Reflection written by using Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle

On the 16^th of April I organised a bar training at Breda University of Applied Sciences. I did this together with a project group for our career tools session. This training session was led by Festisquad and attended by second year students of the specialisation live music and dance events.  I had the responsibility to organize the event and therefor reached out to Festisquad a company that does cash, bar, food and many other services. During the training I let Festisquad lead the session. They provided a mix of theoretical knowledge and hands on practice, including beer drafting with the students in an actual bar setting.

The training went very well with students who are normally easily distracted paying attention which can be seen as interest. The content Festisquad was engaging with theory and experience being combined. One small issue occurred before the session when it became clear that it was unclear that the presentation needed to be in English, but this was resolved in before the training started. Participants asked questions and actively took part in the practical segment. Personally I honestly felt quite neutral beforehand probably because I had experienced this same exact training multiple times before. The third time being the day before, which led to this being the fourth time overall but also the second time in 24 hours that I had this training. . However, afterward I felt very satisfied and proud that we had delivered something valuable and engaging for the students.

This experience made it very clear that early planning is needed especially in a sector where availability is limited. It also showed that effective communication and teamwork is needed there were moments in the beginning of the year when group members did not response but you can’t make decisions without consulting them. Collaborating with Festisquad and ensuring everything was taken care of relates to my planning and networking skills which can be seen as some of my strengths. This experience reinforced skills I have developed  in event planning and leadership: the need for clear communication, stakeholder engagement, and contingency awareness.

If I ever had to organise this event or doe it again I would aim to schedule it later in spring or the beginning of summer so it could be held outside. This adds to the atmosphere and could create a more fun interactive setting. I would ask team members to take on some workload because now I contacted the company and sent out the invitation even after asking some to do this so perhaps lead a bit more however this was quite a simple assignment that didn’t require so many people to organise. I would include what to expect content wise as well instead of just inviting people to the session. Overall I will take the importance of securing appointments early and communicating clearly with me in the future.