Diversity in Hospitality Education

As one of the very few international career tracks, the hospitality industry is now seeking professionals who have a broader exposure to international cultures and languages.  The motivation for this change in strategy is based in the theory that professionals who are more "culturally aware" will provide a better service experience to international travelers.  The end result being that if a customer has a better service experience, they will be more inclined to be repeat customers of the hospitality provider.

For many years, hospitality education focused on operational knowledge.  In other words, the priorities were to educate students on the operational functions of a hotel: front desk, housekeeping, food and beverage, etc.  While those skills are still part of what hospitality schools educate on today, that education is clearly evolving to also include coursework in cultural awareness, sociology and psychology in an attempt to "teach" cultural awareness.

While it's certainly an admirable task to provide a theoretical framework to assist students in understanding how to become more culturally aware, what is missing is the social aspect of cultural awareness that is more often provided outside of the classroom.  By meaning, there is another set of "learning" that students have by living in a culturally diverse environment both inside and outside of the classroom.  This provides students with a greater understanding of the social behaviors of different cultures - the learning that can't be taught in a classroom or from a book.

While there are many institutions throughout the world that provide recognized programs in hospitality education, there are very few that also focus on developing a more diverse student body.  This could even be said of many schools in the United States.  While foreign student enrollment is increasing, the population of US students still overwhelms an individual school's international student population.  Thus, instead of having a student population that represents a world of cultures, we have one dominant culture (American) that dominates the student body.  Thus, limiting a student's ability to gain the cultural knowledge and experience that can be of a significant cultural benefit.

However, there are some schools that are the "exceptions to the rule".  If we consider Les Roches International School of Hotel Management in Switzerland, we can see diversity at work in the student body.  In Les Roches' most recent intake, the student body came from a very broad population:

Continent of Origin	Percentage of Student Population
Europe	33%
Asia	37%
Americas	12%
Middle east and Subcontinent	15%
Africa	3%

As you can see, Les Roches has focused not only on recruiting strong students with the motivation to be successful future professionals, but they have also prioritized cultural diversity to support a key component of their mission to provide an environment that facilitates not only respect for cultural differences but to also give students a deep international prospective to support the students' academic and future career objectives. 

If you wish to know further or would like to weigh your options in studying in Swiss, come and visit any of our branches or email us at consultation@suneducationgroup.com

Bidang Spesifik IT : Cloud Computing

Setelah lulus SMA, saya mau kuliah jurusan apa yah?? Mau kuliah di mana yah?? Setelah lulus kerjaannya apa yah??

Biasanya ketiga pertanyaan penting inilah yang selalu di pertanyakan baik oleh siswa/i maupun orang tua sekarang ini.

Tidak bisa di pungkiri bahwa sekarang ini semua sektor bisnis dan kehidupan masyarakat sangat erat kaitannya dengan kemajuan Information Technology. Jika kalian tertarik dengan dasyatnya perubahan teknologi dan juga implikasinya terhadap sektor bisnis dan masyarakat sekarang ini, salah satu bidang yang bisa di bidik saat ini adalah CLOUD COMPUTING. 

Akhir akhir ini, banyak sekali terjadi perbincangan mengenai Cloud Computing atau Komputasi Awan. Cloud computing adalah suatu penggabungan teknologi komputer dan pengembangan berbasis internet. Secara sederhana, Cloud computing dapat kita bayangkan seperti kita membutuhkan listrik. Tentunya kita adalah pemakai listrik dalam kehidupan sehari hari. Untuk bisa menikmati listrik, kita tidak perlu mendirikan infrastruktur pembangkit listrik sendiri bukan? Yang perlu di lakukan adalah mendaftar ke PLN dan kita tinggal menggunakan dan membayar sesuai dengan penggunaan.

Nah analogi PLN di atas, adalah sedikit gambaran Cloud computing di mana fungsinya adalah memberikan layanan kepada user/pemakai dari layanan tersebut. Layanan penggunaan teknologi komputer berbasis internet contohnya dapat di tujukan untuk menganlisis data, komunikasi tanpa batas, mengerti trend customer, menaikkan produktifitas , dan masih banyak lagi. 

Akan banyak pasar kerja untuk professional IT yang mempunya kemampuan pengembangan Cloud computing di masa akan datang baik di sektor bisnis, pemerintah, sosial masyarakat. Bahkan menurut The Cloud Dividend Report (December, 2010) di katakan bahwa perkembangan Cloud computing akan menghasilkan 446,000 pekerjaan setiap tahun di bidang retail, hotel, sektor keuangan dan publik di Eropa, Middle East dan Africa. 

Bagi teman teman SMA yang masih bingung, mungkin ini bisa dijadikan pilihan untuk  mendapatkan HIGH END JOB kalian.

Tools to Find Out What’s Best for You

One of the most important things to consider when choosing your main course of study is that your degree is a means for the future. It is not the end goal. The course you take will direct you to a career path that is suited to your studies. In this sense, it is not unusual to find that the methodology and the topics covered in the courses are very much in line with actual working. Studying does not only teach you the technical terms, it also teaches you a method of thinking and logic. 

Now before you stress out trying to figure out your dreams, do note that not all students of a subject go on to work in that field. Not all engineering students become engineers and not all marketing students end up in the marketing field, and they are successful. What you need to think about is what suits you, and here are some things that you could use

        Explore your interests

This is simply the first and most important step that you need to find out. If you like dealing with numbers, then maybe finance or accounting is a good course of study for you. If you like buildings then perhaps study civil engineering or architecture if you like to draw as well. By studying what you love and have a passion for, you will see that you will obtain much better results and greater focus in studying. 

