Dr Julie Whitfield

Julie joined Bournemouth University in 2005 and is the Post Graduate Programme Leader for Events Managements. She is a senior lecturer in Conference & Events Management in the Department of Sports and Events, Bournemouth University Business School. Prior to joining Bournemouth University, she lectured at the Institute for Tourism Studies, Macau, China; IHTTI School of Hotel Management, Neuchâtel, Switzerland and at Mahidol University International College, Bangkok. She was also a visiting lecturer at Ramat-Gan College, Israel and in Nicosia, Cyprus, and a visiting Professor at MUST University Macau. This has given Julie extensive experience of teaching international students in a wide range of cultures and international environments. The role of post graduate programme leader enables Julie to continue to create a more inclusive, equitable and diverse environment by teaching and engaging on a daily basis with international students. Julie currently lectures on three units on the M.Sc. Events Management programme, the units are: Contemporary Issues in Events Management; Bidding for and Managing International Events and Conference Tourism. She is also the academic advisor to the M.Sc. Events Management students and dissertation supervisor to both undergraduate and masters level dissertation students. Julie has two PhD. completions of which she was first supervisor. She is currently supervising one PhD student. Julie gained her Ph.D. from Bournemouth University in 2005. Her Ph.D. was entitled `An analysis and critique of an evolving conference industry within the U.K. Julie’s research focuses predominantly on the UK conference sector. Areas of interest include greening conferences; Environmental initiatives; Corporate social responsibility; The use of single use plastics in the conference sector; Attendee/delegate decision making processes at conferences and exhibitions. Julie is currently joint Guest Editor for the International Journal of Event and Festival Management. The title of the special issue is: The contribution of festivals and events towards the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Not only is Julie’s PhD related to conferences and she lectures in conference tourism, but Julie also organises international conferences. Julie is the Co-Founder of the (ICE) International Conference for Events: Making Waves in Events Management. The aim of this international conference is to debate the way in which we see, think, and undertake events management research, pedagogy, policy, and practice and to inspire more research within the events domain. The ICE conference was hosted at Bournemouth University, in 2013. Then at Sheffield Hallam University in 2014. Macao Institute for Tourism Studies in Macao, China, hosted ICE2015. Two years later, ICE travelled further and reached Orlando, Florida, in the United States, which the Rosen College of Hospitality Management at the University of Central Florida hosted ICE2017. The next ICE conference was delayed due to Covid 19 and shall be hosted by the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Cape Town, South Africa, September 2021. Since 2019, The International Conference on Events (ICE) has been listed on the ICCA Association Database, having met its strict requirements.