The Academy Newsletter - Issue 1

Issue One, July 2007

THE ACADEMY

The Academy enters

‘Phase II’

Black Box Culinary Competition

The Academy’s new Dean

A note from the Managing Director It is my great pleasure to introduce the inaugural issue of the Emirates Academy newsletter just as our sixth academic year draws to a close. The newsletter comes at an exhilarating time in the Academy’s history, as we enter a phase likely to be characterised by continuous growth and exciting new developments.

One of the highlights of the last year was the completion of a 2500 square metre extension, giving us six more classrooms, two lecture theatres, a beautiful new library, and more faculty offices. The extension is featured in this issue.

Table of Contents A note from the Managing Director

2

The Academy enters “Phase II”

3

Committed to excellence

4

Internships

5

Where are they now?

5

Faculty profile

6

The Academy drives Emiratisation forward

7

Horse-pitality?

8

Culinary coup for the Academy

8

News & events

8

Editorial Team “The Academy” Issue 1, July 2007 Ahmad Al Samt, Claire Jean-Louis, Flavia Forster, Lisa Tawil, Marit Aune, Sadaf Vahedna, Jane Campbell www.emiratesacademy.edu The Emirates Academy PO Box 29662 Dubai, United Arab Emirates Telephone: 00971 4 3155555 Fax: 00971 4 3155556 E-mail: info@emiratesacademy.edu

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The Academy has graduated 49 students to date, with another 26 slated to finish their degree studies in July. I am proud to report that every graduate has found employment, some as far away as the United States and Norway, others right here in Dubai. The planned launch of an Emirates Academy Alumni Association in the autumn will allow us to maintain close ties with our international network of graduates. You will be able to read about their progress in the graduate profile in every issue of this newsletter.

It is always sad to say goodbye to colleagues when they leave and it is even more difficult when they have contributed as much as our out-going Dean, Dr. Morag Stewart. She has put her heart and soul into the Academy over the last two years and her achievements are much appreciated. The Academy is in good hands however, with our new Dean, Dr. Stuart Jauncey, who brings a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to the post. He is the subject of our “Faculty profile” in this issue.

The reputation of our Centre for Emiratisation Research & Development is spreading, with the rapid increase of the programmes on offer. Our Professional Training & Development Centre has also had a good year, with the expansion of its consultancy services and the increase of repeat customers like the Darley Flying Start group. Find out more about both centres in this issue.

These developments mark the beginning of a more mature stage for the Academy. With our student body growing and our name becoming more widely known, it seemed like an ideal time to establish a newsletter. I hope the newsletter will become an Academy tradition that will grow and thrive with us as we face what is sure to be an interesting and exciting future.

The Academy enters 'Phase II' In March 2007, the Academy's new academic building, dubbed 'Phase II', was completed, tripling our academic space. The extension combines a traditional Arabic ambience with state-of-the-art technology and facilities.

“Well worth the wait!”

Michael Kitts, Executive Chef / Lecturer

“…fantastic!”- Student

“The library is so cool. We love the windows and the lights!”

– Student

“My favorite design feature in the extension is the fact that it is designed around a tree … This teaches us that progress and conservation are not incompatible.

Theo M’bise, Lecturer

better

“I think it’s because there’s more space. It’s

more visually appealing” - Student Page 3

Dean’s List profile: Chris Dutt Best Finance Project: the winning team (Left to right) Marit Aune, Torunn Tronsvang, Maria Marais, Nikola Reid

Committed to excellence Getting good grades is satisfying but being publicly commended for getting good grades is even better!

The Academy believes that rewarding excellence is one very effective way to encourage it. At the twice-yearly Dean’s List ceremony, the students with the best academic performance in the previous semester are recognised, along with classmates who have excelled in specific projects.

Anju Abraham was at the top of the Dean’s List for several semesters and for this feat she received a unique prize: a day with Mr. Marco Nijhof, Jumeirah’s Senior Vice President, Gulf. In one day Anju “shadowed” Marco at a meeting of senior regional Jumeirah executives, as well as meetings on the new spa chain Talise, changes at Bab al Shams and the internal financial system.

