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Comparative Global Perspectives of Event Management Education: Lessons from a Sino-German Double Degree Event Management Program

The number of event management education programs offered by universities around the world is steadily increasing. However, most programs still focus on operational aspects and the project management of events and fail to consider the critical turn in event research that is currently gathering momentum. Based on critical theory, this article uses a qualitative, intrinsic case study to critically discuss the development and evolution of a bilateral, Sino-German event management education program over 13 years, including an outline of its future direction. Twenty-one semistructured interviews with lecturers, students, and alumni were conducted. Thematic analysis, a method that searches for themes in qualitative data, was used for data analysis. The findings demonstrate how the program gradually matured and developed from an operational focus—with a strong emphasis on exporting (business) event expertise from Germany to China—to its current state, where lecturers from two equal partner universities offer a variety of courses, critically discussing cultural, economic, social, and environmental event issues with students and peers. The findings can guide future critical research on event management education and assist other universities when implementing international cooperation with partner universities in different countries.