In the midst of a human capital crisis in the hotel industry, the Dubai Hotel and Tourism Management Institute, which is expected to open in 2009, was announced on Friday. The school is a joint venture between an internationally-acclaimed Australian higher education provider and a prominent Dubai-based company. UAE-headquartered Al-Hai LLC, part of the Al-Hai Group of Companies chaired by Jamal Al-Hai, has collaborated with world leaders in hospitality and tourism education, the Blue Mountains Hotel School, an Australian-based international hotel school, to bring a new hotel school to the Middle East. “We are very excited about this joint venture which will result in the formation of an international hotel and tourism management institute in Dubai. It will facilitate the growing needs of the industry both in terms of training existing human resources in the hotel sector and by providing quality undergraduate and postgraduate education for future hoteliers,” said Fritz Gubler, director, Blue Mountains Hotel School. Gubler said the first student intake is scheduled for early 2009 and the institute will be a member of the ORION Hotel Schools global alliance. “Being recognized as an ORION Hotel School will add value to the institute. We take great pride in watching our students grow and develop, going on to graduate and become the future leaders of the global hospitality and tourism industry,” said Gubler. “The Al-Hai Group already operates within the tourism, hotel management, aviation and aviation related sectors and the opportunity to move into education was a natural progression for us,” said Jamal Al-Hai. “Students for the undergraduate programs will be recruited both locally in the Gulf and from the international pool of emerging talent. We are confident that both existing and new employees of the region's hotels will benefit from the training offered,” he added. The Blue Mountains Hotel School has two campuses in Australia: the Blue Mountains Hotel School in Leura, New South Wales (90 minutes drive from Sydney) which has been operating for 16 years; and the Australian International Hotel School in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, which has been operating for more than a decade. The group also operates educational facilities in China with two campuses (Suzhou and Tianjin). Operation of the new hotel school will follow the Australian model from the Blue Mountains Hotel School, recognized globally for its highly sought-after first class graduates. The undergraduate programs will involve rigorous academic studies, applied practical on-campus training and an internship component. The new hotel school will embrace the three pillars approach to education: a balanced integration of theoretical knowledge, practical skills and personal development. The core program will be a three-year bachelor degree whereby students will gain exposure to all areas of hotel and resort management as well as tourism, leisure and event management. A one-year diploma and two-year associate degree will also be on offer by the new hotel school. As a member of the ORION Hotel Schools global alliance, the school will share a common platform of educational values, beliefs and teaching methodologies to underpin the respective programs on offer. All of the programs on offer at the new school will be internationally accredited. __
