Vol 6 Issue 1, February 2006 - School of Hotel & Tourism ...

26Student ActivitiesOut of the ClassroomMacao ExperienceA total of 305 year 1 students participated in a two-dayfield trip to Macao in October. Activities included a citytour, which gave them plenty of opportunity to gainbasic knowledge of the tourism industry in the city.Talks given by the General Manager (an SHTM MScgraduate), Front Office Manager and the ExecutiveHousekeeper of the Hotel Grandeur were bothinformative and inspiring.According to a survey taken after the trip, 77% of the137 who responded believed that the trip achieved thelearning objectives and more than 85% were satisfiedwith the visit.Field trip with the most number of students organised by theSchool.Leadership SkillsIn November, a group of 15 students, along withlecturer Alan Wong, took part in an Outdoor ChallengeProgramme at Tai Tong Lychee Garden, Yuen Long. Theaim of the exercise was to encourage the students toapply and experience leadership theories. “Theprogramme was divided into three sessions: Ice-Breaking Game, Team Building Game and War Game,”says student Irene Tang. “The first session gave us thechance to familiarise ourselves with each other and toexperience discipline training. We realised early on thatco-operation and rapport between group members andadequate planning were very important. It wasamazing how we gradually became aneffective and mature team. During the WarGame, we understood that goodcommunication and working on strategiesbetween team-mates were most important.”Fellow student Anita Ng remarks: “Overall,the trip was successful. First of all, weenjoyed being outdoors – a change from oureveryday lives! The most treasuredexperience was practising our leadership skills SHTM students greet aresident of Tung Wah Groupthrough the process of planning,of Hospitals’ Fong Shu Chuenorganisation, implementation and debriefing. District Elderly CommunityWe realised that all theories developed in the Centre after they had givenher living quarters a freshLeadership subject are related to day-to-daycoat of paint.practices. Everyone has his or her strengthsand weaknesses. Also, leadership skills can be developedin different styles under different situations.”Community ServiceLast semester students contributed more than 700hours to four local community organisations as apart of a new course requirement. Visiting AssociateProfessor Joseph Koppel introduced a new class,called Hospitality and Culture and provided culturebasedservice projectsinto the curriculum. Theorganisations concernedwere Hong ChiRehabilitation Centre,which serves thedevelopmentallySHTM students celebratetheir community serviceefforts at a tea receptionbased on Chinese culture.Students joined with the JW MarriottHotel staff in presenting a traditionalChinese Christmas celebration to thepatients of the Cheshire Home inChung Hom Kok.HORIZONS