Following a three-month internship at the Sheraton and Okura Hotels, the exchange students from Florida International University（FIU） left Macau for the United States on August 3, 2013. The eight exchange students were selected from FIU’s top students. All of them (with the exception of one who had to leave earlier due to an urgent family matter) did extremely well during their internship. Upon completion of the internship program, four students received full-time employment offers from their internship providers – the Sheraton and the Okura hotels. These offers have been accepted and their employment will commence at the end of this year following their FIU graduation. The other student who had to leave early, had also received an offer to continue her internship and will probably receive an employment offer following her FIU graduation next year. Although it was the first time for FIU to cooperate with FITM with this exchange program, the results have proved very satisfactory. The data from their questionnaires (a 100% return rate) show that all students agreed they have acquired broader knowledge, improved skills and a more positive attitude to the real working world. They also reported that the experience would be tremendously helpful in their future careers. They very much appreciated the organizational culture in the hotels where they had their internship, where they had firsthand experience of team cooperation, a democratic management style and motivating and supportive management. This positive outcome indicates that there is ample opportunity and scope for further collaboration between FITM and FIU, not to mention other well-known, international higher educational institutes. This positive result speaks for itself in that the FIU exchange students were enthusiastically accepted by the industry, and it also means that FITM attracts good students globally.
The Faculty of International Tourism and Management (FITM) hosted a farewell dinner party where the FIU students hugged each other and thanked FITM for taking care of them so well and for arranging a special Surviving Oral Chinese Course for them. This helped them learn more of the Chinese language and culture besides their internship program. They said they will always remember this great experience and it will surely benefit them in their future lives and careers.
FITM started recruiting students in September, 2013 and within one year, the brand has gained rapid recognition and its impact has extended to Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and overseas. The FIU exchange students who came to Macau for the internship program is good proof of this. FIU is a well-known public university in the USA with a 70-year history.
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Exchange Students from Florida International Unive
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