Sharing the best of both worlds: Thailand and Switzerland team up
26 April - 16 May 2008

Thirteen professors from Rajamangala University of Technology (RMUT) visited the Institut Hôtelier “César Ritz” (IHCR) hotel and tourism management school in late April and early May.  During their four-week visit, the Thai professors took intensive teacher-training classes and went on several excursions to tourist destinations, vineyards and hotels.

Mr Leechai, the course leader, said that they came to Switzerland to observe the unparalleled “Swiss style” and take note of elements that could be integrated into their courses. 

The long-term goal for RMUT is to develop a curriculum open to international students.  RMUT comprises five entities around Thailand and has 30 campuses totalling over 30,000 students.

The professors worked with a team at IHCR which included Raphael Gross and Mike Midgley for Food & Beverages Operations, Willy Isler for Culinary, Jacqueline Moore for Hospitality & Tourism studies, Luc Gomes for Rooms Operations and Susan Fournier for Leadership.  The highlight of the visit was a sumptuous evening banquet hosted by our visitors and featuring traditional Thai food and drink.

Both schools benefited enormously from this visit and learned a great deal from each other.  We had the opportunity to look back over our work, meet with colleagues working in a similar setting and share our common interests.  Training and career development is a crucial part of everything we do and keeping up-to-date is essential to achieving our goal of educating young professionals.

We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the Rajamangala University of Technology, Thailand.

Luc Gomez