MSc. Service Management Newsletter no. 10
9th April 2014
Published by:
Center for Tourism and Culture Management (TCM)
Cand.soc Graduation Ceremony On 22nd of November 2013, the very first graduation ceremony for the Social Science master programmes was held.
Inside this issue: AP Bachelors can join SEM
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Visit from Russia
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Advisory Board interview
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New SEM Ranking
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Alumni Association
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Advisory Network Event
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Volunteer at Fresh ‘14
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During his welcoming speech, Erik Højbjerg, Associate Professor and Academic Director of the MSc in Social Sciences programmes, pointed out how impressive the growth of the Social Science master programmes has been since their start only 8
years back. The first year had a total of only 65 students and there are now over 1400 students on the various programmes. CBS Dean of Education, Jan Molin, also spoke at the ceremony and Mads Øvlisen, Former president and Chief Executive Officer at Novo Nordisk, delivered an inspiring keynote speech on how he ended up as the CEO of a company he had promised himself never to work for.
Lise Lyck with the SEM graduates
The purpose of this newsletter is to give current information regarding: Master in SEM and its relevant events, internships, conferences and research Advisory board activities and updates Advisory network activities and updates The newsletter is aimed at individuals and corporations interested in the service management master program and the academic world of tourism – business and leisure – including meetings, transportation, shopping, attractions board and lodging.
Academic Director of the MSc in Social Sciences programmes, Erik Højbjerg on the left and Former president and Chief Executive Officer at Novo Nordisk, Mads Øvlisen on the right
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Trial scheme: AP Bachelors can join the MSc. SEM Programme For the next 3 years, well qualified students with certain AP (Academy Profession) Bachelor’s degree can apply for the MSc. Service Management programme. The trial scheme is part of an effort to improve the connections between the various areas of education in Denmark. The AP Bachelor programmes in question are Leisure and Hospitality Management as well as International Sales and Marketing. There is no previous history of graduates from AP Bachelor programmes being eligible to apply for master programmes at CBS without supplementary courses.
This trial period is therefore quite a unique opportunity for AP Bachelors looking for a master’s degree. Newsletter has been in touch with Sascha Christoffersen, an AP Bachelor from University College Zealand’s Leisure Management programme. Upon finishing her degree in January ’13, she was keen on going straight to a master’s degree, but found a lack of transferability:
“Overall, I realised there was no direct transition from my AP Bachelor’s degree to any relevant master’s programmes without having to take about 6 supplementary courses. I have now moved away from the idea of joining a traditional master’s programme and hope to take
an MBA at a later point, since they typically require 3-5 years professional experience. However, I think the MSc. Service Management programme is a very interesting option for AP Bachelors wishing to go in this direction.” AP Bachelors who apply for the MSc. SEM programme will be assessed on an individual basis. Read more about the general admission requirements for the programme: http://www.cbs.dk/en/study/ graduate/graduate-admission/entryrequirements-msocsc-in-servicemanagement
Delegation from Northwest Russia visits TCM/CBS By Dmitrij Goujov, SEM 1st year student On the 5th of November 2013 TCM and Lise Lyck hosted a seminar for a group of Russian entrepreneurs, teachers, authorities, and journalists. The visit was part of a joint study trip to Finland and Denmark organized by the Nordic Council of Ministers. The purpose of the seminar was to familiarise the group with the research being conducted at TCM and to meet lecturers and students from MSc Service Management (SEM) programme. Speaking at the seminar was Alexander Josiassen, associate professor and lecturer at the SEM programme and TCM research assistant Mads Hjardemaal. Alexander Josiassen gave a presentation
on product/service of a Country of Origin in Globalization perspective. A wellillustrated presentation drew the attention of the guests to the country of origin concept and related issues of quality perception, product evaluations, and purchase intentions. Mads Hjardemaal provided the Russian delegates with general information on CBS and explained how the Service Management degree was built up utilising both internal CBS resources as well as TCM’s network outside of CBS. Mads furthermore elaborated on how the SEM programme is governed by an advisory board consisting of top leaders from the hotel and tourism industry. The delegation from Northwest Russia represented a wide variety of interests and was curious about the organization
of internal study process in CBS through their observations of the auditoriums, library, and computer rooms. They have noticed that many of the lecture auditoriums bear the name of the companies – CBS’ sponsors. Alexandr Gusakov, the Director of the cluster development centre of Northern Arctic federal university of Archangelsk expressed gratitude for hospitality, patience, and willingness to cooperate with Nordic Council project. Galina Leskova and Liudmila Prokhorova representatives of St. Petersburg State University of Culture and Arts paid attention to the integration and organization of CBS book shop in CBS programmes, and purchased several books. All delegates (businessman, teachers, authorities and journalists) were amazed by the CBS Career Centre and the opportunities it offers to the prospective students.
