UCB host 'Passion 4 Hospitality' forum

On Friday 17 March UCB hosted the Institute of Hospitality’s ‘Passion 4 Hospitality’, a student careers forum for hospitality students. UCB also hosted the live finals for two hospitality competitions, where rival teams competed for awards and stunning prizes.

The day was an opportunity for students to attend exhibitions filled with expert advice and meet people already in the industry to gain information aimed at kick-starting their career in hospitality. Key topics included vital tips for finding a first job in hospitality, available career paths, and where students can expect to see themselves in the future.

There was also an opportunity for students to ‘speed network’ with people, with the objective being that it opens their eyes to the wide range of hospitality opportunities that are out there waiting for them.

Peter Ducker FIH, Chief Executive of the Institute of Hospitality, said “As ever, we are here to help students get the job that starts their career path into hospitality. It’s my pleasure to help propel these students into the challenging and thrilling hospitality industry and I wish them every success today and throughout their careers.”

The Student Debating Competition final was also held on the day, with students Naomi Payton, Paulina Ojo, and Natasha Patnaik representing UCB against four other institutions. The two girls were shortlisted for the final after submitting a two minute video. The topic under debate for this year’s final was: “This house believes that hotel operating companies are most effective and deliver maximum shareholder value when they also own a proportion of their assets.”

There was also a new competition for 2014, entitled ‘The UK Business Game’ where students competed against rival teams using an interactive hospitality simulation programme to manage a virtual hotel business. This final involved four teams including UCB, which was represented by BA (hons) Hospitality and Business Management students Kelly Pui, Kadi Allen, Eliza Buruiana, Gabriel Neamu and Hannah Rodrigues. Each team had to manage their own hotel on financial, commercial and economical levels at the same time of being mindful of the impacts that the other hotels might be having on their own business.

Passion 4 Hospitality (P4H) was developed by the Institute of Hospitality as part of its drive towards engagement with its Education Membership Scheme (EMS) members. The competitions were developed to bring students, academia, and industry together, with the Institute acting as the catalyst to facilitate this initiative.