News Release:
Partnership takes tourism education to new heights
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Date 12/10/01 No 142/01 An agreement signed today (Friday 12 October) at the University
of New England, Armidale, will provide a new Bachelor of Commerce
degree that allows students to major in hospitality and tourism
management. It marks the culmination of negotiations between UNE and the Blue
Mountains International Hotel Management School (BMIHMS) at Leura.
The Vice-Chancellor of UNE, Professor Ingrid Moses, and the principal
of BMIHMS, Professor Peter Jones, signed the agreement, which makes
the new Bachelor of Commerce (Hospitality and Tourism Management)
degree a reality. The five-year partnership agreement will enable the establishment of a joint curriculum for the new degree, and will be the basis for further joint developments. The program will allow students to complete a two-year diploma course at BMIHMS and then, while still on the Leura campus, another year of studies to qualify for the new UNE degree. Alternatively, students can do two years of BCom studies at UNE and a third year at the Leura college to graduate with a Bachelor of Commerce degree majoring in hospitality and tourism management. Professor Moses said the arrangement would allow UNE to contribute
to the rapidly growing tourism industry in partnership with a recognised
leader in the field. "At the same time, it will extend the
options for our Bachelor of Commerce students," she said."The
partnership adds a unique dimension to tourism and hospitality education."
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Professor Jones said: "We welcome this joint venture as a
tremendous strategic opportunity. It brings together the experience
and prestige of one of Australia's oldest regional universities
with our school's internationally recognised and respected expertise.
Today's signing is a wonderful first step in the development of
further initiatives between our two institutions." BMIHMS, at Leura in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, has developed an educational model in which students live and study as both guests and staff in a simulated hotel, taking on all roles and responsibilities. Students start with basic service skills, build on management skills in second year, and by third year are managing all departments of the School's "hotel" on a daily basis. After 10 years of operation the school has produced more than 1,000 graduates, many of whom have achieved senior industry positions in Australia and abroad. Students from 31 nations are at present studying on the Leura campus. Media contact: Professor Patrick Hutchinson, Faculty of Economics, Business and Law, UNE, Armidale (02) 6773 3902 or Professor Peter Jones, Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School, Leura (02) 4780 1631.
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