School of Hospitality and Tourism
On July 7th 2017, The School of Hospitality and Tourism – Hue University had a meeting with representatives from several large companies, labour unions and Daystar International Cooperation and Investment Joint Stock Company from Japan. All parties have expressed special interest in establishing a collaborative intership program for students of School of Hospitality and Tourism in Japan. The program proposal and procedures were discussed in details to ensure the positive outcomes and maintain the students’ credit during the internship period.
Participants at the meeting include executive and senior staffs representing large labour unions in Japanese food and beverage industry and transportation industry as follows:
- Ishibashi Toshihiko – Chairman of Unite Labour Union
- Endo Daisuke – Director, Mr. Nakashima Takanari – Marketing Manager, Mr. Ogasawara Kouichi – Head of Education Division of Asrapport Corporation;
- Kawabata Hiroaki – Chairman of Matsuno Shita Company
Representatives from Daystar Company, a well established corporation in consultancy services for studying abroad, labour export and foreign language training, also joined the meeting, including Mr. Nguyen Van Choi – Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Le Ngoc Tinh – Director of Admissions Planning, Ms. Hoang Thi Khanh Trang – Director of Japanese Study Consultancy.
Representatives of School of Hospitality and Tourism – Hue University, including Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Huu Tuan – Deputy Dean of the Faculty and Mr. Tran Thanh Long – Manager of Center of Practice and Corporate Partnerships, chaired the meeting. During the meeting, Assoc. Prof, Dr. Tran Huu Tuan has briefly shared general information about School of Hospitality and Tourism, its organisational structure, education programs, educational quality as well as rich experience in running internship programs for students in collaboration with domestic and international corporates. With nearly 600 students enrolled each year, the School of Hospitality and Tourism is considered one of the leading centres of teaching and researching in tourism and hospitality in Vietnam Central – Highlands. Tourism and Hospitality graduates have access to diverse career paths and job opportunities, employability rate remains stably high over the years (more than 80 per cent graduates are employed after graduation).
The senior leaderships of School of Hospitality and Tourism has acknowledged the collaborative internship program offers great chances for students to get to know Japanese culture and job market, thus exploring potential career paths and/or higher education opportunities. This is align with the renewed vision of School of Hospitality and Tourism to offer students with a combination of theoretical knowledge and practical skills, bridging the gap between students’ conceptual understanding and their application to solve real-world problems, as well as the gap between educational outcomes and industry demand.
The Japanese delegation have shared value information about their corporate size and mechanism of operation. According to the delagates, Asrapport Company is a leading Japanese food business with more than 713 outlets all over the country and other branches overseas, including Britain, America, France and Thailand. Asrapport Company is also a well-known franchisor with Matsuno Shita Company is one of their franchisees.
The delegates of labour unions presented at the meeting expressed their special interest to welcome Vietnamese students to join the internship program with the terms from six months up to one year. Eligibility criteria include basic Japanese language skills, requirements on academic results and skills. Regarding the language skills, Daystar Company has offered their support in laguage training for eligible students which are selected by the School of Hospitality and Tourism.
Both parties have reached a mutual agreement on the framework of collaboration activities via Daystar Company and insisted to continue the detailed discussion in the near future. The School of Hospitality and Tourism also suggests Daystar Company to present a more detailed program proposal, especially the student transferring procedures to ensure their rights and benefits are fully protected. In turn, the Faculty will promote the internship program to interested students.
