EDUCATION

The School of Tourism and Hospitality cements partnership with Sun International.

The auditorium, located at the University of Johannesburg’s School of Tourism and Hospitality (STH), has been renamed to the Sun International Auditorium. The new name was unveiled at a ribbon cutting ceremony hosted on Wednesday, 22 September, as part of the annual STH Alumni and Industry event.

We are really excited to finally unveil the Sun International Auditorium,” said STH director, Prof Diane Abrahams. “Sun International has been one of the STH’s long-standing industry partners. Over the years, they have actively supported the school across several initiatives including career days, fundraising for students through bursaries and presenting opportunities for both work integrated experiences and work integrated learning placements. We are grateful that, even in the current challenging environment, the organisation remains committed to supporting the school as we develop the next generation of tourism and hospitality leaders”.

“The auditorium, which seats up to 147 delegates and includes a fully functional foyer amongst its key features, is located in the Kerzner Building, at the university’s Bunting Road campus in Auckland Park, Johannesburg,” explained operations manager, Gerald Hamadziriphi. “The space forms part of the STH commercial unit, where we run a number of outlets across UJ campuses under the banner of TheKerzner@UJ.”

This encompasses a broad range of offerings including meeting venues, conference venues, special event venues, restaurant, coffee shops and food and beverage offerings which may be ordered via the UberEATS and Mr D platforms.

The TheKerzner@UJ commercial outlets include:

• Two conference rooms which may host up to 200 delegates combined.

• A culinary theatre which seats up to 54 delegates.

• A selection of syndicate meeting rooms and executive boardrooms.

• The Alumni Bar and a tasting room.

• The Waterford Restaurant.

• Design Café – a coffee shop.

• Industrial kitchens in the Center of Culinary Excellence.

The Sun International Auditorium is the latest addition in the number of industry brands that have taken up the opportunity to extend their brand footprint within the STH facilities. Other industry partners with brand visibility at the STH include the The City Lodge Hotel Group, Empact, AHA, Tsogo Sun and Tourvest.

Prof Abrahams noted that the branding opportunity is not only to highlight the partnership with the STH but also serves to raise brand awareness and affinity of industry partners amongst the students. “It is important to realise that not all of our students have exposure to some of the industry players and brands when they begin their studies, therefore creating corporate visibility in the various spaces of teaching and learning at the STH is important.”

“With the recent announcement of the country moving to the adjusted lockdown level two, the vaccination process that is underway and Covid-19 infection rates declining, we are really optimistic about the prospects of the meetings and events industry bouncing back in the coming months,” Mr Hamadziripi said. We hope that the situation continues to improve so that delegates may once again book and host their events at our address, have first-hand experience of our great facilities and contribute to the excellent learning experiences for our students,” Mr Hamadziriphi said.

brands that have taken up the opportunity to extend their brand footprint within the STH facilities. Other industry partners with brand visibility at the STH include the The City Lodge Hotel Group, Empact, AHA, Tsogo Sun and Tourvest. Prof Abrahams noted that the branding opportunity is not only to highlight the partnership with the STH but also serves to raise brand awareness and affinity of industry partners amongst the students. “It is important to realise that not all of our students have exposure to some of the industry players and brands when they begin their studies, therefore creating corporate visibility in the various spaces of teaching and learning at the STH is important.” “With the recent announcement of the country moving to the adjusted lockdown level two, the vaccination process that is underway and Covid-19 infection rates declining, we are really optimistic about the prospects of the meetings and events industry bouncing back in the coming months,” Mr Hamadziripi said. We hope that the situation continues to improve so that delegates may once again book and host their events at our address, have first-hand experience of our great facilities and contribute to the excellent learning experiences for our students,” Mr Hamadziriphi said.

Contact information

For more information about the commercial outlets at TheKerzner UJ, visit www.thekerzneratuj.com