The 2023 IFTM graduation ceremony saw 415 prospective graduates from several education levels celebrating a life milestone on 8 June 2023 at the Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion. The students are from IFTM’s Master’s, Postgraduate Diploma, Bachelor’s, and Diploma programmes.
At the graduation ceremony, the prospective graduates were applauded for their achievements and congratulated for their perseverance seen while overcoming the variety of challenges facing them during the course of pursuing knowledge.
During the past decades, IFTM has fostered a series of accomplishments, such as attaining the Top 10 in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, with its hospitality and leisure management curriculum. The various accolades that IFTM has garnered helped attract students from around the world. For instance, among this year’s prospective graduates, there are two students respectively from Malaysia and Jordan.
Jordanian citizen Faisal Ahmed Amin Hishma, a prospective graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Hotel Management, disclosed that it was exactly IFTM’s accolades and rankings that attracted him to pursue the degree in Macao.
“With IFTM jumping from World’s Top 33 to Top 10 in less than five years, I could see the hard work and continuous success of IFTM,” Faisal said. “It was also because of Macao’s worldwide fame in the tourism and hospitality sector.” In the meantime, Faisal also expects that his knowledge acquired at IFTM will easily be applicable back home. Located in the Middle East, Jordan shares the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba with its neighbour, the two coastal areas are “well-known sun and beach destinations,” he pointed out, adding that courses at IFTM, such as Facility Management, Lodging Operations, and Introduction to Tourism are completely applicable.
International refined restaurant and hotel chains are “booming” in Jordan, as Faisal describes, and fresh graduates are sought after by these brands. “Courses offered at IFTM, such as Introduction to Food and Beverage, Wine Studies, and Food and Beverage Cost Control, help students get easily recruited [in Jordan],” Faisal suggested.
Malaysian student Tan Hee Keat, majoring in Bachelor of Science in Culinary Arts Management, commended IFTM’s curriculum for allowing him to acquire a multitude of knowledge, besides finding his own area of proficiency.
He recalled that he had learnt about many disciplines – event graphic design – and in the end determined that dessert production was his area of proficiency. He also commended that IFTM provided a lot of settings for students to compete internally and externally, which based on his experiences would also help students identify their areas of proficiency. Elaborating on competitions, Keat appreciated the IFTM faculty’s assistance and insight during these competitions, which has helped him significantly.
Applauding IFTM’s renowned faculty, Jelena Wang Zhenzhen from the Master of Science in International Gastronomy Management Programme, disclosed that interviewers for her current job at a centre on Arts and Technology under the Tsinghua University Research Institute in Shenzhen were overwhelmed by her gastronomic education background. She also showed confidence that her knowledge will be applicable to her future work, considering her job concerns the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
Mandy Ng Weng Ian, a working student at the Chinese Bachelor of Science in Tourism Event Management Programme, in which she “acquired very useful knowledge that were supportive to [her] work.” It is also why she has chosen to pursue a degree atIFTM.
Considering her programme faculty’s emphasis on the ripple effect of the MICE industry on other industries, she may not work directly in the MICE industry after graduation, “but I am open to all possibilities,” she added.
Guangzhou-native Pakto Huang Baitao, a graduate of the Bachelor of Science in Tourism Business Management Programme, entered IFTM through an education expo back home. Inclined to pursue a Master’s Degree in marketing or communications, Pakto believes that blending knowledge from these areas with those from IFTM will yield more preferable outcomes.
Speaking at the ceremony, IFTM President Dr Fanny Vong underlined that IFTM is constantly under refinement, hoping to continuously cultivate more professionals to and for Macao.