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Interview with SEM Master Programme Advisory Board Member Nils Hornemann, Legal Advisor, Association of Danish Travel Agents and Tour Operators The SEM newsletter has talked with Nils Hornemann about his role in the Service Management master program and the possibilities for CBS students within the Association of Danish Travel Agents and Tour Operators.
Please tell us a little bit about your position and the tasks you do in the Association of Danish Travel Agents and Tour Operators? The work description says I’m a legal advisor; but luckily there is much more to it than so. Besides helping our members navigate relevant legislation, I do spend quite a bit of time on education and various political assignments. So it’s rather exciting to one day be giving a member advice on legislation, to writing responses to the European Commission the next!
You are a member of the SEM advisory board – What do you strive to bring into the Service Management Program? I think all of the SEM advisory board members strive to better the education; either based on the knowledge gained from industry experience, and in my case, through the wants and needs of the members in the Association of Danish Travel Agents and Tour Operators. I would be delighted if we succeed in giving the industry candidates, who will become first movers or industry leaders in the future.
What is the Association of Danish Travel Agents and Tour Operators position and history in regard to hiring newly graduated CBS students? I graduated from CBS (cand.merc(jur)), but had a brief stay elsewhere before coming to my current position. Our most recent colleague was a new graduate from University of Copenhagen, so I am sure that given the right profile, CBS graduates would be more than welcome.
Which competences do you advise SEM students do strive to obtain in order to do career within the Association of Danish Travel Agents and Tour Operators? Being a relatively small organization, we mainly have two focuses; law and politics. As for law, well the answer to what skills required is a simple one, but as for politics it’s a significantly different, as the assignments can be like night and day; communication and analytic skills are of course never a bad thing to possess in such case.
What are the possibilities for SEM students to get an intern position within your organisation? We’ve had an intern before, which was a positive experience, so I think that there might be an opportunity to get an internship. It would however be important that the student brings an assignment or idea
Nils Hornemann
to the table, which would spike the interest of either the association or our members.
At this moment, SEM students can only obtain 15 ETCS points for an internship period (equal to 3 months of internship). Would SEM students have a better chance of getting an internship position within the your organisation if they considered prolonging their internship period to a full semester or longer? I’m not sure if it would result in a better chance of an internship; but it would certainly open up to whole new possibilities when it comes to the projects the intern can/could undertake. Which for many also means, that an internship becomes more attractive, as such could become an almost risk-free opportunity to have new knowledge brought to the company. However, prolonging such more than a semester might carry quite a cost in courses, and theoretical knowledge.
