating in various scenarios.
Setting yourself apart
Now an MBA degree is not mandatory for a career in event management. You can always grind your way to the top by working hard and planning events. However, the course helps you develop each aspect of the work while working closely with industry experts and leaders. Here are the advantages of an MBA in event management so that you set yourself apart from the crowd –
- You improve your resume and, ultimately, your employment prospect by completing the course. Moreover, you can start your joint and become an entrepreneur as you learn about finances, product management, and logistics.
- It is no secret that MBA raises the bar for your salary. Companies are on the lookout for qualified event managers, and the degree makes you credible. You nurture the skill set required and develop a background in real-life problem-solving. The average salary for MBA graduates depends on the industry and verticality but sets you apart.
- MBA teaches candidates the fundamentals of event management, including communication, ideation, financial management, presentation, etc. With strong core concepts, students can sustain themselves in the industry as capable business leaders. You work on intangible factors as well, like time management, organizational skills, and problem-solving abilities.
- Starting with an MBA degree, you can pursue academics further and complete a second Masters’s or a Doctorate. The industry requires academicians and researchers as much as it needs working professionals.
Skills you develop
The best event managers efficiently deliver programs with their capabilities in a range of tangible and intangible skills. While on course, here are some of the aspects you will nurture
- Attention to detail, as the little things can make or break a successful event.
- Organizing the model, along with managing people and your schedules
- Creativity and innovation to design and plan a unique event and cater to the clients’ expectations
- Planning and rehearsing
- Budgeting the entire event to make it affordable and keeping records efficiently using spreadsheets and logbooks
- Working together with your team and the location staff, catering crew, suppliers, etc.
- Socializing with different people and effectively communicating with them
Expanding your Horizon
While India offers excellent MBA programs, event management is a global industry. If you choose to pursue an MBA in event management in the USA, you will work with a diverse group of professors and students and connect with foreign companies. Studying abroad is ideal for learning the nuances of an industry on a higher level. The US is also the market leader in multiple industries, housing companies like Google, Facebook, and Deloitte. You can work on events at the best places for exposure and bragging rights with the right course.
Another excellent country for education in Canada is standing tall as a leading global economy. Work on your fundamental organizational and fundamental skills from real-life industry experiences when you pursue an MBA in event management in Canada. Studying abroad exposes you to different work cultures, and you can incorporate the learnings into your work.
The Event Manager Vibe
With everything in mind, MBA in event management prepares you for the industry. You have the scope to make mistakes and work through them without repercussions. Planning a large-scale event is a daunting task, which requires tenacity and keeping up with changing times. Event management is largely about glitz and glamour, and clients’ demands are ever-evolving. However, you get to travel to unique locations, meet new people, and get rewarded for facing unique challenges.
Event management is a career path anyone can start at any point in their life. The demand for efficient event managers can only rise in the future, and monotony possibilities are unlikely. If you think you are prepared for the challenge, make a move and enrol yourself into an esteemed MBA program. The rest will unfold seamlessly as you move ahead.