School of Tourism showcases its CPD Programme at the Hotel and Catering Show 2013

Last week Bournemouth University School of Tourism showcased it’s CPD Programme at the Hotel and Catering Show 2013.

As well as exhibitions from companies in the hospitality industry, the show also included live food demonstrations from some prestigious chefs and restaurants.

The School of Tourism were there to showcase their CPD programme. Keith Hayman, BU’s Head of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in the School of Tourism, outlines how the course works:

“Everything about our CPD programme for employers is flexible, from course content to delivery times. Working closely with Hall & Woodhouse, the Dorset-based brewing and pub company ,we came up with a bespoke programme of 6 units delivered over eighteen months. The units include HE Study Skills; Hospitality Context; Services Marketing; People and Performance; E-Marketing and Financial Reporting. The first cohort received its CHE (Certificate of Higher Education) in 2012 and will progress to a Foundation Degree in Business and Hospitality Management in 2013” explains Keith.

The show was successful for the School of Tourism with lots of potential new business leads.

Could bespoke CPD give your organisation the edge over your competitors? 

www.bournemouth.ac.uk/hospitality-cpd    Tel: 01202 961481   

Email: khayman@bournemouth.ac.uk  or cmain@bournemouth.ac.uk

Invitation to attend the Bournemouth University and Macau IFT Video Conference on the 21st March

On the 21st March, Bournemouth University will be hosting its annual video conference with Macau IFT. This year’s conference has the topic of World Heritage.

The conference will be held in PG146 on Talbot Campus from 9.00am to 12.00pm

The conference is opne to all students and aims to enhance the academic exchange between IFT and BU as well as provide a stimulating experience for attendees.

The conference has a mixture of Keynote speakers from Bournemouth University and Macau IFT.

Please see the e-invite for a full list of speakers.

For now please see the Facebook Page for more information or if you like to register to attend the conference please email Jade on i7268398@bournemouth.ac.uk

Gain a WSET Level 1 Award in Wine

The School of Tourism, in collaboration with Erica Dent of Enjoy Discovering Wine, is delighted to be able to offer a 1 day WSET Level 1 Award in Wine.

The course will provide you with product knowledge and skills in the selection of wine to help you with your future employment and add value to your CV. The course introduces you to the main styles of wine, common grape varieties, a systematic approach to wine tasting and the matching of food to wine.  Assessment is through completion of a multiple-choice paper at the end of the day. The course starts at 8:45 a.m. and finishes at about 4.30 pm.The next course is being held on

SUNDAY 24 MARCH 2013

Venue to be advised. Heavily discounted cost to BU students is £105.

To register your interest and reserve a place, please email Elaine Finlay who will provide you with further details along with instructions on how to pay.

efindlay@bournemouth.ac.uk

Student event raises over £3,500 for the Poole Africa Link

 On Friday 22 March 2013,  five Bournemouth University Event Management students successfully organised a wonderful evening full of food, music, dance and fundraising at The Haven Hotel, Sandbanks. The black tie dinner and auction was in aid of the locally based charity, Poole Africa Link, who send out doctors and nurses to the Wau district of South Sudan to improve the health care currently being provided.

The James Bond themed event included a fantastic array of entertainment, from an auction and raffle, including Bond inspired prizes, to international champion dance performances and a great live show by four-piece jazz band, The Brightside Band. The group of five had an extremely successful evening, raising over £3,500 for the charity. Team leader, Francesca Gorvin said “We would like to thank everyone who helped make this event possible: our sponsors, Unicorn Training and Pennyfarthing have been extremely generous, and to all our guests for making the night such a fantastic success”.

To view a selection of photos from the night please visit: Dorset Society – Poole Africa Link event photos

Final Year Students take on the High Ropes as part of the STEEP Programme

This week 20 final year students went to Avon Tyrrell to undertake high ropes activities, archery and pioneering as part of the STEEP programme.

The student’s first had to take part in the high ropes challenge where they were kitted out with helmets and harnesses before they scaled the trees. The students had to complete the course that was around 40ft up in the air which included climbing a wobbly balance pole and hanging upside down at one point.

Throughout the group supported each other to overcome each obstacle.

After the high ropes, the students took part in some Archery, which a lot of them had never done before. The Archery encouraged team work but also individual competition.

After a hot meal the group were split into 3 for the pioneering challenge.  After being given 4 large wooden poles, rope and a bungee cord each team worked together to figure out how to make a self-supporting structure that would outperform the competition.

Final year student Camilla Larkan commented on the experience “It has been a fantastic day filled with challenges and so many more laughs, our activity guides were excellent and perfectly encouraging.

I definitely think that these STEEP activities should continue, they are so much more than a fun day out, and so valuable during this time of year when the pressure is mounting as we are able to escape the desktop and academic theory and apply logic and open minded thinking to real life challenges. 

 Today was a breath of fresh air!”

 The High Ropes Challenge was the last STEEP activity offered this year. The programme will re-open next year for final year students.

UG-PG Review

This week the School was involved in the Periodic Review of all its Undergraduate and Postgraduate Programmes which involves academics from other universities and representatives from all the industry sectors covered by the School. Following an excellent event involving staff and students 6-year approval was awarded to all School Programmes. Particular thanks must go to the students involved who impressed immensely the Panel on Wednesday and were considered a credit to BU and the School.

