{"id":1233,"date":"2019-04-25T15:30:35","date_gmt":"2019-04-25T15:30:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/business-school\/?p=1233"},"modified":"2019-04-25T16:39:37","modified_gmt":"2019-04-25T15:39:37","slug":"wonderful-and-unique-our-curop-experience-at-the-national-eisteddfod-of-wales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/business-school\/wonderful-and-unique-our-curop-experience-at-the-national-eisteddfod-of-wales\/","title":{"rendered":"Wonderful and unique: Our CUROP experience at the National Eisteddfod of Wales"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
CUROP 2018 graduates Sioned Murphy and Math Emyr. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In our latest post, we caught up with CUROP 2018 graduates Sioned Murphy and Math Emyr. They told us all about their experience on the University\u2019s student research initiative and how their involvement gave them a unique insight into the National Eisteddfod of Wales.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

JR: Hello\nboth, so nice to meet you. I wonder if you can start by telling me your names and\nwhat you\u2019re studying here at Cardiff Business School<\/a>?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ME:<\/strong> Shwmae!\nMy name\u2019s Math Emyr and I\u2019m in my third and final year studying Accounting\n(BSc)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SM:<\/strong> Helo. I\u2019m\nSioned Murphy and I\u2019m in my second year studying Business\nManagement with an Integrated Work Placement (BSc)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re both students here in Cardiff Business School and last\nsummer we took part in the Cardiff\nUndergraduate Research Opportunities Programme (CUROP)<\/a> with Drs Nicole\nKoenig-Lewis and Eleri Rosier from our School and Dr Andrea Collins from the School\nof Geography and Planning<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ME:<\/strong> Our project was on the impacts and legacies of festivals in Wales. And with the National Eisteddfod (NEoW)<\/a> taking place in Cardiff for the first time since 2008, we used the annual festival of competitions and performances as a case study. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The 2018 National Eisteddfod of Wales took place in Cardiff for the first time since 2008.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

JR: Great\nto meet you both. So, you\u2019ve mentioned the University\u2019s CUROP Scheme. Why did you\ntake part in this particular project?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SM:<\/strong> Well, I\nthink we were both looking to gain work experience in academia and we came\nacross an advert for the 8-week project on the Student Intranet<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ad said Nicole, Eleri and Andrea were looking for two students\nto assist with ongoing festivals research, one with a Buiness Management background\nand, as it would focus on NEoW, one fluent in Welsh. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ME:<\/strong> The Welsh\nbit is where I come in. I\u2019ve always been a hardcore NEoW attendee, having gone\nto the events since I was a baby. Growing up in wales, I\u2019ve enjoyed the\nfun-packed week of concerts, exploring the stalls and soaking in the festival\natmosphere with friends and family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, taking part in the project meant a summer job where I could\nput my Welsh language skills to use. It also meant that I\u2019d be attending my 21st<\/sup>\nNational Eisteddfod. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two things combined made it an unmissable opportunity!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JR: And\nhow about you Sioned?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SM:<\/strong> Well, I\u2019d\nbeen studying Marketing on my course and so was excited about the prospect of\nconducting research into visitor experience and gaining an insight into how marketers\ngo about their field work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, after my Grandad, who was a Welsh speaker, passed away last March, I wanted to learn more about my heritage and the language I missed hearing on family visits to Swansea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

JR: Wow, it\nsounds like you were the ideal candidates for this project! I wonder if you can\ntell us a bit more about the research? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SM:<\/strong> We\nconducted research into the festival and explored the data findings collected\nfrom a visitor  survey in 2017 to prepare\nfor the 2018 research. The survey asked a range of questions about visitors\u2019\nsatisfaction with the organisation and experience of the National Eisteddfod\nand how people travelled to and during the festival. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
2018 marked an experimental year for the festival which was held in the urban setting of Cardiff Bay.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

ME:<\/strong> It was an\nexciting research stage because 2018 marked an experimental year for the\nfestival which was held in the urban setting of Cardiff Bay contrasting from\nthe traditional field settings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The purpose behind the 2018 survey was to see whether a contextual\nchange impacted the experience of all visitor groups including first-time and frequent\nvisitors, fluent Welsh speakers, Welsh learners and non-Welsh speakers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SM:<\/strong> The NEoW\nmanagement were also curious to find out whether visitors were encouraged to\nuse more sustainable travel for the festival by using public transport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the previous year, 90.5% travelled by car, campervan or taxi to\nAnglesey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, during the festival we held a stall at the Cardiff\nUniversity Pavilion<\/a>. The sun was out which was a bonus as it\nattracted a heavy footfall of visitors, whose length of stay was 3.7 days on\naverage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ME:<\/strong> We\ndisplayed labelled transport boxes and provided counters for visitors to show\nus how they travelled to the festival. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
NEoW management was curious to find out if the urban setting encouraged festival-goers to use more sustainable modes of transport.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The online survey confirmed, that car usage to the festival fell\ndramatically to 47%. It was even more encouraging to see the popular use of\ntrain and bus services to the festival (39%). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visitors also showed us where they\u2019d come from by placing a pin on our map. We were amazed to see the broad geographic demographic of visitors, which ranged from Mountain Ash and Anglesey in Wales, to Sterling in Scotland, to Iran, the US, most parts of Western and Eastern Europe to Fiji across the other side of the world! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SM:<\/strong> Yeah, the visual aids really created a buzz among our stall visitors. And that meant that we generated a lot of interest in our research project. We had over 800 respondents take part in our online survey following their visit, 684 of which we used for our research analysis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Dylan the Dragon admiring one of Sioned and Math’s visual research aids.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

