Behind Every Evening Event Are Weeks of Work

3. 9. 2026 NUG World Study and Education Renáta Šejnová 4-5 minutes

You see a packed club, music, lights and hundreds of fellow students. What you see much less of is everything that comes before it. Meetings, planning, emails, budgets, making decorations, filming invitations, arranging venues and dealing with situations that need to be solved on the spot. Meet NEAT, a student team that organised 13 events almost for 800 participants during the 2025/2026 academic year.

From an idea on paper to an event for hundreds

NEAT is typically made up of five or six NEWTON University students. They meet regularly, sometimes to work on a specific event, other times for brainstorming, reporting or planning what comes next.

There is no single role that someone chooses at the beginning and sticks to for the entire year. One day, you might be working on communications and venues; the next, you could be preparing props, editing a video or filming an invitation. And during the event itself, you quickly discover just how much can change in a matter of minutes.

This variety is one of the things NEAT members value most. “My role in the team changes quite often, depending on the concept and the type of event,” says Viki. She has tried her hand at communicating with people, arranging venues, administration, coordinating schedules, preparing decorations and dealing with unexpected situations during events.

13 events, almost 800 participants and a different challenge every time

The past academic year left behind a tangible result. NEAT organised 13 events, from the Welcome Party and Halloween, Beer Pong events, a Christmas gathering and Pub Quiz to sports days, a picnic and the final NEON Party.

Each event required something different. For the Pub Quiz, the team had to prepare the questions, organise the hosting and create a format that would work for both students and lecturers. The sports days, on the other hand, were mainly about organisation and coordination. And when it comes to parties? Every detail matters, including the ones visitors rarely notice.

“I gained real insight into everything it takes to organise a successful event from A to Z. I learned how to work with schedules, plan capacities and look at events from the visitor’s perspective,” says Katrin.

And then there are the things no schedule can predict. Someone doesn’t show up. Something stops working. The plan suddenly needs to change. That is when you really find out whether a team knows how to work together.

NEON Party as the grand finale

In the end, the biggest workload came together in one place at the final NEON Party. Decorations, games, videos, music and, most importantly, the people who came to celebrate the end of the year together.

For Katrin, this was the strongest moment of the entire year. “You could see all the work we had put in as a team throughout the season. People came to have an incredible time, and we were all part of it together.”

For Jirka, NEON Party had a slightly different meaning. He joined NEAT with experience from other events and the promotional scene. During the year, he was able to see what event organisation looks like in a completely different environment. He also worked as a DJ at NEON Party.

“I was DJing that night, so I got to experience what it’s like to play at a student event of this kind,” he says.

An even bigger challenge for him was hosting the Pub Quiz. Before joining NEAT, he was nervous about speaking in front of large groups of people. “I’m pretty comfortable with it now,” he says.

Real experience you can put on your CV

NEAT is more than just a way to spend time between lectures. For students, it offers hands-on experience working on real projects, without having to start a business of their own straight away.

They gain experience in event marketing, production, communications, coordination and teamwork. They also get to work directly with lecturers, university staff, senior management and external partners.

And perhaps most importantly, they get the chance to discover what actually suits them.

Through NEAT, Katrin realised that event organisation and leadership are areas she wants to pursue in the future. Viki, meanwhile, confirmed that she enjoys working with people and turning ideas into real projects.

Jiří took something slightly different away from the experience. “Thanks to NEAT, I realised what I was doing wrong with my own project. I learned how to delegate to a group of people more effectively and look at problems from a different perspective.”

That is why the experience gained through NEAT has value beyond the events themselves. Students can experience what it means to take responsibility, work with others, make a mistake, fix it and do it better next time.

You don’t have to know everything. You just need to want to create something

You don’t need to join NEAT as a fully trained event manager. The team needs different kinds of people. Some enjoy organisation and spreadsheets, while others are into video, photography or hosting. Some come up with ideas for new events; others are great at keeping all the moving parts together.

What matters is the willingness to get involved and be part of something that is created together.

“I wanted to get closer to the NEWTON Family, meet proactive people with a similar mindset and gain practical experience in event marketing,” says Katrin.

And that is ultimately what NEAT is about. Not just what happens on the dance floor in the evening, but the people who decide to come up with an idea and then actually make it happen.