FITM City U International Hospitality and Tourism Management Programs Earn TedQual Certification in All Levels

Prof. Aliana Leong, Vice Rector of City U announced that the Doctoral Program of International Hospitality and Tourism Management of the FITM has recently earned the UNWTO.TedQual Certification, becoming not only the first TedQual certified tourism doctoral program, but also the first doctoral program with such international certification in Macau. The FITM City U is now standing as the only faculty with both its Master and Doctoral programs with UNWTO.TedQual Certification in Macau. The Master of International Hospitality and Tourism Management Program of the FITM earned the TedQual Certification in 2014.

In 2013 Prof. Leong became qualified as a UNWTO TedQual Program Auditor, the first ever Chinese professor earning the title. Prof. Leong has not only devoted herself in the promotion of tourism education in Macau, but has also supported institutions in Mainland China earning quality international certifications. For instance, Tourism College of Zhejiang has also successfully earned the UNWTO. TedQual Certification with her support. With her deep understanding and prospective insight on tourism education quality, Prof. Leong has devoted the last 20 years in the branding and internationalization of tourism education in Macau and surrounding areas.

UNWTO.TedQual is a UNWTO.Themis Foundation program that seeks to facilitate the continual improvement of tourism education, training and research programs. The UNWTO.TedQual Certification System is composed of a series of evaluation criteria including internal and external factors that measure the effectiveness of the pedagogical system, as well as to which extent are covered the needs of the tourism sector, and the students in such programs. The system takes into consideration five areas of analysis that evaluate internal and external aspects of the Program: the coherence of the plan of studies; infrastructure and pedagogical support; policies, tools and support mechanisms for administrative management; the existence of transparent mechanisms for the selection of the faculty and favorable conditions for their professional development; and the relevance of the content of the program of studies with respect to the needs of the tourism sector. It is a certification of a voluntary nature and can be requested by any tourism education, training or research Institution that has one or more permanent tourism programs. Institutions that have obtained the UNWTO.TedQual Certification become a part of the UNWTO.TedQual Network, a platform where Institutions share knowledge, good practices and technical support, and included in programs such as UNWTO. TedQual Exchange program and UNWTO. TedQual Mentoring program. Institutions with UNWTO.TedQual Certified Programs include: the George Washington University, The University of Surrey, the University of Queensland, Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Sun Yat-sen University, and Beijing International Studies University.

Earning international certification means the integration of excellent education resources worldwide, the rapid promotion of reputation of curriculums, as well as international recognition of the FITM as a dirt-rate academic body. The faculty has invited world-famous experts and scholars to lecture and instruct here, including Prof. Ma Y, Deputy Director of Tourism Management Education Steering Committee of Chinese Ministry of Education, Prof. Zhao Jinlin, Dean of Graduates Department in Tourism Management Institute and Director of Development Department in Asia-Pacific Region Florida International Universities, Prof. Chen Boru from the University of Central Florida, Prof. Song Haiyan from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Prof. Gu Zheng from University of Nevada, Prof. Sanjay Nadkarni, Director of Research of Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management, and Prof. Liu D.K, a renowned Chinese Event Management expert from Beijing International Studies University among many others. In the 2015-2016 academic year, about 5% of the students of the faculty come from over twenty countries and regions. The FITM also holds the most Korean students among all the institutions in Macau. 

The FITM actively promotes curriculum evaluation in response to the future trend advocated by GAES. The faculty carries out quality-oriented evaluation covering aspects of program application, faculty hiring, teaching management, student training, and social services. The Doctoral Program of International Hospitality and Tourism Management of the FITM winning the UNWTO.TedQual Certification is an important achievement of the constant promotion by GAES on curriculum evaluation and has embodied the featured pattern of Macau higher education - harmonious and joint development of government and institutions.