IFT alumni shared their study and career experiences
IFT 2016/17 Degree Programme Student Orientation Ceremony was held on 18 August with the presence of IFT faculty, bachelor degree programme freshmen and exchange students. President of IFT, Dr. Fanny Vong presented her warmest welcome to the new comers during the ceremony. Dr. Vong encouraged the 426 new students to be well equipped in these 4 years of study and be ready for the tourism development of Macao and opportunities in the years ahead. Established in 1995, IFT has made significant progress and achievements in various areas, increasing student intake, enhancing quality and variety of programmes and courses, as well as pursuing excellence in teaching and research over the years. Now IFT has grown as an internationally recognised institution and the number of our degree programme students has increased by more than 13 times to around 1,600. Being the first institution accredited by the UNWTO.TedQual Certification System for tourism education, IFT has now 7 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. Until now, over 6,000 degree and higher diploma students have graduated, while an average of 20,000 people participate in its professional training courses every year. IFT creates a multi-cultural learning and teaching environment for the students, with faculty members from 19 countries and regions around the world. For this academic year, international and exchange freshmen are from Austria, Chinese Hong Kong, Chinese Taiwan, Finland, France, Japan, Mainland China, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Sweden, The Netherlands, UK and USA. In order to cope with whole-person development education model, IFT adopts a balanced curriculum of both theories and practices. It emphasises on student quality nurturing and always supports students to organise real hands on projects, among which some are charitable events. Through learning by action, students not only can help the needy and the community, but also put theories into practices. The experience of learning to work with people from different background and cultures sharpens their interpersonal skills. Besides, IFT encourages students to participate in extra-curricular activities and various overseas internship and exchange programmes, so that their 4-year university life could further flourish. Dr. Vong also hoped that students could develop vital professional abilities, including teamwork spirit, organisational skill, time management skill, communication skill, as well as positive attitude that can help them to overcome challenges and develop them into knowledgeable, competent and hirable elites. All of the freshmen attending the ceremony have gone through a competitive and rigorous admission examination and interview processes before being selected by the Institute. Being one of the public tertiary institutions in Macao, IFT will continue to cultivate tourism professionals and offer more dynamic courses to cope with the tourism development of Macao. During the ceremony, the Institute Scholarship was presented to its students.
