Group photo of IFT President, course leader and the participants.
In order to provide diversified training opportunities for industry professionals and enhance management quality of the local service industry, Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT) and Cornell University School of Hotel Administration co-orgainsed an Executive Development Programme on “Strategic Thinking” on 17 and 18 October. This course focuses on how managers can guide their organisations in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of strategies. The goal is to develop a mastery of the analytical tools to perform analyses of the industry and competitors. The programme attracted 21 participants, including senior executives of local hotels and mega resorts. IFT had the honour of inviting Dr. Michael Oshins from Executive Education faulty of Cornell University to deliver the lecture. Dr. Oshins’ expertise spans across marketing, service quality and human resource management. He is also active in industry consulting practices, speaking engagements and board involvement. Through the programme, participants can improve their skills in thinking strategically about the formulation and implementation of strategies to create value and competitive advantage. IFT is always striving to enhance its teaching and research so as to contribute to the industry and the society. By organising seminars and workshops, IFT constantly shares with the industry the most updated information and research findings about the future development of Macao’s tourism industry and ways to enhance it. Established in 1995, the Institute for Tourism Studies, Macao (IFT) offers the most extensive selection of tourism and hospitality related bachelor degree programmes in Macao, and about twenty thousand participants attend its vocational and professional training courses annually. IFT collaborates with 97 universities and tourism organisations around the world, and builds strong links with 500 leading tourism and hospitality corporations to offer internship opportunities to its students. Being the first institution accredited by the UNWTO.TedQual Certification System for tourism education, IFT has now 8 bachelor degree programmes with the Certification. Currently, the Institute has the most number of bachelor degree programmes certified under the System of any tertiary education establishment worldwide. IFT has received the Medal of Merit in Tourism from the Macao SAR Government, and won twice the Gold Award in ‘Education and Training’ from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).