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MSc. Service Management - now 3rd in the world The MSc. Service Management programme at CBS has recently been ranked as the World’s No. 3 within the field of tourism and hospitality management, in Eduniversal rankings of the Best Masters & MBAs Worldwide 2013. The rank as no. 3 is a decline from 2012’s no. 2, but it is not an indication of a decline in the quality of the programme. Rather, the decline is due to the entry into the evaluations by the MBA in Hospitality Management at the ESSEC Business School, France, which is now ranked as no. 1. ESSEC is a private founded learning institution, and thus it has significantly more resources available compared to CBS. Naturally, the institution does more extensive collaboration with private enterprises, and it offers more opportunities for students to specialize into specific areas of hospitality management. Last year’s no. 1, the Professional
Master of Hospitality Management at The Erasmus University of Rotterdam has dropped one position, so it is now no. 2. Eduniversal annually evaluates more than 12.000 masters and MBAs worldwide. The organization gathers data from more than 1000 deans worldwide, more than 10.000 representatives from 1000 academic institutions, 5,000 international recruiters, and almost 800,000 students. The rankings are based on three main criteria: The reputation of the programme. The career prospects and the salary
level of the first employment after graduation. The satisfaction feedback of the students. The programme's reputation criterion is evaluated according to the opinion of the international HR professionals, and also according to the number of palms at-
tributed by Eduniversal to the schools of the official selection. The salary level and the career prospects of the newlygraduated students are evaluated based on the information supplied by the 1000 involved business schools. The salary is indexed to the average annual salary of the country concerned. Student's satisfaction feedback of the graduating batch is derived from a survey conducted with a representative sample of students (response rate of 10% required, with a requirement of at least 5 answers for a small class). The Eduniversal Best Masters Ranking is the only ranking which evaluates the programs of Business Schools and not the institutions, through the approach by sector and the market criteria only. You can read more about the different rankings at: http://www.best-masters.com/ranking -master-tourism-and-hospitalitymanagement.html
New Alumni Association for SEM Graduates TCM has recently taken the first steps towards establishing an official alumni association for SEM graduates. The idea behind was developed by the SEM master program Advisory Board members, and further research showed that there was a positive attitude among the SEM students towards an alumni association for graduates. Some initiatives have already been started by different classes, both on bachelor and master level, however these groups (mainly FB based) are limited to those specific classes. The new MSc. SEM
Alumni is thought to join all graduates into one single network. In the end of 2013, TCM launched a new website, and a LinkedIn-group, where graduates can sign up for a free membership, and thus stay connected to former classmates, as well as foster new relationships with SEM graduates from other classes. Since the SEM programme is very new, the number of graduates at this point is rather low, however it is expected that the organization in the years to come will grow significantly in size as more students finish their studies. In time, when the membership base has grown,
the organization is thought to arrange educational and social events to enrich the alumni experience for the members. If you have finished your master studies, you can sign up at the alumni website, or by applying for membership at the linkedin group. If you are yet to finish your studies, we encourage you to sign up after once you graduate. We also remind you of the CBS Alumni Association that is for all CBS students that have finished a bachelor’s or a master’s degree, as well as students that have completed an exchange semester at CBS.
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Advisory Network event with Bo Nylandsted Larsen On the 27th of February, the MSc. Service Management Advisory Board hosted the first Advisory Network event of 2014. The event was primarily for MSc. Service Management students and alumni, and for representatives from the service industry. However, it was also open for any interested students from other CBS
Bo Nylandsted Larsen during his presentation
courses. Besides the opportunity for students and professionals to network, the event included a lecture on cruise tourism, both in Copenhagen and on a global scale, presented by Bo Nylandsted Larsen, Global Director of Port Engagement and Business Development with the Cruise Lines International Association
(CLIA). Furthermore Karina Paludan, SEM graduate from 2012 and founder and owner of House of Pole, made a presentation about the challenges and experiences of setting up and running a business. The event had over 50 participants and both presenters received many interesting questions from the audience.
Karina Paludan during her presentation
MSc SEM at the CBS Master Programmes Open House On the 20th of February CBS hosted its yearly Open House Day event to inform about the Master Programmes offered at the school. Approximately 1800 people came to see the school, listen to presentations, or to ask questions to admissions people, student counselors or to students representing their study programmes. Thomas Gylling, Guidance Specialist, informs that “the main idea behind the open house
event is to support candidates in their
decision making process when choosing a study program. The students have the chance to attend informative presentations of the study, to talk with lecturers, and current students in the program, all in effort to make the students take the right decision.” 55 individuals attended the presentations about the Master in Service Management, while many more took the opportunity give their inquiries to the student representatives in the pro-
gramme stand. The interested people were of many ages and many different nationalities. The application deadline for international applicants was on the 1st of March and a total of 98 applicants with an international bachelor’s degree chose the SEM Master programme as their first priority. That is an increase of 53 % compared to last year. The application deadline for students with a Danish bachelor’s degree was the 1st of April.
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SEM student gathers experience as a volunteer at FRESH 2014 FRESH is a two-day conference that refreshes conferences, meetings and events and increases their effectiveness. For the second year running the conference took place at the Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers in 2014. SEM student, Laurentiu Mastacan, worked at the conference as a volunteer. Below he tells about his experience and what he gained from the work.
