By Ramona Suonio IBL16

A 2nd year Managerial Communications course includes a student driven project with endless possibilities. Our group ended up organizing a charity event where the profits were donated to a Finnish charity Hope ry. The event was named One Night Stage, with five live artists from different genres such as classical, rock and hip-hop. The project needed tremendous effort and time which surprised all of us. Believe me, we had bigger plans in the beginning. Our combined creative minds thought about organizing a one-day outdoor festival with multiple artists. Due to huge costs and other issues we came back to our senses and decided to do something more manageable.

The importance of networking is discussed a lot about in school. That’s for a good reason since it was the crucial success factor in organizing this event. With networking, I don’t mean those fancy business events where professionals in suits mingle and raise a toast together. One Night Stage required connections from our project group members to get artists and establish new connections, for example with employees from the venue, Elmun baari. Honestly, this event would not have been possible without the co-operation from the artists and the amazing staff of Elmun Baari.

Even when sometimes we were in the verge of desperation, I would recommend a demanding project to get the best learning experience. What we learned from this exceeded all our expectations. You really had to take responsibility since it was not just you who were affected by a half-done job, but also the other parties being Elmun baari and the artists. An experience like this taught us practical skills within time management, marketing and all other aspects of event organizing. The things we learned during this project cannot be learned in the classroom.

There were hardships, like competing against mayday week’s events for students that reduced possible attendees. However, the mood and atmosphere were energetic and excited throughout the event. I can’t say enough how fortunate we were to get this experience and to be able to collaborate with all the stakeholders in One Night Stage. Maybe one day another 2nd year course will continue in our footsteps and there will be a Second Night Stage. We’ll wait and see.