Students ‘buzzing’ after disastrous event simulation at Silverstone

Main stage fires, assaults on staff and crowd surges were all part of an events management simulation exercise at Silverstone Circuit this month for students at the University of Northampton.

If it could happen, it did happen for the UON students as they ran the imaginary Nexus Festival from the Silverstone Control Room which is the safety hub for the circuit’s flagship events like the Formula 1 British Grand Prix.

The University’s Events, Tourism and Hospitality undergraduates who took on a variety of control room roles such as Traffic Manager, Race Control and Customer Service lead, were also joined by students on the UON Criminal Justice Programme.

Funded by the Learning & Teaching Innovation Fund, University academics and Circuit staff ensured the students experienced an accurate reflection of reality and that students were guided by some of the most experienced people in the industry.

Claire Drakeley, UON’s Senior Lecturer in Events Management, said: “The purpose of the simulation was to explore a different way of teaching and to develop decision-making skills, it also feeds into my research on decision-making in a crisis.

“Thanks to Circuit staff, this event really raised the bar for students. It wasn’t just the exciting stuff like fires and crimes, they also had to deal with things like overflowing bins, more predictable than a crowd surge or an assault, but nevertheless vital to the smooth running of a major event.

“And it was particularly pleasing to make this a cross curricula activity. The Criminology students had minimal briefing reflecting the reality of a fast-moving event and they got to practice their skills in public safety, gathering evidence and investigating.”

Events, Hospitality and Tourism student, Ines Lopez Gomez, said: “It was incredible just to be in the Silverstone Control Room, it’s hallowed ground for someone like me hoping to work here for real one day.

“It was great working with the Criminology students, when we have jobs for real, we’ll be working with all the public services and contracted security staff, so it’s really important we know how to build a good working relationship with those professions.

“It was an exciting day, exhausting, but we all came away buzzing from the experience.”

To find out more on our webpages about studying Events, Hospitality and Tourism, or Criminology and Policing.