She attended the graduation ceremony for a training course and learned about the department’s organisation over lunch. Anju summed up the day in one word: “inspiring”. Following in her footsteps, first-year student Christopher Dutt will also spend a day shadowing Marco after achieving the highest grade point average in the Academy’s history, 3.8 (the maximum possible is 4.0),

The student with the highest GPA (3.8) on the latest Dean’s List is an athlete as well as a scholar. Nineteenyear old Chris Dutt loves rugby (“I’m trying to get a team started at the Academy”) and is a PADI dive master. He is a freshman in the International Tourism Management BA programme. Surprisingly Chris wasn’t always at the top of his class and, in fact, when he was just a primary school pupil his teacher told him he would fail everything. To prove her wrong he worked harder than anyone in the class, and has been working hard ever since.

“I chose EAHM because of its location and … strong industry ties. I have been here only a few months, and I already feel like I have known everyone for many years! In the future, I would like to do something in events management or possibly work for Amadeus [the global distribution system]”.

Another recurring award given at the Dean’s List ceremony goes to the team that produces the best project for the senior year Real Estate Finance course. For this year’s demanding assignment, 3 groups of 5 students each played the role of consultants conducting a feasibility study for potential investors interested in a hypothetical hotel property. The students were so determined to make the best possible recommendation to their “client” that they sometimes forgot they were not real consultants! “Many of us felt that the process and actual completion of the feasibility study was a central part of the overall learning experience at the Academy,” said one of the members of the winning group, Marit Aune. It was also a good exercise in teamwork. “The experience has taught us that strong personalities can work effectively together.”

Prizes were donated by Jumeirah, Kempinski (Mall of the Emirates), and Rotana. Six winners each received an engraved crystal trophy and a voucher for a restaurant meal. “The prizes add a nice touch but the real reward is knowing that your hard work has been acknowledged,” said Marit.

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Marco Nijhof confers Chris Dutt’s prize in person

Internships: bridge to the world of work Students of the Emirates Academy don’t spend all their time at their desks. One of the requirements for the degree programmes in both hospitality and tourism management is a minimum five-month internship during the second year of studies. The students are responsible for finding their own placements, and they reflect on their experiences in mandatory reports to their internship tutors.

Students have secured internships in hotels and restaurants, golf courses and spas, government ministries and travel agents. Some have chosen sales and marketing, finance or human resources instead of typical hospitality positions. About 20% have traveled outside Dubai for their internships, to countries as diverse as Bahrain, Hong Kong, Ireland and the Maldives.

Lisa Tawil was a Front Office intern at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Dubai, with rotations in reception, concierge and guest relations. As well as learning about front office operations first-hand, she found the experience honed her customer service skills and ability to handle difficult situations. Nikola Reid worked as Sales and Marketing Assistant for the Four Seasons Canary Wharf Hotel in London. Her diverse set of duties included, among others, working on marketing campaigns and conducting a competitor analysis. Being given so much responsibility enhanced the learning experience for Nikola.

While the majority of hospitality students find internships within hotels, tourism students have diverse postings. Two Academy students have interned with the Dubai Ministry of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, and Atle Hansen is currently working in the Oman Ministry of Tourism, where he is helping to establish a nature museum at a turtle beach. Several students have found posts within the “MICE” industry (for the uninitiated, that stands for “meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions”). Elisabeth Knap worked at the Dubai Convention Bureau, where she enjoyed the multicultural working atmosphere.

Travel-related businesses are a popular setting for tourism internships.

Simone Gelasini worked in the communications and PR department of a travel company, working with clients such as Etihad Airlines and the Egyptian Tourist Authority.

For most students the internship is a highlight of their time at the Academy. For Elisabeth, one benefit of the internship was that it confirmed the area in which she would like to work; for Denis Atyashev, posted to the Marketing Department of the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, it confirmed that he didn’t want to work in marketing!

Nikola felt that it paved the way for a more confident entrance into the “real” world of work. All agree that the internship is one of the great strengths of the Academy’s programmes.

Where are they now?

Torunn Tronsvang, Class of 2007 Before she even finished her dissertation, recent Academy graduate Torunn Tronsvang had secured a post as Assistant Manager, Quality, for Mina A’ Salam and the Souk at Madinat Jumeirah. Torunn chose this job because it provided opportunities to grow and learn.

Her responsibilities include analysing guest feedback and following up on complaints, conducting internal quality reviews to ensure the company adheres to ISO standards, providing training for colleagues as needed and monitoring customer satisfaction scores.

Torunn, who is from Norway, made the most of her time at the Academy. She was on the Dean’s List from its inception. She chose the option to spend two semesters studying at Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne, an experience she found rewarding. “We had to be very structured and hard-working in order to meet the expectations set for our performance.” For her internship she worked in a hotel in Thailand, where her experiences varied from front office duties to training new staff for a pre-opening to attending high level meetings as assistant to the General Manager. Among the advantages of studying at the Academy, Torunn speaks highly of its relationship with Jumeirah, and the opportunities this afforded the students to learn about the hospitality industry first-hand, as well as to make contacts.

