PolyU Signed Tripartite Agreement with Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne and University of Houston Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management

The School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) and Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management of the University of Houston (CNHC) have come together to sign a Letter of Intent (LOI) to establish a tripartite master's degree in global hospitality business. The three institutions, representing the best of the East and the best of the West, join hands to nurture talents of a new generation and define the future of the global hospitality industry's development.

The signing ceremony took place today at the SHTM's teaching and research hotel,

Hotel ICON, was presided over by Dr Fabien Fresnel, EHL Dean of Education and Research, Professor Kaye Chon, SHTM Dean and Chair Professor, and Professor John Bowen, CNHC Dean and Barron Hilton Distinguished Chair of the University of Houston.

The three institutions saw this agreement as an important step to promote stronger

links among the three continents and provide added value for the students. Dean Fresnel said, "We are bringing three cultures together and are capitalising on three outstanding faculties and campuses. We will create a unique experience for the students, and will ultimately enhance their ability to become the next generation of business leaders who can think global and act local."

Under the LOI, the three parties have agreed to establish a new educational

programme to be launched in 2015, the Master of Science (MSc) in Global Hospitality Business. The LOI stipulated that a common curriculum for the MSc degree meeting the academic standards and regulations of the respective institutions should be developed. Upon graduation, students of this unique programme will receive the MSc in Global Hospitality Business degree awarded by their home institution and a "Certification of Completion" issued by the other two partner institutions.

"Formulated with the EHL and SHTM", observed Dean Bowen, "this innovative

educational strategy will enable participants to effectively lead organisations in a world that has become very connected." "When they graduate," he continued, " they will not only have a global educational experience, but will also have established network of global leaders, those they met on their journey and their classmates that took the journey with them."

Conceived in the spirit of the SHTM's innovation, this pioneering educational strategy

allows students from Europe, Asia and North America to spend one semester in each of the three continents. "The programme is expected to produce a new breed of future leaders with strong global perspectives and an understanding of cultural emersion in the global hospitality business," said Professor Kaye Chon.

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
Marketing Manager
+852 3400 2634
Hong Kong PolyU