Hema is laughing after uni prepared her for a successful career in events

Graduate Hema Patel is reaping the benefits of her time at the University of Northampton after launching a successful comedy club in the town.

A winning combination of theory and practical experience on the Events Management course gave her the perfect grounding to forge a career in the industry, which now sees her run monthly comedy nights at The Ark – Northampton’s first and only floating restaurant and entertainment venue.

“One of the great things about the Events Management course is there’s a lot of practical work involved,” said Hema, who is Northampton born and bred. “We didn’t just learn the theory, we actually organised events every year of the course and having that practical knowledge certainly helps when you’re doing it in real life.”

Watch the video interview with Hema on YouTube

After graduating five years ago, Hema went into the financial industry, but two years later she decided to follow her passion.

She said: “I wanted to go back to my events roots so I worked in hotels as an event manager, getting a lot more experience until finally I was able to start working at my own business.”

Hema added: “The Ark is owned by my family, and came about because it was my father’s dream to have a floating venue on the River Nene. We put on comedy nights a couple of years ago, then had a break and now I am re-establishing it, with the first one in October.

“That, and the following event in November, was a big success and we’ve now made it a monthly fixture, bringing the best up-and-coming comedians to the town.”

Keep up to date with all the goings-on at The Ark, which is moored on the River Nene at Midsummer Meadow, on the Facebook page.