Edinburgh Napier student – Brodie Sutton – is winner of UK Undergraduate Event Management Student of the Year award from the Association for Events Management Education (AEME)

For the second year in a row, an Edinburgh Napier University student has been awarded the title of UK Undergraduate Event Management Student of the Year from the Association for Events Management Education (AEME).

AEME is an international organisation that aims to support and raise the profile of the events discipline through the sharing of education and best practice. This is the second year of AEME presenting this major award, and the second year the award went to an Edinburgh Napier University student, with Cameron Hughes receiving the award in 2021.

Brodie Sutton, winner of the 2022 Award was nominated by his dissertation supervisor Dr Gary Kerr, Associate Professor in Festival & Event Management.

Brodie graduated with a first-class BA (Hons) in International Festival & Event Management with Entrepreneurship. Brodie’s first class degree is representative of his consistent excellent grades he achieved throughout his four years at Edinburgh Napier University. His dissertation examined how drones can be used safely and efficiently at events, creating theoretical and practical insights.

Brodie has been Programme Representative at Staff-Student Liaison Committee over the past 4-years, being shortlisted in 2020 for Edinburgh Napier Student Association’s ‘Best Programme Representative Award’. He was also nominated by his peers and shortlisted this year for Edinburgh Napier Student’s Associations’ ‘Most Inspiring Student Award’.

Brodie served as President (2021-22) of the Edinburgh Napier Events Society. Here, he has guided the society and overseen its development. He has impressed academic staff through a comprehensive calendar of online and hybrid events during the Covid-19 pandemic including organising a Winter Ball for 500 students. He has enriched the student experience through creating opportunities for fellow students – many of whom have gone on to secure work relevant to their university course, in managerial roles, even before graduating from university.

Brodie has been Vice-Coordinator of Meadows Marathon – and led the sponsorship, marketing & partnerships team in this role. This has generated significant funds for the charities supported by the Marathon.

Academic staff at The Business School have been particularly impressed in seeing Brodie step up in the role as Trustee of Edinburgh Student Charities Appeal (ESCA) and to see him share his event management skills with others working for the charity. Passionate about enhancing the student experience, Brodie appeared on the ‘Events for Breakfast’ podcast talking about the need to give students ways of reconnecting post-lockdown.

Remarkably, Brodie has been instrumental in helping academic colleagues in The Business School plan and deliver hybrid and online events. He managed the online deliveries of the ATLAS Events Special Interest Group symposium held at ENU in October 2020, and also managed platform delivery for the BAFA Festivals Forum.

David Jarman, Programme Leader of the BA (Hons) International Festival & Event Management suite of courses said “Brodie has been a fantastic student who has performed so well inside and outside of the classroom, and is fully deserving of this award. We have seen Brodie go from strength to strength. Through his ambition, hard work and professionalism, Brodie has been able to apply learning from the classroom in practical ways, and I’m delighted he has been recognised in this way”.

To find out more about studying Festival and Event Management and the various joint degrees available at Edinburgh Napier University, please click here.