You will obtain more knowledge and information from the courses than those that are studying just for the sake of a degree. Join activity clubs, leave yourself open to new activities, literature and media forms to see where your interests lie. Your main interest will lie in doing something you enjoy most and spend the most time doing, along with better results in the associated school work.

Personality tests

When you are a teenager, more than likely, you will still be in the process of discovering yourself. Don’t worry; we’ve known people in their thirties that are still discovering themselves. However, you can take personality tests that can discern your tendencies and give a general idea about yourself. The most popular of these tests are the DISC Test. The test classifies four aspects of behavior by testing a person's preferences in word associations. DISC is an acronym that stands for Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientious. 

These four dimensions can be grouped in a grid with "D" and "I" sharing the top row and representing extroverted aspects of the personality, and "C" and "S" below representing introverted aspects. "D" and "C" then share the left column and represent task-focused aspects, and "I" and "S" share the right column and represent social aspects. In this matrix, the vertical dimension represents a factor of "Assertive" or "Passive", while the horizontal dimension represents "Open" vs. "Guarded"

        Talk to someone else

When you are stuck, it is best to ask the opinions of others. Teachers and parents are good source of knowledge. You can also ask guidance counselors at your school, or if you’d like, visit SUN at any of our offices to talk with any of our counselors. Asking others can give you a different perspective on yourself. Just be honest and they will guide you to find your best options. 

Visit us at any of our branches across Jakarta or email us at consultation@suneducationgroup.com. We also provide DISC tests for you if you require.

The Workaround to the Main Barriers of Study

There are a number of stumbling blocks to studying overseas. The main barriers are cost, homesickness, and cultural differences. These barriers have seen many students wanting to study overseas to stop and abandon their dreams because of the difficulties. I’m here to tell you of a method to avoid these barriers, and this method is close to home, study in Malaysia.

Why Malaysia? Well, first of all, Malaysia is very close to Indonesia. Flights from Indonesia will only take at most one and a half hours to Malaysia. Flights are numerous and low cost carriers fly across so the cost to go and come back from Malaysia is very cheap. 

Culturally, Malaysia is similar to Indonesia, but it is also very multicultural, with strong British connections from previously being a British colony. Malaysia is a multiracial country with a population of more than 26 million which consists of Malay, Chinese and Indian as many other indigenous races, all coexisting in harmony. There are also people of other nationalities studying, working and doing business in Malaysia. 

A major advantage for international students when choosing to study in Malaysia is the relatively cheap cost of living. The total expenditure for accommodation, either on-campus or off-campus is very affordable. While your actual cost of living will depend on the location of your accommodation and your personal lifestyle, students will be pleased to know that KL has been ranked one of the least expensive cities in the world to live in. Malaysia has always offered a cost advantage as a study destination for international students. The cost of education in Malaysia is much cheaper than many other overseas countries for foreign students.

Finally Malaysia is also home to many foreign university branch campuses, such as Curtin University, Swinburne University and Monash University from Malaysia and University of Nottingham from the UK, amongst others. These are official campuses located in Malaysia, so you will not need to travel to the respective countries in order to study at a quality university and obtain a degree from said institutions. 

So let us look back at our main barriers. Cost, homesickness and cultural differences are all covered here, along with a guaranteed quality education. If you wish to know further or would like to weigh your options in studying in Malaysia, come and visit any of our branches or email us at consultation@suneducationgroup.com

Academic Accreditation for Swiss Hospitality Schools

With the growth of post-secondary schools offering hospitality diploma and degree programs throughout the world, it has become necessary to place a greater consideration on the academic quality of the institutions.

Generally speaking, universities should either be recognized by a Ministry or Department of Education in the country of operation, or in many cases, regionally accredited in the United States.  Accreditation is generally defined as a quality assurance process administered by an outside organization that evaluates a university's adherence to established quality standards applied to all universities seeking to be accredited.

Accreditation is not only important in evaluating the academic quality of an institution, but it can also be a critical component to external recognition of the completed degree by employers and governments.  Thus, if a student graduated from a university that was not accredited, the likelihood of professional recognition of that degree will be limited.  The reason behind this is simple, without the quality assurance process applied in an accreditation review, potential employers may not consider the graduate to be adequately prepared for professional employment.

While there are many hospitality schools in Switzerland, there are very few that are either regionally accredited institutions or recognized by the Swiss Federal Government.  Those institutions who are accredited by The Commission on Technical and Career Institutions (CTCI), are accredited in offering "a program of study is defined as a curriculum or sequence of course work, lab work, independent study or other academic endeavor that leads to a certificate or diploma." Institutions accredited by The Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (CIHE) "offer collegiate-level programs consisting of a curriculum of studies that leads to a degree in a recognized field of study."   The difference is critical, CTCI institutions offer accredited certificates or diplomas while CIHE institutions offer accredited degrees (ex. Bachelor and Masters Degrees).   

When considering a hospitality education in Switzerland, there are only three institutions who offer NEASC (New England Association of Schools and Colleges, the US Regional accreditation), Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (CIHE) accredited degrees: Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne, Glion Institute of Higher Education, and Les Roches International School of Hotel Management.  There are no other Swiss Hospitality Schools that offer US regionally Accredited Bachelor and Masters Degrees.  

Government recognition or US regional accreditation has become one of the primary selection criteria when considering the professional employment of hospitality graduates.  This is especially true when it comes to hospitality companies based in the United States.  It is not unusual to see among the required qualifications for employment being the 'Completion of a bachelor degree from regionally accredited or government recognized institution.'  With that, it's wise to carefully consider the accreditation of the institution prior to spending time and money in attendance. 

Contact your nearest SUN Education Group office or email us at consultation@suneducationgroup.com for more information.