Source: Hong Kong Poly

Twenty-eight eager and excited students were warmly welcomed to the inaugural Master of Science (MSc) in Global Hospitality Business programme at the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL), Switzerland, on 7 September 2015.

With an international, business-centred and highly demanding curriculum, the MSc in Global Hospitality Business provides an ambitious programme for future hospitality leaders. Designed by three world-class centres of educational excellence, the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management at the University of Houston (UH) and the EHL, students will gain first-hand insights to the specificities of global hotel and tourism markets, as well as strong professional exposure.

The selected cohort of students began their curriculum at the EHL in Switzerland, and will move to the SHTM in Hong Kong for their second semester. They will then spend three months in residence with an international hospitality company and finally complete their third semester at the UH, USA.

The intense 16-month curriculum is fully endorsed by top hospitality companies and includes practical, real-life professional experience with industry partners across the three continents:

  • Professional Certification – Workshops to provide students with insights from industry professionals and a report completed with live industry data.
  • Business Field Trips – Excursions to tourism centres on each continent, such as Paris, Macau and New York, to give students a behind the scenes view of the chief tourism destinations with an exclusive chance to meet and discuss with the major players locally.
  • Capstone Projects – Students are assigned a real-life consultancy project to complete throughout their programme, including three months at the company's offices.

Combining advanced academics, knowledge of local markets and unparalleled professional immersion, the programme will ensure graduates are equipped to drive the hospitality business forward.

Upon graduation, students of this exceptional programme will receive the MSc in Global Hospitality Business degree awarded by PolyU and Certificates of Completion issued by the EHL and UH.

"The first of its kind," said Professor Kaye Chon, Dean and Chair Professor of the SHTM and Walter Kwok Foundation Professor in International Hospitality Management, "the MSc in Global Hospitality Business raises the bar for higher education in one of the world's fastest growing industries." Indeed, hospitality is one of the fastest growing and most dynamic sectors of global business, and the new programme is specifically designed to respond to this increasing demand for a highly qualified talent pool in hospitality management.

About PolyU School of Hotel and Tourism Management

For 45 years, the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University has refined a distinctive vision of hospitality and tourism education and become a world-leading hotel and tourism school. Ranked No. 1 in the world in the "Hospitality and Tourism Management" category in ShanghaiRanking's Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2023 for the seventh consecutive year; placed No. 1 globally in the "Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services" category in the University Ranking by Academic Performance in 2022/2023 for six years in a row; rated No. 1 in the world in the "Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism" subject area by the CWUR Rankings by Subject 2017; and ranked No. 1 in Asia in the "Hospitality and Leisure Management" subject area in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024, the SHTM is a symbol of excellence in the field, exemplifying its motto of Leading Hospitality and Tourism.

The School is driven by the need to serve its industry and academic communities through the advancement of education and dissemination of knowledge. With a strong international team of over 90 faculty members from 20 countries and regions around the world, the SHTM offers programmes at levels ranging from undergraduate to doctoral degrees. Through Hotel ICON, the School's groundbreaking teaching and research hotel and a vital aspect of its paradigm-shifting approach to hospitality and tourism education, the SHTM is advancing teaching, learning and research, and inspiring a new generation of passionate, pioneering professionals to take their positions as leaders in the hospitality and tourism industry.

Website: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/shtm/

Pauline Ngan
Senior Marketing Manager
+852 3400 2634
Hong Kong Poly

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