 In particular the Panel commended ‘active fusion between education, research and professional practice’, ‘integration of guest speakers, visits and field work’, ‘placements/experiential learning/employability and ‘clear and substantial evidence of the commitment of teaching teams to students’.

Event Management Students Dragon’s Den Event becomes a reality at the Captain’s Club Hotel

On February 17th, the Captain’s Club Hotel in Christchurch hosted an event that had originally been an idea of 4 Bournemouth University Event Management students.

Last year, the students, Oliver Jones, Takara Patrick, Joanna Mitchell and Michael-Aaron Loftus, had to pitch a new event idea to the Captain’s Club in a Dragon’s Den style presentation as part of their first year.

The Captains Club liked the idea that that was pitched to them so much that they decided to actually host the event.

The students pitched “A Night on the Titanic” evening where guests were treated to a menu that would have been served on the Titanic, as well as entertainment and a string quartet.

All profits of the event when to the RNLI in Mudeford.

Joanna commented “It was a great opportunity for us to be given the chance to host the event after only speaking about it in theoretical terms.

 The Captain’s Club were great help and allowed us to complete many tasks for the event such as writing and sending out the press release, finding a printing company, looking for props and costumes and finally entertainment.

 Although parts were challenging we all learnt a lot and enjoyed hosting the event. We were lucky to be given the opportunity and support of The Captains Club and were happy with the end result with guests seeming to have enjoyed themselves thoroughly.”

 Managing director of the hotel, Tim Lloyd said: “When the group pitched the idea we felt they had the enthusiasm and commitment to put theory into practice.

“It may have been courageous on our part but we felt the hotel was already suitable to host such a grand occasion.

With the entire hotel’s crew fully behind the students in helping to re-create this special night, it really was a great celebration.”

Congratulations to the students on this achievement!

Bournemouth University visits Nepal

Four senior academics from Bournemouth University are on an official three-day visit to Nepal during February 26-28. They are: Prof. Dr. Holger Schutkowski, Acting Pro Vice-Chancellor of Bournemouth University and Deputy Dean of the School of Applied Sciences, Dr. Richard Shipway, Associate Dean: International Engagement in the School of Tourism, Prof Dr. Edwin van Teijlingen, Professor of Reproductive Health Research and Dr. Ana Adi, Head of International Development for the Media School.

 Facilitated by the UK-Nepal Friendship Society, the visit aims to establish and expand the academic and research collaborations of Bournemouth University with leading universities in Nepal. The academics will visit Tribhuvan University, Lumbini Buddhist University, Pokhara University, Patan Academy of Health Sciences (PAHS) and the Nepal Sanskrit University meeting with the institutions’ Vice-Chancellors and senior academics and staff. The team is also expected to meet with high dignitaries of Nepal including the Prime Minister, Tourism Ministry, Health ministry and Education Ministry.

 Bournemouth University has already a long-standing reputation in health services research in Nepal through Prof. Dr. Edwin van Teijlingen, also a Visiting Professor at both MMIHS and Nobel College. Prof. Dr. van Teijlingen has published over sixty academic papers on health studies in Nepal, both in international journals and in English-language journals in Nepal. Bournemouth University is also the host of Dr. Laxmi Ghimire, a senior researcher and active member of the UK-Nepal Friendship Society.

 Further areas of interest and expertise of Bournemouth University in Nepal include Media Studies, Tourism and Archaeological Sciences.

Dr. Richard Shipway commented: “We see great opportunities in a wide-range of aspects of tourism research in Nepal, including eco-tourism.”  Dr. Ana Adi added: “Both the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ media are in an early stage of development in Nepal, there is a lot of scope for research here as well as a great potential for extended training and collaborations.”

 Uttam Bhlon, secretary for the UK-Nepal Friendship Society (Nepal Chapter) remarked: “We welcome the Bournemouth University team to Nepal and hope this is a start of long-term relationship.”

 

Barbara Neuhofer presents at the CAUTHE Conference 2013

PhD Researcher, Barbara Neuhofer has just returned from presenting at the CAUTHE Conference 2013 in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Barbara presented her paper that she co-authored with Professor Dimitrios Buhalis and Professor Adele Ladkin, titled “Experiences, Co-creation and Technology: A conceptual approach to enhance tourism experiences” at the conference.

Back in November, Barbara was awarded the PGR Development Scheme Funding by the Graduate School. This funding meant she had the opportunity to travel to New Zealand to attend the conference and present her paper.

Barbara commented “It was a highly beneficial conference and a great chance for me to share my PhD research, meet new academics, engage and extend my academic network to key universities and institutions in the Australasian region.

Overall it was a very enriching experience and I would like to express my gratitude to the Graduate School and the School of Tourism for giving me the financial support to attend CAUTHE Conference 2013.”

Congratulations to Barbara on this achievement.

Final Year Students learn basic first aid as part of the STEEP Programme

Last week, 30 final year students got the opportunity to learn first aid as part of the STEEP programme.

The students were trained by the Ouch Training Team. Ouch training was created at the beginning of the 21st century. They offer fun and flexible first aid training across the UK.

The students were trained in first aid in the workplace and they will all now receive a DSE recognised qualification that lasts up to three years.

One student commented that Ouch “made the content fun and enjoyable. The practical tasks were a great practice for real life situations

The STEEP programme (Student Talent Employability & Engagement Programme) is run every year for final year students. It aims to offer them opportunities to enhance their CV or gain new experiences that can be used to help find a future job.