Cal Poly Experience Industry Management Department Celebrates the Grand Opening of the New Donor-Funded Experience Innovation Lab
Contact: Kevin Lin
805-756-5091; yklin@calpoly.edu
Visit SLO Cal Donates Lab Endowment and Student Scholarships to Cal Poly Experience Industry Management Department
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Students enrolled in classes this fall in Cal Poly’s Experience Industry Management [EIM] Department will be introduced to the new Experience Innovation Lab in the William and Linda Frost Center for Research and Innovation. The lab was made possible with a donation from local supporter Visit SLO CAL.
Visit SLO CAL created the EIM Lab Endowment and two student scholarships, aligning Visit SLO CAL’s mission to inspire travel and foster unique experiences to create life-long ambassadors and economic growth for SLO CAL with Cal Poly’s Learn by Doing focus.
The new lab encompasses the national shift that blends tourism, travel, experiences, social media, travel platforms, sustainability, food, wine, culinary arts, culture, sports, outdoor recreation, conventions, and meetings and events with artificial intelligence and virtual reality technology.
“The new approach more accurately reflects the diverse career paths our students and alumni embark on,” said Interim Department Head Kevin Lin. “We're pioneering an educational approach that equips students to conceptualize, collaborate on, execute, and supervise projects that augment both the quality of life and the economic vibrancy of communities. This direction resonates perfectly with our mission: to cultivate leaders and innovators in industries that promote healthy lifestyles, protect memorable places, and facilitate life-enhancing experiences for individuals, communities and the global society.”
Today, nearly 65 percent of the department’s 450 students are enrolled in the event planning and experience management or the hospitality and tourism management concentrations.
Cal Poly graduates are accepting jobs as global event strategy managers, event designers for employee experiences at companies such as LinkedIn, professional sports teams, and with hospitality, tourism and recreation organizations at esteemed locations and destinations throughout the world.
About the Cal Poly Experience Industry Management Department
Experience Industry Management is the facilitation of experiences across all sectors of industries related to tourism, hospitality, event planning, outdoor recreation management, community recreation, and sport management. It is one of nine departments in Cal Poly’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences. Graduates of the program have started their careers at some of the industry’s most compelling organizations, such as the San Francisco Giants, Pebble Beach Resorts, Apple and George P. Johnson.
About Cal Poly’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences
Cal Poly is a nationally ranked, comprehensive polytechnic university. The university’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences is comprised of expert faculty members who take pride in their ability to transform academically motivated students into innovative professionals ready to solve the complex challenges associated with feeding the world in sustainable ways. Students have access to state-of-the-art laboratories, including ranch land, orchards, vineyards and forests, all of which provide the basis for Cal Poly’s Learn by Doing methodology. It is the fifth-largest college of agriculture in the country, with 4,000 undergraduate students.
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