HIGHER EDUCATION | City U and Florida International University enhance partnership in 2015

A partnership between City University of Macau (City U) and the Florida International University (FIU), established in 2011, is set to be enhanced next year as both institutions explore new exchange programs. Students from Florida may begin academic or professional programs in Macau next year, while City U students see Florida as gateway into a major cruise, hospitality and tourism industry.
Professor Aliana Leong, City University’s Faculty of International Tourism and Management (FITM) dean, told the Times that, since 2011, the partnership has been progressively advancing. Last year, eight students from Florida International University completed part of their internship programs at the Sheraton Macau Hotel and Okura Hotel through the FITM-FIU cooperation.
“Twenty-five percent of the students received placement offers from their internship providers,” she recalled.
Next year, FITM is looking to send exchange students to Florida International University for academic programs, as well as to take up industry experiences. This also happened in the previous year.
In 2013, 12 FITM students completed internships at Disney World Florida. Another eight students are currently undertaking the same internship experience, and are expected to return to Macau in January 2015, said Aliana Leong.
Furthermore, the American university has sent a professor of hospitality and business strategy, Mr Jinlin Zhao, to teach and supervise graduate students at the Faculty of International Tourism and Management at City University for one semester.
He will also be collecting information for the development of further programs between the two institutions in the future.
The FIU Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management dean, Mr Mike Hampton, told the Miami Today newspaper that, besides the academic realm, Macau presents both professional and continuing education opportunities for American students, particularly because of Macau’s strength in the gambling and tourism industries.
“Macau is a good location for FIU students to experience the unique and dynamic growth of an exceptionally popular global destination, where tourism is driven by a broad range of factors,” he said.
In addition, he stressed that, depending on the results of the assessment of Professor Jinlin Zhao, “students may be engaged in academic and/or professional or continuing education programs next year.”
Mr Hampton said that it is too early to know how this exchange between both universities could be rolled out, but he added that collaborative relationships among academic institutions often involve faculty and student exchange, opportunities to study abroad, guest lectures, workshops, and seminars, as well as joint research projects.
Aliana Leong also stressed the advantages of an exchange program in Macau for Florida students: “Through this partnership, FIU students can experience Macau’s excellent professional and academic settings, including world-class entertainment, dining, recreation, and a unique blend between the East and the West cultures, in addition to gaming.”
FITM’s dean is convinced that Florida also is an advantageous opportunity for Macau students. “The advantage of this arrangement is that Macau students will also have an enhanced gateway to Florida, which is a major cruise, hospitality, entertainment, and tourism hub.””
The dean pointed out that both Macau and Florida’s tourism industries might also benefit from this partnership, as the educational institutions are training future professionals. “We are looking at this partnership as being beneficial to the whole of Macau’s service sector,” she said.

service industry management programs in 2015

The Faculty of International Tourism and Management (FITM) at City University of Macau is expanding its academic offering with a bachelor and master degrees in Service Industry Management next year. FITM’s dean, Ms Aliana Leong, told the Times that they are expecting to develop new areas of collaboration with Florida International University (FIU), with which they have had a partnership since 2011.
These areas include cruise and airline services management, as well as luxurious travel services management. The faculty has about 2,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Catarina Pinto