Merivale Guest Lecture for ICMS Event Students

Finding a mentor, managing their personal brands and striving for a life less ordinary was just part of the advice dynamic Merivale Business Development Manager Jude Knam gave ICMS students recently.

Knam delivered an inspiring lecture to second year Event Management students at the ICMS campus in her capacity as guest speaker. Drawing on her experience and current role at Merivale – a Sydney based hospitality group with around 73 restaurants, bars, pubs, hotels and function spaces – Knam urged students to work hard and smart in their chosen profession.

Knam has risen through the hospitality ranks from event planner to event sales person and finally, to Business Development Manager.

In 2016 alone, the Merivale group managed around 1300 events. As Business Development Manager Knam was instrumental in the success of many of these events.

She advised the ICMS students to be conscious about how they climbed the corporate ladder, recommending that get their foot in the door early, making themselves known to managers. Put in the extra effort, stay late and take on many tasks, she advised. By making themselves known, when a position opens up later on, managers will think of them and recommend them for the role.

In terms of events, Knam told students to think of what aspect of events motivated them and to work towards being in that space.

“Creating an experience for certain clients pays for itself down the line,” she said.

Bachelor of Event Management

Creating special memories and designing lifetime experiences for others is what makes a career in event management so fulfilling.

Event management is a growing global industry with a broad range of employment opportunities across different industries. This is the ideal career for you if you are organised, sociable and enjoy the satisfaction of seeing a project through to competition.

The Bachelor of Event Management will equip you with the skills to rise to the top of this diverse and dynamic sector. Designed to position students for success in the exciting events industry, this is a qualification which could to take you anywhere in the world.

Subjects focus on core business skills with the addition of specialised event management subjects. Business subjects include sales and marketing; agile leadership, collaboration and managing people; strategic planning and innovative problem solving; and financial literacy. In your specialisation subjects you will be exposed to creative events that stand out from the rest and will have an opportunity to explore various event ideas and translate them into your own creative event concepts and designs.