"The future depends on what you do today”, is a statement advocated by Mahatma Gandhi, and it is a significant quote to summarise the pre-Internship briefings of the April to August 2024 semester. Considering internship attachment as one of the primary steps towards employment or entrepreneurship route for students, the School of Hospitality and Service Management (SHSM) is proud to organise the SHSM Internship Talk Series for the 2nd quarter of the year 2024. Led by Farah Atiqah Mohamad Noor, SHSM Associate Programme Leader for Internships, the Internship Briefing module is an avenue for the Diploma and the Degree students to develop an understanding of the learning outcomes of their respective hospitality, culinary and events internship. The students are trained to seek an internship placement independently within the scope of their internship learning outcomes, which align with their personal career aspirations. 

Towards assisting the students in achieving their internship goals, the SHSM Internship Talk Series aim to provide students with valuable access to reputable establishments in the hospitality, culinary and events industries. During the months of May to June 2024, the School is privileged to host 6 establishments on-campus namely the Marriott Central Region properties, EQ Hotel and Kampachi, Intercontinental Kuala Lumpur, Ormond Group, Pico Group and The International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) Asia Pacific. For hospitality and culinary students, the diverse portfolio of hotel brands and their distinguished leadership culture provide an array of exposure to various hospitality and culinary skill sets for potential interns.

Notably for EQ Hotel and Kampachi, CEO Mr Donald C.L. Lim conducted a session on “Careers in Hospitality”, imparting knowledge to the young minds, fuelled by his wealth of experiences in hospitality management. Marriott Central Region, led by each property’s Learning and Development team, brought together a preview of the Marriott operations and management internship. With 9 participating properties from Marriott Central Region, including the newly launched Courtyard by Marriott Kuala Lumpur South, the students have the opportunity to add a pre-opening team internship experience to their list of repertoires.  

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Moreover, it is exciting for the School to welcome recent alumni Chung Jia Nong, Intercontinental Hotel Kuala Lumpur’s Human Resources Coordinator, together with the Learning and Development Manager, Mr Evan Wong, to conduct a session on “The Essence of Customer Service”. The students were inspired by Mr Evan’s journey from another industry to hospitality and Jia Nong’s professional endeavours. In addition, Ormond Group’s Head of People and Culture, Ms Amalina Jaafar, shared about the distinctive people-driven culture that Ormond advocates, especially in attracting young talents. 

Apart from hospitality and culinary internship previews, the events students are privileged to join the internship talks by one of Malaysia’s leading event agencies, Pico Group, and the region’s notable association, ICCA Asia Pacific. Mr Jason Teh, Managing Director, shared some of the recent luxury brand activations showcased by Pico Group, to create awareness about the various areas of event experiential operations. The concluding session of the Internship Talk Series, led by Regional Director of ICCA Asia Pacific’s Ms Waikin Wong, provided the students with a glimpse of The Business Events’ Youth Challenge 2024, aside from the shared information of ICCA’s network of localized internship opportunities. Students particularly from the events course, benefited from the introduction of platforms to foster their creative ideas in contemporary events.  

The Internship Talk Series is a continuous effort by SHSM to provide students with insightful access to profound internship opportunities. Perpetually, the long-term goals of enhancing students’ employability and engagement in the hospitality, culinary and events industries are the key drivers in the organisation of future Internship Talk Series.

Farah Atiqah Md Noor
School of Hospitality and Service Management
Email: [email protected]