Did her studies at the Academy prepare her for the challenges of working life? Torunn felt that the mixture of academic work and hands-on experience from her industry placement, internship, and part-time jobs, provided a good foundation for the real world. “Hospitality is a people business and the feeling you are left with after a hard day’s work is worth a lot more than what money can buy”.

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Faculty profile: Dr. Stuart A. Jauncey aspects of the job of the hotel General Manager. At Oxford he was promoted to the position of Undergraduate Programmes Director. In 1998 he established the Centre for Environmental Studies in the Hospitality Industry which is now recognised as a centre of excellence for industry-focused environmental research. Under his direction this centre completed a great many research and consultancy projects including the establishment of a grading system for monitoring hotels’ compliance with environmental guidelines, and a national action plan for dealing with hospitality waste.

In July we welcomed Dr. Stuart A. Jauncey to the Emirates Academy as our new Dean.

Dr. Jauncey is a consummate hospitality professional, with many years of experience in the field. In fact, his interest in the hotel industry dates back to the age of 13, when he persuaded a hotel near his home to let him work there for a few hours each weekend, just because he “loved the idea of being in and around hotels”. His commitment to the industry naturally led him to study both Culinary Arts and then Hospitality Management, taking a Bachelor of Science with honors in hospitality management at Oxford Polytechnic. Unusually, two of his early jobs involved palaces — Blenheim Palace in the UK and the Amir’s Palace in Kuwait, where he was operations manager. He also worked in a number of hotels.

After returning from the Middle East in 1988, Dr. Jauncey studied for a Masters Degree in International Hotel Management at Surrey University which involved research focusing on the decision-making activities of hotel General Managers. He then returned to his old college in Oxford (now Oxford Brookes University) as a Lecturer. Whilst there he completed his post graduate diploma in third level teaching, and his PhD which focused on recording and understanding all Page 6

Most recently Dr. Jauncey was Head of the School of Hotel and Catering Studies at the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology in Ireland, where he was responsible for three departments serving 1200 students and 22 programmes from certificate to post-graduate level. One of his legacies to GMIT is the West of Ireland Centre for Tourism and Hospitality Research, which he founded in 2002. He is also proud to have established academic progression routes for all students, which means that students who study basic cookery or other operational programmes can now progress to degree and post graduate qualifications.

In his “spare time” Dr. Jauncey has acted as external examiner for hospitality and business degrees across Europe and has undertaken a smorgasbord of consultancies including helping to establish a National Hospitality Curriculum for the Caribbean Region, regional tourism development plans and integrated in-company training schemes. His second love, after the hospitality industry, is politics, in which he was actively involved at both local and national levels in the UK. His wife and 3 children will join him in Dubai in September.

In the meantime Dr Jauncey has immersed himself in the Academy’s academic life and is mapping out some interesting ideas for our future development. He feels the Academy is already “one of the finest hotel schools in the world” and states that “it’s always been an absolute pleasure to be associated with the hospitality industry and I consider it to be a privilege and an honor to be involved in the education of the leading hotel and tourism managers of tomorrow.” It is obvious that Dr Jauncey intends to build on the reputation of the Academy and the Jumeirah Group.

The Academy drives Emiratisation forward best suited to them. Job seekers are nominated for the programme by the National Human Resource Development and Employment Authority (Tanmia) or Emirates Nationals Development Programme. To date over 40 four- and five-star hotels have also participated in the programme, providing conditional offers of employment to trainees up front, and firm jobs if they successfully complete both the work placement and classroom assignments. Over 85% of participants have received firm job offers.

The Team -- Centre for Emiratisation Research & Development (from left to right) Ophelia Gokoyan, Project Manager; John Mowatt, Head of Department; Sarah Shaw, Project Manager (and Academy graduate, Class of 2005)

Badriya graduated from high school with high hopes for a career working with people. But after four years as an officer in the army, she realised that it was not the occupation for her. A year spent hunting for a new career opportunity left her discouraged.

The Hospitality Maharat Programme was designed with young Emiratis like Badriya in mind. Devised by the Academy’s John Mowatt in 2005 for the DTCM Emiratisation Task Force for Tourism (ETFT), the Maharat programme is now delivered at the Academy four times a year. The need for such a programme arose when it became clear that hospitality, the fastest growing industry in the UAE, was rarely the career choice of young Emiratis. Not only was this a lost opportunity for job seekers like Badriya, it also meant that hotel guests from abroad were rarely exposed to genuine Emirati hospitality and culture.

