THE J Willard and Alice S Marriott Foundation has pledged RMB40.5 million (US$6.5 million) to expand existing hospitality curricula and programmes for universities and vocational schools in China.
Known as the Marriott China Hospitality Education Initiative (CHEI), Marriott Foundation hopes the scheme will prepare Chinese youth for careers in China’s tourism and travel industry, many of whom come from hard-pressed rural areas.
CHEI is now in the midst of identifying 10-12 pilot schools for the upcoming aademic year and aims to benefit some 20,000 students annually across 50 schools in five years.
San Diego State University has been nominated as CHEI’s academic advisor, and has identified opportunities that CHEI will pursue, including: professional development opportunities like internships, work experiences, site tours and interacting with industry insiders; industry-specific conversational English studies; faculty development such as exchanges with US universities and internships at hotels in China; development of content to augment existing curricula; and an annual teaching conference gathering leaders in hospitality education to share best practices.
“We are customising the programme based on input from the industry and the impressive vocational schools and universities in China, and we hope to be part of a community of hospitality educators,” said Carl H Wilson, director of San Diego State University’s school of hospitality and tourism management.
Marriott International has also come on board as CHEI’s industry advisor, and will provide input on curriculum relevance, data to measure programme outcomes, internship opportunities for students and also host faculty internships at partner schools.
The hotel group in April launched the Marriott Institute of Hospitality Education in partnership with Anhui Zhong-Ao Institute of Technology in China, offering a three-year diploma programme initially centred on hotel management (TTG Asia e-Daily, April 25, 2013).
