'A very engaging discussion with some very valuable and perspective comments'

On Thursday, 19 October, the first webinar of EUHOFA's new webinar series 2023-2024 attracted many participants from all over the world. This shows the high relevance of the theme 'Hospitality Education in Decline - True or False?' for the leaders in Hospitality Education on all continents.

Photo: Junior Students of ROC Mondriaan International Hotel and Management School are challenged on their first school day to tie their tie. Photographer: Maarten van Vliet.

Webinar contents

After a short introduction by moderator Prof. Peter A.Jones, the programme focussed on a round-table discussion about some of the key issues with a panel of three experts:

Dominic Szambowski - Dean, Swiss Hotel Management School (SHMS), Switzerland Andrew Boer - Principal, Edge Hotel School, University of Essex, UK Stuart Wiggins - Pro-Vice Chancellor, International College of Management, Sydney (ICMS), Australia

The participants were invited to participate to ask questions and to contribute to the discussion by chat, which was moderated by Ursula Boardman, Head of Centre of the CRUMBS Project, UK. Here is a small selection of the contributions by the webinar's participants:

'Reputed Institutions are full of admissions even today. But others are finding it difficult to fill the seats. The reasons could be: 1. A huge number of employees lost their jobs during the pandemic era and they are the ambassadors now for negative perceptions regarding the Hospitality Sector. 2. Medical-related courses and computer science have been the most sought-after programmes, for two years' - Dr. Sheri Kurian, St. Joseph's Institute of Hotel Management & Catering Technology, Pala, Kottayam, India

'The next generation of hospitality leaders will have a different viewpoint on the world and this will have a positive impact on the future direction of the industry and the way skills are developed. And also on the overall direction of travel that will be needed for the future. The main issue we face in encouraging these future leaders is the perception that parents and other influencers have and the impact this has on whether they will study and enter our fantastic industry.' - Lisa Wyld, Missenden Abbey International Hotel and Hospitality School, UK 'I agree with Andrew Boer that stepping into the new generation's point of view is a vital way and as Peter Jones mentioned Vocational level focused in younger stages can re-direct their passion for studying Hospitality ' - Yamel Henriksen, AHLEI, USA

'This was a very informative and interactive webinar session. Let's keep it going, the future looks brilliant with more creativity and innovation as well as engaging the industry players. Above All, let's force our industry into the service environment' - Dr. Sylvester W. Onyango Hayker, Technical University of Kenya

Recording For the recording of the webinar please click: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf1cVTgT8KM

Next webinars

The second EUHOFA webinar of this series will be held in February 2024 and will discuss the gaps between the Hospitality Industry's needs and Hospitality Education The third webinar of the series will conjugate with the 61th EUHOFA Congress to be held in April. During a live stream session webinar participants will join the discussion which will focus on creating new models for Hospitality Education.