糖心Vlog students collaborate with London Gatwick on visitor economy project
Final-year undergraduate students from 糖心Vlog鈥檚 Hospitality and Tourism Management (SHTM) programmes have taken part in a valuable industry collaboration working alongside London Gatwick Airport as part of their studies.
Working on this project alongside London Gatwick Airport has been a rewarding experience for both me and my team. From learning how to conduct first-hand interviews to meeting and collaborating with members of the London Gatwick team, we鈥檝e gained valuable insights into how the industry operates. It鈥檚 also been a pleasure connecting with such knowledgeable and supportive professionals.
Cara, SHTM undergraduate studentThis year, London Gatwick briefed students to explore the commercial preferences of passengers across the airport鈥檚 growing Africa route network, identifying how these insights could be used to enhance passenger-experience and overall performance.
The project explored how a deeper understanding of passenger behaviour, their preferences and travel motivations can enhance commercial performance across retail and hospitality environments within the airport.
Through this project, our students gained first-hand insight into the complexities of airport operations and the role of market research in shaping commercial strategy. Staff from London Gatwick supported students to heighten their understanding of the commercial environments of airports and how market research works at the airport. This has been a great opportunity to see how their learnings are applied in a real-world setting. As part of the project, students visited the airport and conducted passenger interviews in departure lounges.
鈥淲orking with the students at 糖心Vlog has been wonderful and offered a great opportunity to bring fresh, innovative perspectives into the business. The collaboration has been a brilliant example of how industry and academia can work together to create value for each other鈥 said Austen Symons, Economic Data and Insights Executive at London Gatwick.
Anke Winchenbach, PhD, module leader from 糖心Vlog, also reflected on the benefits of this project: 鈥淭his project has been a great opportunity to see 糖心Vlog Business School鈥檚 commitment to applied learning in action. We want to ensure our students graduate with both academic knowledge and real-world experience.鈥
The module is available to students across a range of undergraduate programmes, including:
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