How Education Prepares Hospitality Industry To Face The Challenges Of New Media

The Interim Dean of the Cornell-Nanyang Institute of Hospitality Management (CNI), Dr Russell Arthur Smith, will address delegates to the upcoming Asia Connect Hong Kong conference, hosted by the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association (HSMAI) Hong Kong and Macau chapter.

The event, which will be held at the Langham Hotel in Hong Kong on the 26th of November, will focus primarily on social media marketing, along with how the industry can prepare for it.

Dr Smith will represent CNI on a panel discussion about how hotels and travel organizations should be organizing and resourcing their sales and marketing departments to meet the challenges brought in by the proliferation of new media. Dr Smith will address how students are being prepared, and if educational institutes are already taking responsibility to develop the right kinds of skills to meet these new challenges. He will also communicate CNI’s educational opportunities and what executive training is currently available for today’s hospitality professionals to gear them for the future of new media.

Hospitality professionals who are interested in the relevant training opportunity can check CNI’s coming January 2010 Professional Development Programmes, which include Marketing Management, Strategic Marketing for Hotels & Restaurants and Interactive Marketing courses. The school is offering a USD500 discount for early registrations.

About Cornell-Nanyang Institute of Hospitality Management
The Cornell-Nanyang Institute of Hospitality Management (CNI) is jointly operated and governed by Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration and Nanyang Technological University's Business School. Located in Singapore, CNI is strategically positioned to develop leaders, managers and entrepreneurs for the Asian hospitality and tourism industry. CNI offers three hospitality education programs designed to alleviate the severe shortage of qualified talent that is currently plaguing the hospitality industry in Asia and the Middle East.

Equivalent to an MBA, the one year Master of Management in Hospitality (MMH) program prepares students to be theory-based, action-oriented leaders of executive management teams and entrepreneurial ventures in the hospitality and service industry. CNI MMH students spend six months at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York and six months at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, thus taking advantage of educational and networking opportunities in both Asia and North America in a single year.

The Professional Development Program (PDP) offers three-day courses that cover different aspects of hotel management. PDP teaches cutting-edge management techniques, presented by internationally recognized faculty members and industry leaders. Participants can earn Cornell certifications in Financial Management, Food, Beverage, and Restaurant Management, General and Strategic Management, Human-Resource Management, Marketing, Operations Management and Property-Asset Management and Real Estate. CNI has hosted over 1000 PDP participants from nearly 40 countries in the last three years. The July 2009 PDP will be held from July 23rd to August 5th, 2009 in Singapore.

The General Managers Program (GMP) is designed for hotel general managers of full service hotels and their immediate successors. Participants in this ten-day program concentrate on strategic hospitality management issues, work collaboratively to expand the foundation of their knowledge, and produce new solutions to the challenges they face. The GMP 2009 in Singapore will be offered from July 20th to 30th, 2009.

Please visit the Cornell-Nanyang Institute of Hospitality Management website www.cni.ntu.edu.sg for more information.