Best Meeting Thesis Austria Award 2022 Goes to the University of Applied Sciences Kufstein Tirol
The Austrian Convention Bureau (ACB) is the umbrella organization of the Austrian convention and meeting industry. Part of its mission is to promote young talent and research related to the industry. In the category of best master’s thesis 2022, Lena Reil, MA, was able to secure the prestigious award with her thesis entitled “Ecological sustainability in the MICE sector: Integration of sustainable service supply chain management in the planning of incentive events using the example of event management companies in Tirol” (title translated from German).
Lena Reil is a graduate of the University of Applied Sciences Kufstein Tirol, where she completed both the bachelor’s and the master’s program in Sports, Culture & Event Management in its part-time organizational form. “It is an overwhelming and gratifying feeling to know that one’s work has added value to the industry and is being recognized by industry representatives,” said Reil. “The issue of sustainability is very close to my heart, and my work in the MICE industry has allowed me to link these two fields.”
The industry association ACB supports and honors scientific work in the field of the convention and meeting industry. With the award Best Meeting Thesis Austria (BMTA), an additional platform was created to bring together young professionals and experts in the meetings industry. Students thus have the opportunity to present important results and conclusions of their theses to a professional audience, and can exchange ideas and network with industry representatives, including the ACB Board.
Award Honors a Thesis Focused on Sustainability
Most event managers these days see it as their duty to organize sustainable events, meaning they strive to minimize any negative environmental impact of their events. This thesis focuses on the MICE sector, i.e. the meeting, tourism, and congress industries. The MICE sector in general and the incentive industry in particular contribute to a large carbon footprint with their frequently included travel arrangements. The study by Lena Reil dealt with the greening process of incentive events, with a focus on Service Supply Chain Management (SSCM), an approach to the question which had been neglected in previous research. Six interviews with experts were conducted as part of the study. The results show that the issue of sustainability already has a high priority in incentive planning. The interviewed event management companies offered different approaches on how sustainable SSCM can be integrated into the planning of incentive events. The beneficiaries of this study are the MICE industry, particularly incentive organizers, but first and foremost our environment.
“My thesis highlights the importance of the issue of sustainability in the real business world, but also closed important gaps in research. It is thus relevant both as a basis for further research and for establishing sustainability programs within the event management industry,” said the laureate of the award, Lena Reil, who is responsible for the marketing of events at Olympiaworld in Innsbruck.
Recently completed theses dealing with the meetings industry can be nominated with the ACB for this year’s award no later than July 15.