Leisure & Events Management

Overview of Leisure & Events Management

What Leisure and Events Management offers

Of course, knowing how to organise an amazing festival or productive commercial event is part of what you learn on this course, but the Leisure & Events Management programme is also so much more. Leisure & events management is playing an increasingly relevant role in areas such as healthcare, housing and the workfloor. Neighbour-led events such as play streets help create stronger connections between residents, and sports and leisure activities for patients give them an escape from their medical-focused environment, while placemaking initiatives like a playground in your street or a town centre square help make public spaces more appealing. 

Along with learning to create meaningful initiatives for our society, you’ll also learn how to coordinate business events. Teambuilding activities such as workshops and  business outings are seen to strengthen collaborations, while congresses and trade fairs help build knowledge and networks. And with more and more businesses valuing a healthy work-life balance, recreational activities such as yoga and meditation courses are recognised as contributing to the well-being and productivity of employees. 

In four years, you develop into a fully-fledged professional in the event management and leisure industry. You’ll learn to research trends in leisure and understand their impact on your offerings. And you’ll develop your own vision of event management and learn how to turn this vision into events for the future. By combining different perspectives, you’ll come up with creative, innovative concepts as you work with companies on contemporary solutions to real issues. 

Leisure and Events Management in practice

You work on assignments from real companies in each year of the course, often collaborating in small groups and coached by lecturers with relevant practical media & entertainment experience. This method of working (Design-Based Education) means you learn to draw on feedback to adapt your ideas and become more flexible, while also developing your teamwork and leadership skills. You could be developing an innovative product, putting yourself in the shoes of the target group and creating meaningful experiences to meet their needs or developing an effective online marketing campaign – or all of the above! It all adds to you developing your insights into the sector and learning to create solutions for real-world situations in the leisure & events industry.

You can also earn additional industry certification while you study, working on, for instance your Level 1 certification in Event Design Canvas TM from EDC. EDC is an internationally recognised organisation that trains and recognises event professionals worldwide. In addition, you graduate from leisure & events management with certification from the trade association IDEA (Independent Dutch Event Association).

In your final year, you spend eight months on a paid internship in the leisure & events industry. This enables you to invest in your personal development and offers an excellent chance of employment after graduating. Companies we work with offering internships include Walibi, Dance4 Life, TUI, Wildlands Adventure Zoo Emmen and MCI.

Gain international experience

Studying leisure & events management at NHL Stenden means you can spend part of your degree studying abroad. Our participation in RUN-EU means you can join Short Advanced Programmes and carry out projects with partner institutions in Europe. You can also go to one of the NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences Grand Tour locations in South Africa, Bali or Thailand. Or you can go on an exchange to a partner university or and delve into a totally new way of studying. You could specialise in one of the sub-sectors of the leisure industry, event management, sport management or arts and culture, or you can also spread your wings further afield and take a minor in gastronomy or outdoor leadership. With over 100 different minors on offer through NHL Stenden and held at locations all over the world, you're sure to find the perfect specialisation.

The reasons to study at NHL Stenden 

The things that make a difference in the world often start as ideas from people daring to question what others assume. At NHL Stenden, you work in mixed groups so you can use each other's perspectives to unravel unobvious choices. Through real-life projects you learn by doing and this, combined with your internship, truly gives you a head start on your career. With our international opportunities and study environment, you develop a global network while the extracurricular activities you can pick up mean you develop talents that help you explore beyond your studies. While this is all great for your future, we know you also need to focus on your time as a student. Which is why we aim to make NHL Stenden your home away from home, a community where you’re known by your name, so you can be the person you truly are. For us, that makes you original. And it makes NHL Stenden, home of the originals.