We speak to shadow board member Vikesh Sitpura about his journey in the events industry so far: Vikesh Sitpura is the Co-Founder at International Institute of Live Events. Vikesh is a Live Events Production graduate. He has been working in the events industry for the past 6 years in various freelance and full time positions.
After graduating from University with a BA (Hons) in Live Events Production in 2018, he began a role at Alton Towers Resort as an Entertainment Technician, this role embedded the key principle of developing exciting, innovative and memorable spectator experiences. Whilst completing his degree he launched his own events company which offers music event services across the UK. Since its launch in 2018 he has delivered over 30 events in England and Wales with 5000+ attendees and featured a range of DJ’s and Artists. As a freelancer working in the events industry, he has worked in various different roles. Currently he is a Marketing Director / Event Manager at an educational technology company.
Tell us about where you are now, and what you love about your job/ course.
I am currently a Marketing Director and Event Manager for a Technology company based in Wolverhampton. I love quite a few things about my job, the biggest is being able to be creative everyday. I enjoy the aspect of seeing projects from their initial planning phases, all the way to delivery and seeing the impact it has to customers. I also like finding new exhibition to attend, and being able to create a perfect stand for the products we sell.
Tell us a bit about your journey to get there.
If you would have told me I would be a Marketing Director after I graduated university I wouldn’t have believed you. I don’t have a marketing degree, instead I studied Live Event Production and had knowledge of marketing from creating my own events company while at university.
From this I got a call from a friend that needed help with an exhibition their company were attending at the Excel, London. I helped with the planning and delivery of the stand, while also helping with the marketing aspects. The event went really well and I ended being offered a full time position.
Leaving school I wanted to have a creative career so I studied Creative Media, Music Technology and Technical Theatre. I found that Technical Theatre combined my passions and I decided to pursue further at university.
What do you wish you’d know when starting out in the industry? What advice would you give to young people starting out in the industry now?
I have been working on events industry way before I was able to work in the industry professionally, so knew what I was getting into. The advice I would give to young people is that to volunteer and explore as many different jobs in the events world as possible.
You’ll understand what each department needs for the event to be successful, as if one of these fails it might hinder the whole event. Not only will you gain insight into these departments but you will also find what aspect of the event industry you love the most.
What do you love about the events industry?
For me the event industry was the perfect fit for my passions. It combined the things I loved which was music, media and being able to have a creative output. I also enjoy aspects of traveling to different places around the UK and Europe to deliver events and meeting new people.
What I love most is the delivery process of an event. I enjoy working creating concepts, finding solutions and seeing the end product.
Can you recommend one resource for young people starting in the industry to check out?
I would highly recommend looking at the International Institute of Live Events website as they have lots of free resources to give you an insight and to learn more about the events world!