The nine-week Hospitality Maharat is a practical mix of on-thejob training and classroom work. In class, participants acquire basic workplace skills and habits as well as core hospitality competencies and English. Three work placements expose them to the real world of the hospitality industry, allowing them to explore different departments and select the specialty

Since the Hospitality Maharat pilot programme was launched in 2005, more than 300 UAE nationals have been trained at the Academy. But the real success of the programme lies in its results: the number of Emiratis working in the hospitality industry has risen from 15 in 2002 to over 600 in 2007. Badriya’s is just one of many success stories. After she completed the Maharat programme, she was hired by the Shangri La Hotel to help the chefs in the main kitchen prepare Arabic dishes but she was quickly promoted to front desk security, where she has ample opportunity to exercise her people skills. “The Maharat programme really opened my eyes to the hotel industry as a career choice”, she says. “The best thing about the programme was that we learned simple, practical things about working in hotels.” The Academy takes pride in its role in changing the face of the UAE hospitality industry, and in nurturing the bright futures of young Emiratis like Badriya.

Hospitality Maharat participants

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The Academy Team (from left to right): Michael Kitts, Team Manager; a judge ; Kenneth Langseth, Chef ; Erik Ringstad, Chef ; Joselyn Hidalgo, Waitress ; Havard Mathiesen, Service Manager ; Hakon Ringstad, Waiter ; Mathias Spieler, Team Captain

The MLA Black Box Culinary Competition Culinary Coup for the Academy!

In early June, the Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) Black Box Culinary Competition brought together 17 teams of the best chefs in the UAE, including a student team from the Emirates Academy, for a demanding culinary challenge.

The idea was to create a 4-course dinner from a box of mystery ingredients within a specified time period, present it creatively and serve it with style and skill. A panel of international chefs judged the results.

Participating in this prestigious event was an achievement in itself for the Academy, as it is the first time ever that a student team has been allowed to enter. But not only did the Academy team compete, it won three prizes! Best Hygiene Award, Best Starter and Third Place Overall.

Winning third place, ahead of the teams of 16 five star hotels - including some of the most prominent in the country - is simply outstanding! The team was ably guided by the Academy’s own renowned Executive Chef and Lecturer, Michael Kitts.

Horse-pitality?

Some may consider hospitality and horses an unusual combination but for the Academy it has become a well-established tradition. For the third consecutive year the Academy’s Department of Consultancy, Training and Development has delivered the penultimate modules of the international Darley Flying Start Programme.

Founded as a registered charity by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Darley Flying Start is a true incubator of international thoroughbred industry superstars. Over 200 young men and women from around the world apply each year and only the top 12 are selected.

During the two-year programme, the diverse group of students spends several months each in Ireland, USA, Australia, England and Dubai exploring different aspects of the industry. They emerge with in-depth knowledge and experience of horse breeding, blood stock, farm management and racing.

The Academy provides training in four subjects for the annual Darley groups: finance, human resource management, marketing and website management. After the programme has finished each July, the graduates are quickly snapped up by employers all over the world.

The Darley groups have always been enthusiastic about their time at the Academy, and it doesn’t hurt that their stay coincides with the Dubai World Cup. “Being at the Academy and in Dubai has been a real living and learning experience, far beyond what we expected,” reported Mayra, a 2007 participant from Brazil.

The Academy is already looking forward to welcoming a fourth Darley group in January 2008. Find out more about the programme and next year’s participants at www.darleyflyingstart.com.

News @ the Academy The Emirates Academy Alumni Association

EuroCHRIE 2008

After a meeting of representatives from the Academy’s first two graduating classes, a plan for an alumni association was hatched.

The inauguration of the association will coincide with the graduation festivities in November, but in the meantime the Dubai graduates will be working with the Academy on an alumni website and membership directory.

The Academy has won the honour of hosting the 2008 annual conference of the European Council on Hotel, Restaurant & Institutional Education (EuroCHRIE), an international organisation that supports education & training for the hospitality industry. The theme of the conference, which will be held in October 2008, is “Building a legacy, living the dream”.

If you are an Academy graduate and would like to join the association, contact Delna Prakashan on delna.prakashan@gmail.com.

Contact Dr. Stuart Jauncey on +971 4 315 5150 or email: Stuart.Jauncey@emiratesacademy.edu for more details.