Dr. Clara Lei Weng Si, Dean of UTM’s Faculty of Innovative Hospitality Management, has dedicated nearly 17 years to the University and its predecessor institution, fostering student achievement and expanding programme offerings. After starting her own working life in the industry, Dr. Lei switched to the academic field, discovering a passion for teaching and subsequently contributing to UTM’s success
Dr. Clara Lei Weng Si has dedicated nearly two decades of her life to UTM and its predecessor institution, the Institute for Tourism Studies, striving to increase the opportunities for personal and academic development among students. She has taken up a number of academic roles, from programme coordinator to her latest post as Dean of the Faculty of Innovative Hospitality Management.
Teaching was not her first choice of career, but it is likely to be the ultimate one, as it aligns with her interests, says Dr. Lei.
After graduating from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, in the United States, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Travel Industry Management, Dr. Lei spent several years working in the hospitality industry. Once she moved into a marketing role in the sector, she realised her existing knowledge was insufficient for the demands of the job. This led her to pursue a master’s degree at the University of Macau.
“There was an opportunity while I was working on my master’s degree to become a part-time lecturer,” she says. While balancing a full-time job with pursuit of a master’s degree, as well as teaching, the now Dr. Lei discovered a passion for educating young people.
Her interest in teaching grew, though initially she remained a part-time lecturer. After gaining further industry experience, she decided to pursue a PhD at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom. “Initially, I worked in the industry while doing my PhD and took up part-time teaching as well. Eventually, I considered becoming a full-time scholar, which marked the beginning of my journey at UTM,” Dr. Lei recalls.
Memorable moments
Having been part of the team at UTM and its predecessor for nearly 17 years, Dr. Lei has witnessed the institution’s significant growth. From a boutique institute with around 30 academic staff, it has evolved into a fully-fledged university with more than 100 teaching staff.
She also has had a chance to further her interest in research, including into event management and knowledge transfer in the hospitality industry.
Dr. Lei’s teaching mostly covers event management. She states: “Our [Tourism Event Management] undergraduates have to organise an event by themselves as a project. One year the students organised a photo-taking contest and turned the photos into postcards, selling them for charity.”
She explains what made the activity especially noteworthy.
“The students raised over MOP100,000 for two charity organisations. They also created a giant postcard mosaic featuring Macao landmarks with more than 20,000 postcards, earning the Guinness World Record for the ‘Largest Postcard Mosaic’ in the world,” says Dr. Lei proudly.
Dr. Lei has also contributed to UTM’s dual degree programmes. The University has linkups with a number of foreign higher education institutions – in Switzerland and Australia – allowing UTM students to spend a year in a partner institution abroad and to obtain a degree from that school, in addition to a degree from UTM.
“We have to do a lot to gain the trust from our partners so that our students can receive two degree certificates without extending their study period. This involves students taking part of the courses at the other partnering university and transferring credits,” Dr. Lei explains. This type of dual programme provides UTM students with valuable opportunities to experience the world, she says, while advancing internationalisation at the University.
“When we talk about Switzerland, we naturally trust the quality of hospitality education there, as many managers of large hotels worldwide are graduates of Swiss institutions,” Dr. Lei notes.
For UTM to build an international reputation akin to that of its Swiss partners requires time and effort, and the University is making that investment, she says. “We hope that in the future, when people consider studying hospitality, they will think of us alongside Switzerland,” Dr. Lei states.
Editor: UTM Public Relations Team
