The first "Regal Hotels International Youth Development Program" was launched in October 2015. This program offered 17 scholarships amounted to HK$340,000 and invaluable internship opportunities for IVE HoSTS students at front office, food & beverage department as well as housekeeping in the Regal's properties.

The program aims to nurture young skilled talents by providing a $20,000 scholarship with internship and various activities for whole-person development. With this meaningful internship, students will be able to fully understand the operations of a hotel while studying, and in turn be able to identify their career goals for future career development in the hotel industry.

With the full support from the Regal Hotels International, 17 graduates of IVE HoSTS Foundation Diploma articulating to the "Higher Diploma in International Hospitality and Tourism Management" and "Higher Diploma in Hotel and Catering Management" respectively were selected for this program. The awardees attended the Program's Inauguration Ceremony and have already started their learning and coaching lessons by meeting with all the Hotel General Managers and Senior Executives of Regal Hotel International during the event.

To learn more about our study programs, please click here.

With the generous donation of HK$200,000 by Professor Albert Ip, the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Langham Hospitality Investment in 2015, the first two scholarships in the amount of HK$50,000 each were awarded to HoSTS final year students for their top-up degree studies.

The scholarship was set up to provide financial assistance and encouragement to students who have strong leadership skills and excellent academic performance to pursue their further studies in hotel management. These scholarships not only give students a recognition for their hard work, but also alleviate the financial burden of these students who otherwise may not have the chance to continue with their studies.

In academic year 2014/15, over 95% of HoSTS graduates who planned to pursue their further studies were articulated to local and overseas degree programs or top up degree programs provided by SHAPE and other overseas universities.

For more information about articulation for HoSTS graduates, please click here.

Every year, many industry partners offer different awards to HoSTS students who have demonstrated exceptional talent and dedication during their industrial attachment. In August 2015, Jackie Pak, a year-two student from "Higher Diploma in International Hospitality and Tourism Management" was awarded "The Outstanding Performance for Trainee" upon completion of her industrial attachment at the Eaton Hong Kong.

"I dreamed of studying hospitality when I was in high school. The 10-month hotel internship program organized by IVE was really an eye-opening experience and was certainly the best opportunity for me to realize my strengths and interest in hotel operations. The award has given me a lot of confidence to set my goal to become a successful hotelier in the future."

During the harvest season in Bordeaux in October 2015, two IVE students from the "Higher Diploma in Hotel and Catering Management" were selected to undergo a 2-week special training cum internship at a renowned winery - the Château Le Cléret in Bergerac near Bordeaux, France to fully immerse themselves in the art of French wine making. During this exclusive internship program, students were given a golden key to unlock the secret of wine making. Guided by local professionals, students were assisting in harvesting, picking and processing the carefully sorted grapes to the whole wine making process. Of course, there was no trip to France without visiting some of the famous places such as Bordeaux, Saint-Émilion and Sainte-Foy-la-Grande.

"It was certainly a once in a life time opportunity to work in a French vineyard! The wine consultants provided us with comprehensive information with full explanations about the conditions and stringent requirements for an organic wine cellar. My wine knowledge learned in IVE classes was efficaciously connected to the actual wine making, wine market and the industry." Jonathan, one of the participants who had completed the wine and spirits course before this internship. "The extraordinary learning experience of this trip was not limited to just about wine. My understanding of running a boutique hotel as well as my cooking skills were greatly enhanced as we were also required to prepare our dinners and making up of our own rooms in this country styled boutique hotel." he supplemented. "Although it was only a 2-week internship, the program was intense and skills focused. Thus, we have acquired many new knowledge and know-how which I believe will be really useful for my future career development. At a personal level, I have also adopted the optimistic and positive attitude from the French trainers - 'Work Hard and Play Hard', enjoy your life!"

To learn more about the various exchange programs, please click here.

In academic year 2015/16, a few IVE students from the "Higher Diploma in Tourism and MICE" commenced their year two studies in Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) in the UK. These two students were given an exchange scholarship awarded by SHU and funding from the VTC Student Development Foundation to study 3 months (September - December 2015) in SHU. The students were totally immersed themselves in their studies of the Bachelor Degree Programme in Tourism Management and thoroughly enjoyed various field trips, study club activities and the learning of British culture and festivals.

Joffee, one of the students attending the exchange program treasured her experience as an exchange student in the UK "These 3 months were so precious as my understanding of the British culture, lifestyle and experience were greatly enhanced. Apart from meeting fellow students from around the world, we were able to explore the beauty of England beyond classroom by joining various cultural activities such as Christmas market, bonfire night and campfire party. SHU campus is located in the middle of England which served as a perfect hub to tour around other cultural cities during weekends. I had so much fun visiting London, Edinburgh and Cambridge."

Another student, Lawrence was deeply inspired by the learning experience a SHU. "The UK universities emphasis on independent learning for higher level of knowledge. You were expected to do your preparation and studies before going to classes. During lessons, the professors were there to answer queries from students and create an interactive learning atmosphere for discussion. At first, I was not used to such learning style but now I found it very useful in pursuing advanced knowledge."

To learn more about the various exchange programs, please click here.

To broaden students' global perspective and horizons, IVE HoSTS actively seeks opportunities to cooperate with quality education institutions around the world. Many of our students have already gained memorial exchange experiences through our international network.

Salzburg, Austria
In January 2016, a group of students from "Higher Diploma in International Hospitality and Tourism Management" and "Higher Diploma in Hotel and Catering Management" embarked on their 12 days exciting journey to the institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (TSS) in Salzburg, Austria. Apart from the classroom training, inspection trip to the grandeur of hotels and a joint project working at TSS, students also have a chance to conquer the Snowy Mountains, the nearby famous attractions and a full day tour to the magnificent Italian palace on water - Venice during weekends. Since many friendships were cultivated in this exchange, IVE HoSTS students will showcase their city and reciprocate the warm hospitality to the TSS student during their visit to Hong Kong in June 2016.

Brisbane, Australia
A student from the Higher Diploma in Tourism and MICE went to Brisbane, Queensland in Australia, a new destination for our exchange program. During the 3 months program in Brisbane, Daby Lee, a year two student of HoSTS attended classes in Tourism Development at TAFE Queensland and visited many tourism hotspots with her homestay family. In October 2016, students from TAFE Queensland will be visiting HoSTS and join in classes to further exchange their ideas about the tourism management of the two cities. Singapore HoSTS students were host to the students from Singapore, Japan and China as Service Ambassadors in the "VTC-ITE International Student Seminar 2015". This biennial exchange event was a communication platform for students from the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), Singapore and the Vocational Training Council (VTC) to jointly discuss and conduct research on contemporary issues relating to youth. Subsequent to the Conference, 20 HoSTS students visited ITE students in Singapore and joined their classes to learn more about their prospective in social innovation.

Tokyo, Japan
HoSTS students played host to more than 450 Japanese Students in November 2015. Students from "Higher Diploma in Tourism and MICE" specially designed and organized a half day Hong Kong tour for their young friends from Japan. This exchange provided them with an ideal occasion to practice their tour guiding and itinerary planning skills. After all the hard work, these students were also given a chance to participate in an exchange visit to Japan and more importantly to meet up with their fellow students from the JTB Travel & Hotel College.

To learn more about the various exchange programs, please click here.