Mentoring program kicks off a new semester
MU’s Mentoring Program offers a unique opportunity to pair BBA students of Tourism and Hospitality Management in their final year of studies with a senior representative in the tourism and hospitality industry.
The course aims to provide students with a “taste of the real life” as tourism professionals where they are able to observe operations and management tasks onsite, communicate with senior staff, and complete a business-related assignment. Activities such as site visits, discussions, participation in business meetings and problem-based learning (studying selected business problems, developing possible solutions and presenting the outcomes) will all be included.
Beginning with a meet and greet kick-off, the six selected students from the top of their cohort met their mentors for the next five months. This year’s participants represent some of the top names in Vienna tourism: Klaus Christandl, General Manager and Viktoria Arnold, Training Manager from Hotel Imperial and Hotel Bristol of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, The Luxury Collection will be showing two students the ins-and-outs of hotel management. Two more mentees will be gaining insight into luxury hotel operation under the guiding hands of Angelika Mayer-Horngacher, Market Director of Sales & Marketing, and Jasmina Brahimi, Marketing Communications Manager for the Vienna Marriott Hotel, The Imperial Riding School Vienna Renaissance Hotel, and Renaissance Wien Hotel. Opting for a different branch of this expansive industry, two members of the BBA ’12 class will be experiencing life as a consultant under Martin Schaffer, Managing Partner, Kohl & Partner Tourism Consultancy International.
As part of MU’s mix of practical and theoretical education, the course encourages students to apply the skills and knowledge acquired in the classroom in the work force. By gaining an insight into the practice of tourism and hospitality management, students have the chance to narrow down their preferred fields of future work and possible career paths. Furthermore, the insights and experiences gained may be of inspiration for future academic research, e.g. within the Bachelor thesis. In individual cases, the acquaintance with esteemed players in tourism may also foster longer term professional relationships.
The mentoring program is mutually beneficial, as MU students gain practical experience, while the Austrian and international tourism and hospitality industries gain access to a pool of highly educated potential employees. Businesses have the chance to present themselves as prospective employers profiting from the visibility granted to them within the course, and the thoughts and ideas expressed by the students during site visits and discussions can be developed within the business-related assignment. Everyone wins with MU!
