CAMPUS NOTES
the hotels offer is in place in the school. This ensures that the student doesn’t have the feeling of being left out when they enter the industry. We also vouch heavily on our well-read faculty members who are the backbone of the institute. They are having a tenured experience in the industry which they blend mindfully with academics for which they are more effective and good motivators. The faculty is also trained in teaching the millennial students by understanding their aspirations and learning curve and then deliver effectively. Also, with the events that we are hosting, the upcoming one being the Great Indian Culinary Challenge (GICC) organised by Express Food & Hospitality, it is going to be an important event for the kind of multiplier effect that it is going to have for our school. It is going to attract the key industry chefs as they will come down to the colleges in the region hence giving a window for the students to interact and learn from them and vice versa. Beyond inculcating of bringing up good culinary talent, this event will have other farreaching effects altogether. With the GICC moving to tierII and III cities, they are tapping the regions rightly where the actual talent lies, so most of this raw manpower which has now become skilled manpower, we need to identify through this and likewise other competitions and send the talent forward,” he expressed. Giving details about the BHM course, he informed that as a part of the BHM curriculum, they at SoHM majorly focus on the four key verticals that make up for the hospitality and the core hotel operations which cannot be ignored altogether. “Herein, we do not have a leaning for one vertical in particular. Most of the time, students are inclined to making a career in food production and F&B services, as the career of a chef lures them. But then, there is life beyond that.
44 EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY November 2019
In our curriculum, we have taken due insights from the experts and added all those concepts together. Earlier the lesser opted options were the front office operations and housekeeping management. Throughout the syllabus, we have tried to cover some interesting facts such as usage of softwares, other operations, and from time to time we bring in important industry guests who have an international flair and experience who educate the students to not miss out on the bigger pie,” he added. Echoing views about the reasons for increased attrition level in the hospitality industry, Dr Srivastava said, “With the advent of technological change in almost every industry, it has been one of the reasons why people keep switching their jobs. In recent times, it is evident that the hospitality industry is seeing the application of technology in its core operating areas and hence the curriculum and institutes also need to be on track considering the industry trends. The hospitality sector is booming across the globe and also is rapidly increasing in India. The opportunities are increasing, but if the candidates are having half-knowledge or are unskilled, it majorly leads to attrition. We at IMS Unison focus on the skill and attitude of the candidate for which we have a structured plan to shape their career wisely.” Replying to a query about the expansion plans to newer geographies, Dr Rana said, “As of now, the University is not looking to set up satellite campuses but Unison Group has planned to upgrade IMS Unison University to a fully residential university in the coming future. It will be executed over the next five to 10 years. It will add another dimension of student engagement on campus wherein you will find the faculty members and the students staying in the campus and extending their learning beyond the classrooms.”