A new hotel school, Dubai Hotel and Tourism Management Institute, a joint venture between an internationally-acclaimed Australian higher education provider and a prominent Dubai-based company, will open in the emirate next year.

The opening of the institute is almost perfectly timed, following debate at the recent World Travel & Tourism Council Summit concerning shortages of trained and qualified hotel sector workers, said a company official.

UAE-headquartered Al Hai, part of the Al Hai Group of Companies has joined hands with the Blue Mountains Hotel School, an Australian-based international hotel school, to bring the institute in 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.

According to Gubler, 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.

Al Hai group chairman Jamal Al Hai said, 'The company 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.”

He said the students for the undergraduate programmes would 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 in Suzhou and Tianjin.

Operation of the new hotel school will follow the Australian model from the Blue Mountains Hotel School, recognised globally for its highly sought-after first class graduates.

The undergraduate programmes 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 programme 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.

Currently in the final design stages the new state of the art facility will incorporate the latest in educational aids particularly with regard to practical training aspects.-TradeArabia News Service