The Academy Newsletter - Issue 2

Issue Two, October 2007

7th academic year

THE ACADEMY

The Academy celebrates its

A note from the Dean This year saw the largest ever intake of students to the Emirates Academy. Meeting over 100 new faces was exciting for the faculty and existing students. The first day of the new academic year ended in the most wonderful style with an Iftar celebration laid out on the lawn. Nearly 200 students attended this event and the buzz of conversation and the laughter of people meeting for the first time filled the courtyards and campus.

One of the themes that characterises this Academy and our future development is that of Partnership. Since the Academy’s foundation it has worked in partnership (or academic association) with EHL, the world’s oldest and one of the most respected hotel schools. It was a great pleasure for me and Ron Hilvert (our Managing Director and an alumnus of EHL) to visit their campus in Switzerland over the summer and to further develop our relationship with them.

Editorial Team “The Academy” Issue 2, October 2007 This newsletter is a truly collaborative effort, with reporting, writing, editing and photography shared by a small but dedicated and ever-changing group of students and faculty.

Different people participate each time, and all are welcome!

The contributors to this issue include Claire Jean-Louis, Florian Kriechbaumer, Olga Kampaxi, Petra Nakad, Rehnaz Karanjia, Sadaf Vahedna, Jane Campbell

Other partnerships and relationships are also developing which are allowing us to offer greater opportunities to our students. For example the redeveloped Business 101 course (which is reported upon fully within this newsletter) is offered in partnership with several experienced managers from the Jumeirah Group, with the effect that our students are given a wide exposure to career opportunities and to the experiences of professional managers from the hotel industry. Our newly formed links with colleges and universities in Germany, the Philippines and China are also increasing our international presence and confirming the positioning of The Emirates Academy as a leading provider of Hospitality Management education across the globe. Our expanding ranks of visiting faculty and professors are also enabling us to offer a greater selection of courses and to attract and learn from leading academics from the field of hospitality and tourism education.

As well as working with others to assure the quality and relevance of our degree programmes, the Academy is also developing relationships with other organizations to support our Emiratisation, training and consultancy activities. One very exciting example of this is the collaboration with Disney, also reported in this edition, to provide managerial development opportunities for the region.

To end on a personal note, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the faculty, students, alumni, staff and executives at the Emirates Academy and in the Jumeirah Group, for the welcome and support they have given me over my first few months. I have never worked in any company or college where the internal partnerships and sense of collegiate responsibility and commitment to our mission are so strong.

Dr. Stuart Jauncey 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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Focus on Year 1 Mujahed Kobbe Nationality: American

Sten, Tamta, Mujahed

Previously an IT student at Abu Dhabi University, 19 year old Mujahed Kobbe visited The Emirates Academy and was immediately hooked on both the hospitality industry and the Academy itself. Now he commutes to Dubai every day from Abu Dhabi, where he has lived with his family since he was 10. His non-academic interests include tennis, football, and swimming. Mujahed describes his experience so far at the academy: “Nothing is more enjoyable that being in an environment that is both professional and friendly.”

Tamta Gabunia Nationality: Georgian

Eighteen-year old Tamta Gabunia is the Academy’s first student from Georgia in eastern Europe. An outgoing, active person who excelled in drama and debating at high school, Tamta was drawn to a hospitality career and felt that fast-growing Dubai was the ideal place to pursue this dream. She likes the “mini-United Nations” nature of the Academy and the fact that everyone is so friendly and warm towards each other. Her first impression of the Academy was that “students as well as faculty are openminded and have ‘that professionalism’ about them”.

Rooftop gathering

Orientation dinner: Tamta, Harshita, Stephanie, Doyle, Abdul, Samad, Pawan, Salwa

Sten von Kuhn Nationality: Swedish

Sten’s family has been in the hospitality industry in Sweden for years and, although they tried to discourage him, Sten himself got involved at the age of 15. He started as a waiter, worked his way up to head waiter, eventually switched to bartender and finally worked six months each as chef and hotel receptionist. Now 23, he heard about The Emirates Academy at an education fair. So far his experience here has been “amazing!” He is most impressed with the accommodation and all the space that he has to himself as compared to other universities,

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It’s not all work…

They say “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy and Jill a dull girl!”

Therefore, at the Emirates Academy, the students are encouraged to take part in the various extra-curricular activities organised by the Student Council and the Academy.

