McCool Breakthrough Award — Photo by Hong Kong PolyU

Professor Kaye Chon, Dean, Chair Professor of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and Walter Kwok Foundation Professor in International Hospitality Management, was bestowed the 2017 McCool Breakthrough Award by the International Council of Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education (I-CHRIE), the world's largest organisation of hospitality and tourism educators, for founding the Graduate Education and Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality and Tourism.

Professor Chon received the award at the Annual I-CHRIE Summer Conference and Marketplace in Baltimore, Maryland, USA in late July. This is the second time that the SHTM has attracted the interest of the McCool Breakthrough Award judging panel, with the School taking out the coveted prize in 2012 for the breakthrough realised in the form of its teaching and research hotel – Hotel ICON – the heart of the SHTM's innovative approach to hospitality and tourism education.

The McCool Breakthrough Award is given annually to an individual, group, programme, school, college, association or corporation that has made a significant breakthrough or introduced a unique approach in the spirit of I-CHRIE's mission. The award recognises an event, activity or programme in the spirit of Willie McCool, a dedicated and successful astronaut and son of Audrey and Barry McCool, faculty members of Texas Tech University.

Professor Chon has been honoured by I-CHRIE with this prestigious award for his role in the annual Graduate Education and Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality and Tourism. He is the Founding Chairman of the conference series, which is deemed to be an innovative approach to graduate education.

The Conference was founded in 1996 with four specific objectives: to provide a platform for the exchange of cutting-edge research in the field of hospitality and tourism; to foster healthy research culture; to provide a forum for networking among and between graduate students and faculty members; and to serve as a career mart for graduate students who are completing their terminal degrees. Over the past 22 years, the Conference has developed into a "must attend" forum for graduate students and faculty in the field.

"It is a tremendous compliment for me to be awarded the McCool Breakthrough Award," said Professor Chon. "It is also an important reminder that we should always be striving to fulfil our vision of leadership in advancing the global development of hospitality and tourism education."

About PolyU School of Hotel and Tourism Management

For more than four decades, 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 2024 for the eighth consecutive year; placed No. 1 globally in the "Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services" category in the University Ranking by Academic Performance in 2023/2024 for seven 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 2025, 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 21 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