(right-left) Jennifer Anak Jeffrey Peron and her fellow classmates Gibson, Edwin and Amber of UCSI University’s Diploma in Leisure and Recreation Management have worked with some of the biggest names in the tourism industry, including the Sarawak Cultural

KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 2013: Stretched over three days, the award-winning Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) 2012 was attended by more than 20,000 local and international festival-goers and famous indigenous musicians from around the world. 

Attending as a guest would have been memorable enough; imagine being part of the team that organised the entire festival, while just in your first year of university. 

For Jennifer Anak Jeffrey Peron, the RWMF was the first international event where she helped out behind the scenes – as part of her first year as a student pursuing the Diploma in Leisure and Recreation Management at UCSI University Sarawak Campus. 

A bubbly girl, Jennifer is a firm believer of living life to the fullest. Thus, she knew that a regular nine-to-five desk bound job was not for her. Her dream career would be one which involves experiences – organising unforgettable ones for others and having the time of her life in the process. 

The events and tourism industry was the ideal choice. 

In today’s competitive world, Jennifer knew that a university qualification is necessary for a leg up on the career ladder, but for this particular industry, practical experience is just as important. 

In searching for a university degree which would also provide her with professional practical experience, Jennifer discovered the Work-based Learning (WBL) approach designed by UCSI’s Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management (FHTM). 

Under this approach, students will spend a certain amount of university hours working for one of the university’s carefully selected industry partners. Some of these partners – who are leaders in their field – include the internationally renowned Pullman Hotel, the Grand Margherita Hotel, the Riverside Majestic Hotel, the Borneo Convention Centre and the Sarawak Cultural Village (SCV). 

It was through this WBL programme that the University connected Jennifer with SCV, one of its industrial partners and the venue host of the RWMF. 

"It's a fantastic approach as we gain hands-on experience while studying," shared Jennifer, who added that it also gave her the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be involved behind the scenes for the Rainforest World Music Festival and the SOULSTAR 2012 – Sarawak’s first reality show. 

More than a mere internship, the students are treated as professional staff and given a competitive stipend. Upon graduation, they are assured of a career with these industry partners. 

Learning from the world 

Even with such glowing feedback from students and industry leaders, the University is not one to rest on its laurels. Under the leadership of its new dean Associate Professor Dr Li Jianyao, the FHTM is set to further enrich the student experience through a multi pronged approach of research and international collaborations. 

Noting that many private universities today spend more on advertisements and marketing efforts, Prof Li pointed out that by focusing on research, the faculty aims to enhance the knowledge and industry experience of its lecturers. 

As tourism is both a national and global agenda, Prof Li understands the huge impact of international collaboration among academic providers specialising in hospitality and tourism. 

One way to encourage this is by inviting world-renowned academics from leading hospitality universities to the FHTM. Prof Li Li, the Director of The Institute of Tourism Development Planning and Design and professor at the South China University of Technology is a leading authority in the industry and the FHTM has the privilege of having him onboard as a visiting professor. 

Prof Li Li has already earmarked eco-tourism as a huge potential for Sarawak to attract mainland Chinese tourists and is looking forward to sharing his experience in tourism management with the faculty and ultimately with Malaysia. 

In terms of international collaborations between universities, UCSI University Sarawak Campus recently collaborated with the Tashkent branch of the Russian Economic University after G.V. Plekhanov in hosting the Symposium of Tourism Studies. 

Held on the 13 and 14 March, 2013, the symposium saw the leading academic minds in tourism and hospitality present and discuss various topics in line with the theme ‘Current Trends and Issues in the Tourism Industry’. 

Prof Kalandar Abdurakhmanov, the Rector of the Branch of the Russian Economic University after G.V. Plekhanov in Tashkent, was particularly interested in bringing the FHTM culture of Work-based Learning back to his university in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. 

"We have a saying in Uzbek, ‘better than explaining in a hundred words, is the action of showing and seeing’. Looking at how your students are involved in everything from preparing our meals to organising events, I am determined to bring this simulation model back for my students," he said. 

In line with UCSI’s WBL approach, the symposium was mainly organised by the University students of the Diploma and Recreation Management programme. The meals were carefully planned and cooked by those pursuing their Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Hospitality Management. 

Smiling at the students in their smart suits and pristine white aprons, Prof Abdurakhmanov thanked them for a ‘beautiful and delicious dinner’ and job well done. 

"In the future, you will all be the best managers in the world." 

With an effective educational approach in the form of the Work-based Learning, a faculty that is linking its students to some of the biggest names in the industry, and students who possess an indomitable joie de vivre, the words by Prof Abdurakhmanov is more than high praise. 

It is a precursor of how these UCSI University students will take hospitality and tourism to a whole new level, while enjoying every moment of it.