For those who do not know The fresh Conference is all about events and for the last two years Copenhagen has hosted this conference at Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers. Maybe for many student being a volunteer (and doing pro bono work) at any event does not sound very appealing therefore in the following lines I would like to tell you about my experience as a volunteer at this conference. Personally for me 2014 represented a second participation as a volunteer therefore I have had the opportunity to encounter some of the members that were part of the organizing team from last year. After the formal introduction to the team and a briefing session each volunteer received a schedule and shortly after, a crash course about his/ hers responsibilities for the day. So therefore no previous expertise is required as long as you are open minded and willing to learn. This time I have been assigned to act as a "cyborg buddy" for the entire duration of the conference, technical moderator
for one of the panel debate sessions and photographer assistant. As cyborg buddy I had the opportunity to be a part of something unique. For the first time an online participant was able to interact live with the present guests, participate in the discussions and make her voice heard through the use of a robot which was remote controlled all the way from Belgium. And just so you understand, my job was to make the formal introduction of the cyborg to the guests and constantly communicate with the "driver from Belgium" about what
was happening around her field of view, make the necessary preparations for some interviews and others. As technical moderator for one of the sessions, after some preparation I was literally behind a professional dash board/control panel similar to what you see in the recording studios and responsible for supporting the moderator in filtering, selecting and projecting on screen, the questions addressed by the audience. As a photographer assistant I had the opportunity to do something I like very much (taking pictures). If requested I supported the professional photographer with various tasks, if not I was responsible to take pictures during the confer-
ence and constantly communicate with the team in charge of the social media channels which had the task of updating the social media platforms/channels and let the world know through pictures and videos, what is happening at Fresh14 in Copenhagen. The sessions and formats are extremely diverse, from panel debates, story telling, acting sessions, round tables and even building scenes and creating stories using Lego bricks. Despite being busy all day long, time seems to fly and at the end of the day you may tend to realize, that maybe it was way too much information; but this is the fun part, cause you have the chance to learn by doing something practical. The Pro's of being a volunteer could be highlighted as following: you get first hand experience on what it takes to plan an event in detail. You get to go beyond the theoretical part which you learn in school and see what are the challenges addressed every day. you have the opportunity to work side by side with true professionals and get advice and guidance on how to perform from the best in the field the networking possibilities are extraordinary (meeting owners, meeting planners, speakers, moderators, software companies ) the content of the information presented is first class and in many cases you get to see for the first time what are the innovations in terms of events and how you can address the continues next page
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Volunteer at FRESH 2014 (continued) present and future challenges when organizing other events (like developing a Toolbox for meeting planers, improve the ROI, address the problems of panel debates, speakers and moderators, how to better engage the audience and non the less how to bring the WOW factor in play so that you can make it memorable). you get to see/use first hand how the latest gadgets (like CatchBox,
Google Glass, remote control Cyborg's) and how specially designed software application can be used to make an event more interactive. You make new friends and get to try out some delicious dishes during the breaks The Con's of being a volunteer you do not get paid you need to perform at your best
cause the expectations are high at some point in time due to the long hours the effect of "fatigue" (become tired) will start to show After this very short overview it is up to you to decide if it is worth being a volunteer, not only at a conference such as this but every once in a while when you may have the chance.
About the Newsletter This is the Service Management (SEM) master program newsletter - Issued quarterly and edited by Lise Lyck, TCM, who - among other things - is the line coordinator of the study. All the recipients of this newsletter are very welcome to contribute to the content of it and give comments regarding its content and layout by contacting Pelle Bundgaard (pbu.tcm@cbs.dk).
while services are also becoming increasingly important as a differentiator for firms. At the same time, various service industries are expanding and are in need of academically-educated employees as they transform into operating more professionally and structured. SEM meets these needs as one of only a few Master programs focused on services industries.
SEM provides the necessary competences and skills that prepare graduates for a career in the service sector. Services are increasing in importance and comprise a growing share of the world’s economies,
The program is designed in close dialogue with both private industry and organizations to ensure that students are well prepared for their careers upon graduation. Various firms and organisa-
tions have supported the program financially through donations which enables the Center for Tourism and Culture Management to invite relevant guest lecturers and speakers from both Denmark and abroad. SEM allows students to focus on one or more of four core areas: Travel and Transportation Management Tourism and Hospitality Meeting and Event Management Trade All areas of study include sustainability as a necessary strategic perspective.
Center for Tourism and Culture Management