JR: What\ndo you think you got out of the experience?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SM:<\/strong> Overall, I think the project was great for developing our analytical, written and presentation skills. Once completed, we presented our results to the senior Management of the National Eisteddfod and at the CUROP Poster event in City Hall in October. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The pair at the CUROP Poster event in City Hall in October. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

These skills have proven to be really transferable as I have been graded in my second year on conducting research in two of my modules and presenting my findings to a group of people. This time last year, the prospect of presenting to people was a daunting one but I firmly believe my confidence with public speaking has grown as a result of the CUROP experience and it\u2019s now something I thoroughly enjoy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ME: <\/strong>I couldn\u2019t agree more\nwith Sioned. The experience also taught me how researchers forge links with\nmedia outlets and organisations external to academic spheres. For me this has\nbeen a really important insight as it has shown us that academia is something\nthat is inclusive of all people whether they are involved with the research\nfront, they spread the word of the project or participate by sharing their\nviews. Raising the profile of our work was made more fun by speaking to the\nmedia and it was made more special by being able to apply my Welsh language\nskills in a work setting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Local celebrity, Math Emyr, participating in one of many Welsh Language media interviews.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

SM:<\/strong> I think Math became a local legend as he was interviewed by BBC Radio Cymru, S4C and the NEoW media. Visitors were coming to the stall because they had heard and seen Math on the radio and TV! I was delighted to also get involved with an interview for a Scandinavian broadcast company and reach out to a wider audience to share the purpose behind our project and the importance of celebrating cultural events like this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

JR: And what did the NEoW Management think of your work?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SM:<\/strong> They were\nencouraged that our findings reported 96.8% of respondents attended to \u2018enjoy\nand support the Welsh culture\u2019, with 85.5% agreeing\/strongly agreeing that they\nenjoyed \u2018the unique cultural and educational experience\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ME:<\/strong> This\nyear\u2019s model proved popular with an astounding 93.7% and 94.3% of our respondents\nreporting feeling satisfied\/very satisfied with the Eisteddfod overall and the\natmosphere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comments included \u201cA great atmosphere.\u201d \u201cPlenty to see and do.\u201d \u201cLovely\nweather\u201d and \u201cLovely to hear Welsh language at all levels\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The crowd singing on the Senedd steps with Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The most popular reported memories of the event were the\natmosphere and live performances in the Maes, the food and drink, and the crowd\nsinging on the Senedd steps with Geraint Thomas! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SM:<\/strong> Another great result was in relation to travel.\nIntended to actual travel emissions fell by an incredible 18.3% due to more\nvisitors using sustainable means of transport compared to their intentions\nstated in the previous year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We even had visitors who visited the store on consecutive days coming back to the stall to tell us they had been encouraged to switch to more environmentally friendly transport to travel to the event from their place of stay. I even encouraged my family to walk and take a water taxi!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JR: So\nwhat\u2019s next for you both?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ME:<\/strong> Well, my\nfinal year of studies is occupying a lot of my time at the moment, but\nalongside that I\u2019ve managed to continue attending music and Welsh-Speaking\nevents in Cardiff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plus, I\u2019ve already planned my stay for the NEoW 2019. That\u2019ll take\nmy tally up to 22 years! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SE:<\/strong> Well, the Integrated Work Placement part of my\ndegree has given me a chance to develop my professional skills further. For the\nlast 16 weeks, I\u2019ve been on a Robotics\ninternship with the international packaging company, DS Smith building a virtual robot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m keen to attend another National Eisteddfod in the future\nto experience a new setting and practise my new stock of Welsh phrases! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
‘A wonderful and unique research opportunity.’<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

SM:<\/strong> We\u2019d like\nto say a massive thank you to Nicole, Eleri and Andrea for all their continued\nsupport and for giving us this wonderful and unique research opportunity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ME:<\/strong> Yeah, absolutely. And, to anyone thinking of applying to CUROP this summer, we couldn\u2019t recommend it enough!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nCardiff Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme (CUROP) and Cardiff\nUniversity Student Education Innovation Projects (CUSEIP) schemes offer\nstudents a paid opportunity to spend up to eight weeks working with staff on\nprojects. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students\nget paid \u00a39.36 an hour for up to 25 hours per week (total project hours 200).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nprojects provide unique development opportunities for students to sample live\nresearch or learning and teaching to enhance their academic and transferable\nskills and make a more informed decision on furthering their research at\npostgraduate level.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find out\nmore about CUROP and CUSEIP on the Student\nIntranet<\/a> or contact the Summer Placements Team<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CUROP 2018 graduates Sioned Murphy and Math Emyr. In our latest post, we caught up with CUROP 2018 graduates Sioned Murphy and Math Emyr. They told us all about their […]","protected":false},"author":1016,"featured_media":1234,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[719],"tags":[723,728,733,428,736,28,100,731,725,721,727,486,722,735,485,500,720,726,16,41,732,254,737,734,47,399,730],"class_list":["post-1233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-student-experience","tag-accounting","tag-andrea-collins","tag-atmosphere","tag-business-management","tag-cardiff-bay","tag-cardiff-business-school","tag-cardiff-university","tag-concerts","tag-culture","tag-curop","tag-eleri-rosier","tag-family","tag-festivals","tag-field-work","tag-friends","tag-marketing","tag-national-eisteddfod-of-wales","tag-nicole-koenig-lewis","tag-research","tag-school-of-geography-and-planning","tag-stalls","tag-sustainability","tag-travel","tag-visitor-experience","tag-wales","tag-welsh","tag-welsh-language"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paOfaS-jT","meta_box":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/business-school\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2019\/04\/Our-CUROP-Experience.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/business-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/business-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/business-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/business-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1016"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/business-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1233"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/business-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1233\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1271,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/business-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1233\/revisions\/1271"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/business-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/business-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/business-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/business-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}