Students from the Event Management, Marketing and Business Management Programmes at the University of Winchester visited Farnborough International Exhibition and Conference Centre to see behind the scenes of a major events venue.
The students were greeted by Winchester alumna and Assistant Venue Director, Helen Ridley, who was able to share her experience of running a large conference centre alongside one of Europe’s leading business airports.
After an insightful tour of the state-of-the-art facilities including the main conference hall, meeting rooms, and exciting new sound stage, the students were treated to a networking lunch before taking part in a Q&A with members of staff.
The students heard about the operational challenges of running a large conference centre on an airfield, the variety of interesting events and filming projects held at the venue, and the team’s work in both hosting and producing events, often in collaboration with external clients to support brand development.
Event management student, Zyrus Miltiadous said: “I really enjoyed attending Farnborough Conference Centre for the day to see a live venue in operation. It was great to put on a high-vis jacket and walk around the conference halls as a trade show was being built, seeing ‘behind the scenes’.
“The staff were all very welcoming and answered lots of our questions. This has certainly encouraged me to gain more event experience in the future.”
Farnborough’s Helen Ridley, who studied BA (Hons) Event Management at Winchester, said: “Championing the next generation is at the heart of what we focus on here at Farnborough International, so it was an absolute pleasure to welcome students from the University of Winchester to our award-winning venue for the day.
"It was fantastic to hear their thoughtful questions and genuine enthusiasm for gaining hands-on industry insight beyond the classroom. We were delighted to showcase our state-of-the-art facilities and provide access to our team of experts to share more about our journey, our vision, and what makes our venue such a dynamic place to work and create memorable events.”
The students will now apply elements of what they learned at Farnborough to their assessed events taking place around Winchester.
Pictured: University of Winchester staff and students on their visit to Farnborough International Exhibition and Conference Centre hosted by alumna Helen Ridley, Assistant Venue Director.
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