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The Doctoral Program of International Hospitality and Tourism Management of the FITM has earned the UNWTO TedQual (Tourism Education Quality) Certification. It is the first ever tourism doctoral program winning TedQual Certification and also the first doctoral program winning an international certification in Macau. The FITM City U is now standing as the only faculty with both Master and Doctoral programs with the honor of UNWTO Certification in Macau. The Master of International Hospitality and Tourism Management Program of the FITM City U earned the TedQual Certification issued by the UNWTO in 2014. The UNWTO TedQual Certification System evaluates tourism programs at institutions worldwide and only awards certification to those that truly excel in this field. The system takes into consideration five areas of analysis that evaluate the internal and external aspects of the Program: coherence of the plan of studies; infrastructure and pedagogical support; policies, tools and support mechanisms for administrative management; 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. 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, and Sun Yat-sen University. It is a great honor and privilege for City University of Macau to be listed amongst these institutions. Since its establishment, the FITM City U has established unique and extraordinary features of the faculty - branding and internationalization, and has maintained student-centered and quality-first principles. The faculty has invited a great number of respected scholars from all over the world to teach and give lectures, 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 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, Prof. Liu D.K., a popular Chinese Event Management expert from Beijing International Studies University, among many others. The FITM provides a variety of themed research lectures and data analysis and mining workshops for the all-round promotion of students’ research abilities and familiarity with academic frontier. By organizing international seminars and encouraging students to present their research achievements overseas, the faculty successfully provides internationalized research exchange platforms for postgraduate students. With the joint effort of all FITM teachers and students, the doctoral education of the faculty has made encouraging achievements. Twelve doctoral students successfully graduated in the 2015-2016 academic year after strict double-blind reviews and oral defense. The new Ph.Ds included local students as well as Mainland Chinese students. Their varied dissertation topics and analysis methods applied showcased high quality academies research in the field of international tourism studies. Committee members who come from renowned universities and academic institutions highly remarked on the quality of the dissertations of the FITM Ph.Ds. The FITM actively promotes curriculum evaluation in response to the future trend advocated by GAES. The faculty has carried 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 also an important achievement of the constant promotion made by GAES on curriculum evaluation and embodies the pattern of Macau higher education - harmonious and joint development of government and institutions. |
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