Global Virtual Learning: Student’s Professional Short Course with Macao Institute for Tourism Studies (IFTM)
Degree students of Strategic Management of Hospitality Businesses subject from the School of Hospitality and Service Management, Sunway University have recently completed an online training provided by the Global Centre for Tourism Education & Training at the Macao Institute for Tourism Studies (IFTM). This subject is supervised by Dr Maggie Leong, subject lecturer and Programme Leader of the Diploma in Hotel Management.
The purpose of this intensive professional short course was to enable students to gain knowledge of business management practices in a global context, and to integrate theoretical knowledge in the actual workplace. Notable speakers from academic institutions including Professor John Ap, Professor Alistair Morrison, Dr Ubaldino Couto, Dr Louis Vong, Dr Henrique Ngan and Dr Ali Bavik provided insightful talks on holistic strategies in different areas of Hospitality. There are also industry practitioners who provided presented topics in relation to crisis management, organisational governance, human resource management and leadership issues. The industry speakers included Ms Anita Lai (Hong Kong Disneyland, Director of Public Affairs) and Ms Jackie Hoo (The Ritz-Carlton Macau, General Manager).
This professional short course took place over 4 days via Zoom and exposes students to a wide range of management strategies and challenges. Students also gained the opportunity to explore ways in which these managerial strategies could be applied. Learning became more engaging with interactive activities such as cases studies, discussions, and Q&A sessions.
IFTM, being one of the top institutions of higher education in the Asia-Pacific region that specialises in tourism and hospitality, is a top ranking and international recognition by QS and Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA). It ranks 1st in Macao, 4th in Asia and 30th in the world on the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2021 for Hospitality and Leisure Management.
Dr Maggie Leong also added that “This professional short course has allowed students to view the strategic management theories as an adaptable plan of action in the real-world situation and the training is not only helpful for the students to understand the fundamental strategies but to also apply these theories to actual cases”.
