Sir Muhammad

Can you introduce yourself briefly?

• My name is Muhammad Ajizul Amin, I’m the business lecturer teaching for BTEC Level 3 Intake 12 Business on ‘Managing an Event’ module; So basically, they are conducting events.

Can you provide a general summary of the event your learning partners just completed?

• Well for this Cosmo Carnival 2023 is actually to provide a fun event to help the students, not only with their studies but also, while doing their assignment they’ll have fun and learn and gain a lot experience and knowledge throughout it. This Cosmo Carnival is not only for themselves but to also provide the other students to experience events made by the business students in Cosmopolitan College.

What was the main goal or purpose behind organizing this event?

• The goal and purpose were to teach them from theory to practical. They learn proper planning, organizing as well as executing the plan into action. Depending on the semester, they will conduct these sorts of events based off what they’re learning and also conducting these events to gain more experience and knowledge in a practical method.

Planning an event involves various stages, from conceptualization to execution. Could you highlight a few pivotal moments or decisions made by the students during these stages?

• Throughout the planning, the student needs to understand that when it comes to business, what makes yours unique. So, with this event we applied the same theory, what makes this event different and unique compared to other events in Brunei Darussalam. So, what they did was using the UV Lights and focused on evening time to give students an experience at night.

Sir Muhammad’s remarks highlight the outstanding planning and organization skills of the business students who put together this impressive carnival. Their thorough attention to detail is evident in every aspect of the event, ensuring a smooth and enjoyable experience for all attendees. We interviewed 4 of the team members to ask them about their experience organizing this carnival, meet the interviewees;

Qayyum Iskandar, Leader. He is in charge of monitoring his team members, making sure they complete their task, turn it in on time and ensuring the are progressing.

Ameerah, Sub-Leader. Guides the team and gives out tasks.

Sherra, under the Logistics Department. Handles HSE (Health, Safety, Security and Environment) and is responsible for the layout of the carnival.

Dayat, under Logistics Department. Handles HSE (Health, Safety, Security and Environment) and is responsible for the layout of the carnival.

Events require careful planning. How long did it take and what was the most exciting part of the planning process for you, and what were some of the challenges you faced along the way?

• Qayyum

To me the most exciting part was when everyone was cooperating, and we had a laugh. We suggested some dumb ideas. Probably the challenges I faced was miscommunication and some of the members feeling left out, so I had to take over and made sure they didn’t feel that way again.

• Sherra

The amount of time we took to plan this carnival was around 4-5 months, where a lot of things happened. The challenges we faced where some members didn’t want to cooperate but we managed but we managed to pull through last minute.

Events often have a target audience. How did you identify your target audience, and what strategies did you use to engage them and make the event appealing?

• Ameerah

At the start, we decided to do a survey for the event, we put in questions relating to the event such as what theme they want, what days they want the event to be on, what games they preferred, and what form of entertainment.

• Sherra

As it is an internal event, we targeted the staff and students of Cosmo. How we did so was by using social media such as making an Instagram account, where the marketing team had to promote the carnival the day before, the day itself, and the last day of the event.

Can you share a specific instance where things didn’t go as planned and how your team managed to adapt and overcome the situation?

• Ameerah

The challenges were the music club, where they had another event on the same day as the carnival. But in the end the timing worked out. Also, during the carnival there were other events happening, so we weren’t able to play song and could make too much noise in the area. This became an issue for the indoor theatre, karaoke, and performances. We basically had to extend the Music Club’s time but it was okay, we made sure everyone was okay and the carnival was running smoothly.

What advice would you give to future students who might take on similar event-planning projects? What are the key takeaways you’d want them to keep in mind?

• Qayyum

The important thing is teamwork and communication; It is a priority when planning an event, because when team members don’t communicate with their Head of Department, it can create conflict, fights, misunderstanding.

• Dayat

My advice for the future students is to is to use teamwork, always work together no matter how hard it is. Just believe the event will be successful and keep in mind, even though something would go down, always believe something will also go up.

Special thanks and congratulations to the BTEC Level 3 Intake 12 Business students for pulling this Carnival off. It was a spectacular event and their hard work definitely paid off, students and staff were able to have a good time and enjoy themselves. May goodluck follow you into your future endeavors.