Some activities, like Quiz Night, are held every semester and always bring in a large audience. Even the lecturers can’t resist taking part, and a keen rivalry between faculty and student teams inevitably ensues. Events like Barbeque Night and Movie Night bring the whole student body together to relax, have fun and just enjoy an evening without studies.

Last year’s first-ever Sports Day was so well received that it will become a regular event on the Academy calendar. Students turned out for the fun, the competitive spirit and, well, yes, for the prizes, which included vouchers for Wild Wadi visits and meals in Jumeirah restaurants.

Sports are popular with Academy students and last year they arranged to participate in a sports tournament organized by Jumeirah, with stiff competition provided by teams from the various Jumeirah properties. Our women’s volleyball team got as far as mid-way before conceding to worthy opponents. However, the men’s football team won the tournament championship after a last victory over the Wild Wadi team.

The Academy values extra-curricular activities so much that we are hiring a Student Support Officer whose duties will include, among others, promoting student clubs and activities.

Quiz night: Stian, Daniel, Mathias, Christopher

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Just to prove that “Jack” really isn’t a dull boy, most of our Dean’s List students were part of either the Volleyball or Football teams!

Semester abroad at The Emirates Academy “There’s a fascination in the Philippines with the Burj al Arab. It’s seen as the epitome of a tourist destination. That got me interested in Dubai, and when Mr Hilvert visited our school, I signed up almost immediately”.

The speaker is Henry Manongsong, one of nineteen students from the School of Hotel, Restaurant and Institution Management of De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde in Manila, who are spending a semester abroad at the Emirates Academy.

“The chance to experience a really multicultural environment is what appealed to me. We don’t have that at home,” explains Henry’s classmate Ya-Hsiu Chan.

Another group member, Lawrence Sardjono, adds “an internship with a Jumeirah hotel would give us a competitive edge back home. In the Philippines, people tend to stay in their jobs for a long time, and when they finally leave, many others are queuing for the same job”.

The nineteen visitors have diverse reasons for being here but all are excited about the opportunity. They are the first in what we hope will be a long series of semester abroad groups at the Academy. As a result of discussions initiated by our Managing Director, Mr. Ron Hilvert, the Academy has signed memoranda of understanding with a number of our peer colleges so their students may attend EA for a semester or more and receive credit towards their degrees at their home colleges. Agreements have been signed with colleges and universities in Germany, Norway, and Finland, and next October we will welcome a group of students from Shandong College of Tourism and Hospitality in China.

Most of the trail-blazing De La Salle group have completed the coursework for their degree and only need a 600-hour internship – which

they will do in Jumeirah properties -- to graduate. They are enthusiastic about the three extra courses they are each taking here, although they can’t help comparing the Academy with their own college. Classes are larger at De La Salle and a typical first-year intake would be almost 400 students. “The large size has its benefits but we are enjoying the chance to have closer relationships with faculty and classmates”, says Rachel Aguinaldo. The curriculum here is similar to that of De La Salle but the workload at the Academy is heavier and more theoretical at the senior levels, according to Tingting Huang.

The De La Salle group members have given careful thought to the future.

Their dreams range from hotel and airline industry management to self-employment in medical and spiritual tourism, to teaching aspiring hoteliers in China how to attract more tourists to the country. These young almost-graduates clearly have a huge contribution to make whatever they decide to do.

But for now they are concentrating on their studies and exploring Dubai (“There must be a grocery store somewhere that sells cheap vegetables!”).

They miss their families, friends and pets, and Bryan Tan confesses to missing the cable TV at home too. But they are unanimous in believing that their semester in Dubai is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Signing the MOU: Mr Ron Hilvert (EA), and Br. Edmundo Fernandez, FSC (De La Salle)

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Profile of an internship: Oman Ministry of Tourism The internship of Atle Eikenes Hansen was not a typical hotel-based placement.

For five months Atle worked in the Ministry of Tourism for the Sultanate of Oman, where he had two main areas of responsibility: conducting research for the Department of Planning and assisting with the pre-opening of a new Scientific Centre and Museum at Ras Al Jinz, a major site for sea turtle watching.

