If it weren’t for Pauline and Sonia, honestly, I would’ve ended up in a mainstream university studying another course and hoping to end up working in hospitality after pursuing my studies. Both of them really helped me out from discovering which options suited my needs and interests best to narrowing down the best choices for me and applying to them. They also provided me with experiences such as hotel tours etc. which ensured me that hospitality was the industry I wanted to go for. Safe to say, they helped me materialise my dreams and passion.

Student Quote

“Worry about your own relative performance rather than your direct competitors” – Anonymous

1. Studying in Switzerland – Why did you choose Switzerland as a study destination? How did you make your final decision to choose Swiss Hotel Management School and how was your overall experience studying there?

Many people studying and working in Hospitality would usually agree that Switzerland is the birthplace of hospitality hence it would also be the best country to be in to learn it. To support my statement, 7 out of 10 of the best Hospitality schools are based in Switzerland according to the 2023 QS Rankings. Now that was a major factor in my decision making!

The turning point for me when I was choosing which Swiss hospitality school to pursue my studies at was when I discussed it with my cousin. She has a career background in hospitality but I never knew where she had graduated from – turns out it was SHMS! She only had good things to say about it and introduced me to her friends who were also SHMS alumnus. After hearing them out and looking at their current career journey, I wanted the life they had and I knew that joining SHMS would give me that boost.

2. My Program – Which program did you choose and describe in summary about what you learned from the course and being on campus. And which specialization did you choose and why? 

Studying hospitality at SHMS really opened-up my eyes on the operations and management of a hotel, restaurant, or any hospitality establishment actually – both the front and back of the house. Not only did they teach me how to manage but also how to build and grow a hospitality business from scratch. As a matter of fact, that is what they gave me as my final coursework for my first two semesters: Prepare a detailed business proposal for a restaurant and a pop-up hotel.

During the third semester at SHMS, you’re given a choice to pursue into one of the three specialisations available: Hospitality, Hospitality & Events, Hospitality & Design. I had chosen to do Hospitality & Events because I thought to myself that why restrict myself to only hospitality when I had the opportunity to branch out. It is worth mentioning that the hospitality industry is vast and applicable to many other industries too, so I took up the opportunity to expand my knowledge and skill set.

3. My Internship/ Jobs – Where did you do your internships and which one was your best experience out of all of them? What did you do and learn during these internships?

As part of your studies, you are required to complete two mandatory internships. My first was as a Press Assistant at the parent company of SHMS which is Swiss Education Group (SEG), and my second was as a Concierge at Atlantis The Palm, Dubai. My favourite between the two was with Atlantis The Palm, words cannot describe how appreciative I am for what I learnt there and the experiences I had.

Firstly as Press Assistant, I was mainly responsible with the public relations (PR) of the hospitality schools under SEG as I was tasked with liaising and dealing with various parties and media companies from around the globe. Grateful is an understatement for my gratitude towards that internship because I was able to learn a lot about marketing before I even got the chance to learn it deeper from my modules later on with SHMS.

Secondly as Concierge, I delved into the responsibility of upkeeping guest relations, experience and most importantly, satisfaction at a 5-star luxury resort. On top of that, as a Concierge, I was important to obtaining information regarding guest preferences and needs which is high-quality data for the hotel management. It was one of the best professional experiences I’ve had so far! Being the bridge between guests and the hotel, not to forget the rest of Dubai too. Curating, planning and organising eventful, memorable experiences for elite clientele was truly one in a million. To be able to learn and apply what I’ve learnt really made me proud of what I achieved through all the hardships I went through.

4. My Future – What are your goals after graduation? What is your current position and describe what you do daily on your job. What do you love most about it, next career move? How and why you choose your current job? 

Currently I’m a fresh graduate on a well-deserved break after three long years of back-to-back studying and working. My goal after this is surely to take up a graduate program, specifically Corporate Management Training and Operations Management Training – I always find myself constantly wanting to learn and solidify my skills and knowledge. This will therefore prove my worthiness to future employers that I am able to take on tasks and challenges, be it in operations, management or corporate.