Lausanne | The graduation ceremonies for the 2008 spring term at the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) took place on the campus over a two-day period on 26 and 27 June. 140 students of the «International Hospitality Management» and 32 students of the «Management of Hotel Operations» programmes were awarded the School’s diploma.

Graduation of the «Management of Hotel Operations» programme

The ceremony on 26 June marked the culmination of the Management of Hotel Operations programme, an intensive training experience comprising two terms on campus followed by a six-month internship in the industry. 32 of the 42 students in the French- and English-language sections (76% of the total) graduated. After carrying out their internships in industry, they will be awarded the Associate Degree in Management of Hotel Operations.

Valedictorian: Mlle Sandra DAYER (Switzerland), French Section
2nd prize: Ms Alina FUNINA (Russia), English Section
3nd prize: Mlle Anne COUSSA (France), French Section
Esprit EHL* Prize: M. Xavier WERNER (Switzerland), French Section

Graduation of the « International Hospitality Management » programme

In the course of the ceremony on 27 June, 140 of the 145 students of the French and English sections were awarded their diplomas (97% of the total). This programme has the double accreditation of the University of Applied Sciences of Western Switzerland (HES-SO), awarded by the Swiss Government, and a Bachelor of Science in International Hospitality Management, accredited by the New England Association of School and Colleges (NEASC), in the United States.

Valedictorian: Mr. Adrian FLUECK (Switzerland), English Section
2nd prize: Mlle Névine CAMEL-TOUEG (France), French Section
3rd prize: Ms Fabienne DOERIG (Switzerland), English Section
Esprit EHL Prize*: Mr. Markus MARTY (Switzerland), English Section

Prizes for the most original and interesting dissertations:

Mr. Chi Hyun Cho (Corea), English Section: “An Empirical Study of the Impact of the Front Desk IT System on Guest Service Quality in the Context of Korean Luxury Business Hotels”.

Mrs. Tarn Kaur Ubhi (Kenya), English Section: “Factors that affect Casino Patron Loyalty in a Swiss Context”

Students working for companies

At the end of their curriculum, the students of the International Hospitality Management programme are commissioned by companies for which they work over a period of nine weeks. This analytical, capstone assignment addresses the specific issues requested by the mandators. This year, EHL students were tasked by companies including Hyatt of France and Six Senses Resort & Spa, and also by the City of Lausanne. Over 70% of such Student Business Projects (SBP) are subsequently implemented in practice. Three groups of students out of 27 were awarded the following prizes for their work:

CREATIVITY PRIZE, Fly Meubles et décoration
Carla BLASER, Cécilia EGENAES, Mia MARTI, Thierry PAYOT, Philip SCHWEIZER

SUCCESS PRIZE, Swisscom Hospitality Services
Adrian FLÜCK, Angela MARTI, Michael SCHREINER, Daniel STANKIEWICZ, Daniel STAUB

AMBITION PRIZE, International Trade Center
Mathilde BRALLET, Névine CAMEL-TOUEG, Christian DAYER, Barbara MAIRE, Florian SAUTEBIN

A fee statistics for the Spring term 2008:

• 1,698 students (of whom 420 on internship)
• in the International Hospitality Management (1519 students), Management of Hotel Operations (136 students), and MBA in Hospitality Management (43 students) programmes;
• 696 students in the French section and 732 in the English section.
• 890 women and 808 men.
• Main countries represented: Switzerland 49%, France 22%, Germany 6.9%, Rest of Europe 7.9%, Central Asia and Pacific 6%, Central and South America 2%, North America 3.6%, Africa 1.6%, Middle East 1%.
• A total of 82 nationalities were represented among the students this term.
• 314 staff, including 85 faculty members and instructors.
• 33 nationalities represented among the staff.