International institute develops management programmes for Asia

EH Staff - Mumbai

Dr Russell Arthur Smith, Vice Dean, Cornell-Nanyang Institute of Hospitality Management, Nanyang Technological University, Nanyang Business School

To alleviate the severe shortage of qualified talent that is currently plaguing the hospitality industry in Asia. the Cornell-Nanyang Institute of Hospitality Management (CNI) has developed three internationally recognised programs, which are ideal for Indian hospitality professionals.

The Master of Management in Hospitality degree is equivalent to an MBA but is much more specialised, focusing on the hospitality industry. This one-year (six months in USA and six months in Singapore) degree as delivered through CNI is designed to meet the needs of current industry professionals, career-changers, and recent graduates who desire a high quality international degree in a concentrated time frame. According to Dr Russell Arthur Smith, vice dean, Cornell-Nanyang Institute of Hospitality Management, Nanyang Technological University, Nanyang Business School, "India and Asia as a whole are perfectly poised to reap the many benefits of heightened travel and tourism. The main challenge, particularly for India, is skilled, educated hospitality professionals - a need that the Cornell-Nanyang Institute is designed to satisfy."

He further added, "CNI graduates will move seamlessly into the Indian hospitality industry, providing the expertise needed to ensure that all obstacles to tourism and hospitality investments and development are overcome in a professional, successful manner."

The various programs are Professional Development Programs for fast-tracking young managers, seasoned executives, and owners of international resort chains, teach prevailing management techniques, presented by internationally recognised faculty members and industry leaders. The General Managers Program, designed for hotel general managers, executive assistant managers, and resident managers or their equivalents, in full-service hotels, gives participants an opportunity to be recharged and inspired.

All three programmes were designed by CNI, created as a partnership between Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration and Nanyang Technological University's Business School, based in Singapore. CNI combines Cornell's hospitality tradition with NTU's Asian business understanding to produce graduates who are poised to face challenges in the world's highest hospitality growth regions - India and China. CNI integrates Asian - including Indian - teaching cases, exercises, business models and guest lecture presentations into its hospitality education programs. Guidance in this is provided from the CNI Advisory Board which includes Ratan Tata.