Education | IFT named Asia’s number 2 for hospitality

The Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT) has been named Asia’s second best higher education institution for hospitality and leisure management, and the world’s 18th best, according to the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2017.

IFT was the only higher education institution from Macau included in the ranking under the subject area of hospitality and leisure management, and ranked higher than many of its competitors in countries such as Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia.

According to the ranking for hospitality and leisure management in the Asia region, the highest scoring institution was the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, followed by IFT, Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (3), South Korea’s Sejong University (4) and Taylor’s University (5) in Malaysia. The Chinese University of Hong Kong was also placed in the top 10 for the Asia region.

While the listings for the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong are under Hong Kong’s flag, the IFT was paired with a flag of the People’s Republic of China.

“The quality of education at IFT and the Institute’s contributions to the community have, over the past two decades, been recognized by many awards and international certifications,” notes a statement issued by the IFT.

The prestigious QS World University Rankings lists the world’s top universities overall, as well as ranking them across individual disciplines. It has been compiled by QS Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd. annually since 2011, and this year assessed more than 1,100 institutions in 74 countries.

The ranking by discipline is produced using four sources of information, including surveys of academics and employers to assess institutions’ international ranking, as well research impact assessments.

This was the first year in which the category of hospitality and leisure management was introduced to the QS World University Rankings by Subject. It is not included on the Times Higher Education World University Rankings’ list.

Established in 1995, IFT offers an extensive selection of tourism and hospitality bachelor degree programs. Around 20,000 participants attend its vocational and professional training courses annually according to the institution, which also noted that it collaborates with 101 universities and tourism organizations around the world. DB