For Atle the internship was a chance to relate his classroom knowledge to the real world, and he was given enough responsibility to really test his skills and knowledge. Throughout his internship Atle had a first-hand view of proposed tourism projects for Oman so he was assigned to deal with journalists and others concerned about these developments. He even was asked to evaluate various consultants for the pre-opening of the Museum and make a final recommendation of which one to hire.

When Cyclone Gonu hit Oman on 6th June, Atle’s job took on a new twist: as a member of the Ministry of Tourism, he was involved in the massive clean-up operation.

Atle's office after Cyclone Gonu

“What I first and foremost wanted to do with my internship was to try something different. I wanted to work with people from a different culture and learn how they work in the government sector. It was a very good experience, but at the same time it also convinced me that I want to work in the private sector when I graduate”.

Where are they now?

Farah Teja, Class of 2005 Human Resources Officer, Jumeirah Carlton Tower After graduating from the Emirates Academy with an ASc degree and an impressive grade-point average, Farah accepted a year-long management traineeship with Jumeirah’s Group Human Resources department in Dubai.

A month of the training was supposed to take place in a Human Resources department in one of the Jumeirah hotels, and as luck would have it there was an opening in London at the Carlton Tower. When a full-time post as Human Resources Officer for the hotel opened up, she accepted it without hesitation and has never turned back. Her current responsibilities include recruitment, employee relations and some training.

Farah discovered the Emirates Academy while on a family holiday in Dubai. The visit coincided with her graduation from Nottingham University and a growing desire to further her studies in hotel management. It was a perfect match.

Having the ASc “has been greatly advantageous, as it gave me good insight into all areas of the hotel business, which is extremely useful working in HR. It allows me to relate to the needs of the operation and colleagues, and gives me better understanding of situations that come up on a day to day basis.”

Farah seems to have found her niche in the Human Resources department, and the next step may be a Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development qualification. In the meantime she is enjoying her work and spending as much of her spare time as possible traveling around Europe and other nearby destinations.

“My expectations of the hospitality industry have been exceeded! I love the industry; the fact that it’s so vibrant, continuously busy and allows one the chance to meet people from all walks of life, and all that in top class surroundings.”

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Discovering the Wow! factor in hospitality

tutors. This marks a departure from the usual practice in hospitality management degree programmes, says Dr Jauncey, where students are usually exposed to the specific topics in their early years and are then expected to integrate them in “capstone” courses at senior levels.

Another feature that makes the new BUSS 101 unique is the inclusion of guest presentations as a regular element of the weekly lectures.

Course co-tutor Mike Newnham, who has just joined the Academy from his position as Jumeirah’s Chief Human Resources Officer, has used his extensive industry contacts to line up speakers representing a cross-section of industry functions, roles ands experiences. Mr Newnham sees this as a way to illustrate the multiple paths Academy students can follow to build a career in the industry.

Course tutor Mike Newnham

BUSS 101 has always been a part of the Academy’s first-year curriculum but it has undergone a facelift this year! The new Introduction to Hospitality & Tourism Business aims to instill in the students a passion for the diverse industry they are entering by giving an overview of all the constituent parts, as well as establishing the broader context in which they will be working.

Using a variety of teaching methodologies— lectures, tutorials, guest speaker presentations, small group work and individual assignments- the course sets the scene for subjects that will be covered in-depth in subsequent years, explains Dr Stuart Jauncey, one of the course

Bringing the real world to the classroom

Ten senior Jumeirah figures are scheduled to speak, including the Director of Security for the Burj al Arab; Director of Human Resources for Madinat Jumeriah; Jumeirah’s Head of Customer Relationships Management; Director of Corporate Communications; and Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, as well as other distinguished and experienced hospitality leaders.

The updated BUSS 101 is the brainchild of Dr. Jauncey, our Dean, and Mr. Newnham, who is the newly appointed Director of Consultancy for the Academy’s Centre for Consultancy, Training and Development.

Both are long-time hospitality professionals whose enthusiasm for the industry is sure to inspire its next generation of leaders as they begin their studies!

Imagine you are a hotel manager and your facilities department suddenly tells you that the chiller controlling air-conditioning and water supply for the entire hotel has stopped functioning for no known reason. Guests are starting to call the front desk with complaints, your employees don’t know what to tell them and a journalist has just phoned to ask if the shutdown might be a result of a terrorist act. What do you do??

As a final exam, the students were presented with the chiller exercise, and given a 3-hour deadline to come up with plans and solutions.

