Event Summary

This webinar is hosted by Jon Cheek, the Founder and Director of UniTasterDays. Guidance is provided for students to help them make good choices when considering university. The guest speakers for this event are Beverley Boden, a Principal Lecturer at Teesside University and Gurpal Dulai, a Travel and Tourism Graduate at Teesside University.

An introduction to university courses in travel, tourism and aviation
There are many economies which rely on tourism and this requires a huge workforce of people, making this a vast sector. Beverley talks about the advantages of studying travel and tourism at university such as learning about different destinations, getting new experiences and gaining the confidence to work in a competitive global labour market.

She explains why having a degree to work in this industry is an advantage when it comes to employability and why it makes you an attractive candidate to employers. Not only does this degree give you so many options, explains Beverley, but you also pick up on sector specific skills like currency fluctuation, event planning and management. With this course you will gain academic knowledge as well as transferable skills that other degrees do not give you. Beverley goes on to speak about the range of degrees available with different entry levels. She explains why there are so many different course titles and which ones you should choose depending on your long-term career goals. She also touches on the ways you will be taught on the course, the financial aspect of the degree and opportunities you will have to network. Finally, Beverley explains how you will be assessed on the course and how travel and tourism has changed in a COVID-19 world.

A student perspective of studying travel, tourism and aviation
Gurpal provides a student viewpoint on studying travel and tourism at university. He speaks about the modules he studies in each year of university, the practical elements of the course and the changes from first year to second year. Gurpal touches on the internships he was able to undertake in his second year and the benefits of gaining some experience. Finally, he explains about how he studied in his third year through the coronavirus pandemic and the support he received to ensure he was able to complete his degree.

Session summary from Rubaya Zaman, a final year English Literature student at the University of Birmingham.