New student intake welcomed at IFT

A national flag raising ceremony held at the IFT

Four hundred and eighty-seven new students were officially welcomed into the

Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT) yesterday, during a student orientation ceremony held in the presence of faculty members of the specialist tertiary education institution.

The students were received by IFT President Dr Fanny Vong, who encouraged the new students to devote themselves in learning, be confident in their own potential and make use of the resources provided by the Institute.

Vong said that higher education is not only an opportunity to acquire knowledge; more importantly, students are to learn to think independently, to tell right from wrong based on the facts and make their own decisions.

In patriotic spirit, the IFT President attributed the success of Macau’s social and economic development to “the relentless efforts by our predecessors and the strong support from our country,” according to a statement from the IFT. Students should remember this, she said, and contribute to the future development of Macau and the country with what they will learn at the IFT.

The IFT also held a national flag raising ceremony on its campus yesterday to strengthen the sense of national identity and foster the love for our motherland and Macau on Student Orientation Day. About 400 participants attended the ceremony.

Established in 1995, the IFT has grown notably in terms of student intake, while improving the quality and variety of its programs on offer.

Today, the IFT is an internationally-recognized institution, with partnerships with 106 universities and tourism organizations around the world, and links with 618 leading tourism and hospitality corporations to offer internship opportunities to its students.

For this academic year, international and exchange freshmen are from Austria, mainland China, Taiwan, Finland, Germany, Indonesia, India, Jordan, Myanmar, Portugal, Republic of the Congo, South Korea, Tanzania, Thailand, the U.S. and Vietnam. DB