Each student was given a role to play, involving responsibility for one of the key areas. A team of facilitators fed in information from outside, playing engineers, the media and a range of concerned characters.

The students had to grapple with such issues as how to ensure the safety of hotel employees, how to minimize damage to the hotel’s assets and how to actually determine what had happened and take action to solve it. The entire session was filmed and graded.

This crisis scenario was part of a “Business Simulation” course for senior students last semester. Co-ordinated by Dr Olga Kampaxi, and delivered with guest speakers and industry experts, the simulation course was intended as an opportunity for students to use the accumulated knowledge from their studies and work experience to resolve problems they might encounter in the workplace.

The students learned crisis management theory, then heard the practitioner’s viewpoint from a series of guest speakers.

Dr Kampaxi was pleased with the results of the course and says she will try it again. “A hands-on exercise like this was new and exciting for the students, and that made it a good learning experience”. One of the participants, Nikola Reid, said the students benefited from “having to use our own initiative and knowledge to handle what could be a real life situation in our future careers. [The facilitators] did not treat us as students, they forced us to act upon our own judgment and work effectively as a team to prevent a crisis.”

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The Magic Kingdom comes to the Academy

News & events Graduation The graduation ceremony for 2007 will be held on 6 November 2007, followed on the 10th by the most exciting social event on the Academy calendar— the Graduation Ball, to be held this year at the Godolphin Ballroom of the Jumeirah Emirates Towers.

“A winning business culture isn’t magic - it just looks like it”

The Ball allows us to celebrate the success of our graduates and to wish them well in their careers. It is not the end of their relationship with us however: all graduates, including this year’s cohort, will be invited to attend the launch of the Emirates Academy Alumni Association, in conjunction with the Graduation festivities. The Association aims to maintain a strong network of our graduates around the world.

– Disney Keys to Excellence

Representatives from companies throughout the region captured some of the Disney magic at the company’s Keys to Excellence course, a dynamic one-day programme sponsored by the Academy’s Department for Consultancy, Training and Development and held at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel in late October.

Disney is one of the Emirates Academy’s growing array of worldwide partners in the delivery of quality training and higher education in hospitality and related areas. Disney’s fifty years of experience as a world class organization for hospitality & tourism – with 25,000 hotel rooms and 59,000 staff members in its Florida operations alone -- makes it an inspiring source of best practice wisdom. Although Keys to Excellence has been delivered all around the United States, this was its debut in the Middle East.

Conferences Academy faculty members Dr John Sutton and Dr. Amanda Henderson, as well as our erstwhile Dean, Dr Morag Stewart, delivered papers at the 25th annual EuroCHRIE conference in Leeds, England, in October.

Current Dean Dr. Stuart Jauncey and Managing Director Ron Hilvert also attended and the Academy team delivered a presentation in anticipation of EuroCHRIE 2008, which will be hosted by the Emirates Academy.

Academy faculty member receives accolade

Key to Excellence combined just a little showmanship (an introductory light show; clips from Disney films like Snow White to illustrate points) and a crisp, professional delivery style. In four succinct modules, the course facilitators, Rob Morton and Paul Macleish, described the “Disney style” of leadership promotion, management, customer relationship management and customer service.

The 274 participants came from all over the region and represented many different industries, including health care, banking, retail and hospitality.

Among them was third year Academy student, Zina Sorensen. She particularly appreciated the interactive delivery style, and the facilitators’ ability to aim at just the right level to appeal to all. “The presentation was very much focused on Disney but I learned concepts that can be applied globally to any hospitality-related business” Alan Simpson, Director of Professional Training and Development at the Academy, and former Disney training manager, says “Disney has been able to create an internal culture that not only inspires employees but also cultivates customer loyalty. The course shared some of the secrets of that success”.

As a result of the course, the Disney magic is now circulating through offices around the region!

In September, Dr Olga Kampaxi, Assistant Professor at the Emirates Academy, received an award at a ceremony organised by the Dubai Ethics Resource Centre to honor students and participating companies, including Jumeirah Group, for their support and commitment to its Future Leaders Programme and Corporate Social Responsibility summer internship. Dr Kampaxi was recognized for her part in preparing the interns for their company visits by equipping them with the necessary skills and techniques. She delivered a series of workshops for the interns and was also involved in teaching them case study writing techniques.