BMet students speak at Athens event about travel for wheelchair users
Students from Birmingham Metropolitan College (BMet) attended an international conference in Athens recently thanks to their success in the Global Travel and Tourism Partnership (GTTP) research competition.
It was the third year in a row that BMet students have taken part in an overseas conference as their prize for winning the competition.
John Garside, aviation, travel and tourism lecturer at the Sutton Coldfield college, said the winning group of second year Level 3 Travel and Tourism students were Jessica Lawlor, Vanesa Maskova, Isabelle Mills and Priyanka Padhiar.
He accompanied Vanesa and Priyanka at GTTP’s student conference in Athens where the students presented their research findings about travel for wheelchair users to an audience of students, teachers and leaders from the industry.
“I am so proud of the work, research and achievement of our amazing students,” said Garside.
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“They demonstrated outstanding teamwork, commitment, dedication and communication skills to research a highly current and sensitive issue for powered wheelchair users when travelling by air and planning their trips.
“They raised awareness of the issue and their own knowledge of this subject.
“Their presentation in Athens was very powerful and left a real impact on their audience – a fantastic reflection of all their work.
“For BMet Travel & Tourism it has been a honour to win this for a third occasion in 2025 following in the footsteps of former students in 2023 and 2024.”
The students said they were “very lucky” to have the support and inspiration of Sarah Rennie, a disabled powered wheelchair user, for the project.
“We were also lucky to have the opportunity to interview Jasmine West who works at World Accessible Holidays as a travel agent. Jasmine has been in a wheelchair since she was nine years old,” said the students.
The presentation also discussed Sophie Morgan’s Fight to Fly Campaign and a Travel Weekly article about passengers’ wheelchairs.
Jessica Lawlor said the group had worked hard on the project, and it helped develop her teamwork and time management skills.
Isabelle Mills commented: “It was a very surreal and thrilling feeling knowing we won the competition and all the hard work we all put in paid off.”
Vanesa Maskova added: “It was an immensely valuable experience as it not only expanded our knowledge of the travel industry but also expanded our understanding of powered wheelchair experiences when travelling by air.”
Priyanka Padhiar added: “I was excited to go to a new country to present our winning project to a global audience.
“This experience was valuable to all of us…and created lifetime memories and opportunities.”
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