Tourism and events students from William Angliss Institute walked away with an incredible seven awards at the Melbourne Airport Developing Tourism Leaders (DTL) Awards last night, with Event Management student Almila Erturk scooping the top honours.

The awards are run by Service Skills Victoria to recognise the talents of students studying tourism, events and hospitality across the State. The winners were announced by Service Skills Victoria’s CEO Ian Nicolson at a special ceremony held at the Victoria Employers’ Chambers of Commerce and Industry in East Melbourne.

To be considered for an award, final year students are required to develop innovative small business and event concepts and plans, specifically for tourism products. Submissions are judged by a panel of industry representatives on their feasibility, innovation and knowledge of the tourism industry.

It is the second year running that a student from the Institute has walked away with the overall winner’s title. Almila Erturk was recognised for her proposal of an environmentally friendly fashion parade at which designers would showcase their environmentally friendly clothing. The event would be 100% carbon offset and held at the city’s Botanical Gardens.

Speaking of her success, Almila said: “These awards provide students with an amazing opportunity to be publically recognised and rewarded. I never dreamed I would win. It came as a total surprise. I feel very honoured that the panel chose me.”

For her outstanding achievement, Almila was given membership to the Young Tourism Network, two tickets for the Apollo Bay Music Festival and a $2,000 Flight Centre voucher.

And Almila wasn’t the only winner. William Angliss Institute Events students Anucia de Boer, Samantha Richards and Janelle French all walked away with Merits, whilst Huong Thi Nguyen was Highly Commended by judges. Ideas amongst the group were as diverse as an ‘enchanted garden’ dinner, drama and dance event held in Fitzroy Gardens and a special lantern festival for Melbourne’s Asian community.

Tourism student Megan Chappel also walked away with a prize, having received a Special Mention by judges for her concept of a walking tour of Melbourne for primary school children.

Kerrie Obst, Manager Tourism and Event Management at William Angliss Institute said: “We are absolutely delighted that so many of our students were recognised by the panel. It’s a great endorsement of the courses, the level of commitment of our teachers and the unique talents of each student involved. This kind of recognition goes to show that our strategic and innovative approach to training really works.”

William Angliss Institute is a dedicated training provider for the hospitality, tourism, food and events industries with over 15,000 students trained at the main campus in Melbourne each year.

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