BU student wins place at prestigious business conference in Vienna

A student from Bournemouth University will attend a prestigious business conference in Vienna, after being placed in the top ten of a worldwide competition.

Third year BA (Hons) Business Studies student Olivia Osmond has won a place to the Global Drucker Forum, an international business management conference attended by some of the world’s top business leaders.

She saw off competition from 40 different countries to be placed in the top 10 of the the Global Drucker Challenge 2014, an essay and video contest for students and professionals up to the age of 35.

Her prize included a free delegate place at the 6th Global Drucker Forum, in November, and an invitation to all of its gala networking events.

Olivia said: “I am honoured to have been selected as a finalist in this year’s Peter Drucker Challenge, and to be the only student finalist from the UK.

“I am extremely excited to attend the Peter Drucker Forum in the coming month and, of course, visit Vienna for the first time.

“This will be a fantastic opportunity for me to network and meet influential figures in the world of management."

BU’s Business School is helping fund Olivia’s travel to Vienna and accommodation for the two-day conference, while Bournemouth-based Chartered Accountant Nick Hixson, one of just three Peter Drucker Society Associates in the UK, has offered advice and support.

Nick, who will also be attending the forum, said: “The standard of entries is very high and the input from undergraduates at the Forum is so welcome. Olivia is obviously very determined and already an accomplished networker to get this far. I think this experience will benefit her future career enormously.”

Olivia, whose prize also includes one year’s free membership of Peter Drucker Society Europe and a one-year-all-access subscription to the Harvard Business Review, added: “I am very excited to be attending such a prestigious event, where I will have the opportunity to both network and learn up-to-date and, in many ways, pioneering concepts and ideas about the future of management.”