Travel, tourism, luxury events, and hospitality are among the most dynamic industries in the world. In recent years, these industries have witnessed exponential growth and thus have opened up a plethora of career opportunities for students around the globe. Students are seeking institutes that provide them with industry-relevant hospitality management education. Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) is one such institute that is regarded as one of the best institutes offering hospitality management programs.
Relevant, Skill-Oriented Education
SAIT was established in 1916 and was the first publicly funded technical school of its kind in North America. Today, SAIT is a global leader in applied education—delivering relevant and skill-oriented education to more than 36,000 students annually. With more than 250,000 alumni in more than 110 countries, SAIT offers three baccalaureate degrees, three applied degrees, 84 diploma and certificate programs, 27 apprenticeship trades, and more than 1100 continuing education, corporate training, camps, and other open registration courses.
The Curriculum at SAIT is developed through industry partnerships to ensure graduates have the skills and knowledge required in the workplace. In Fall 2020, with the historic gift from philanthropist David Bisset, SAIT opened its ninth school—the School for Advanced Digital Technology. SAIT is honored to be selected by Mediacorp Canada Inc. as one of Alberta’s Top Employers of 2021.
The School of Hospitality and Tourism
SAIT’s School of Hospitality and Tourism offers programs in two distinct, yet highly interconnected fields of study—Hospitality & Tourism Management and the Culinary Arts. On the hospitality and tourism side, it offers a two-year diploma in Hospitality and Tourism Management, as well as the ability for students to extend their learning journey another two years and graduate with a Bachelor of Hospitality and Tourism Management. This 2+2 model has proven incredibly appealing to students. Moreover, the institute also admits students who have an equivalent credential to its diploma into its degree programs.
The institute focuses on developing a common core of knowledge, skills, and mindset that all hospitality and tourism professionals will need to succeed in the industry. Additionally, it provides students a choice of specializations so they can develop and apply their knowledge to a particular sector of the hospitality and tourism industry. All students graduate with the same parchment and have the core skills to compete for jobs in any part of the industry.
On the Culinary side, the institute offers a two-year diploma in Culinary Arts as well as Baking and Pastry Arts. It also offers a one-year certificate in Butchery and Charcuterie Management. These programs provide its students with an incredibly rich learning experience to develop their technical skills. Much of their learning is in team-based environments that reflect the industry they will work in. The institute develops well-rounded Culinary professionals and ensures students are exposed to a broad array of learning.
It provides courses in areas such as food science and sustainability, social media, guest experience, beverage arts, culinary diplomacy, and the financial skills they need to manage a food operation. More importantly, the institute focuses on the human skills they need to be successful. This starts with building self-awareness and then an understanding of what it takes for teams to come together to do great things.
The Distinguishing Factors
Several factors distinguish SAIT from other educational institutes. Everyone at SAIT is united through its mission—to prepare students for successful careers and lives. Student success is at the heart of every decision made by the institute. Moreover, its education mantra is rooted in the belief that there is no better way to learn than to do. It has built an extraordinary portfolio of live businesses, all of which are student-run. Students create and execute several events, from small dinners to major conferences.
Additionally, SAIT creates partnerships with industry so that its students can experience real-life industry. Furthermore, the most important ingredient behind the institute’s success is its faculty. SAIT has some of the world’s best teachers who are deeply passionate and are boasted with years of industry experience. They leverage their experience and prowess to help students get the most out of the specific academic program.
Optimum Student Support
SAIT prioritizes providing financial support to its students. It has a dedicated team that supports this area and is grateful for the many industries and private donors that support its students with scholarships and bursaries. The institute also has a dedicated team that works with industry to connect its students to employment opportunities. Additionally, SAIT’s students plan and run the largest student-run hospitality and tourism conference and career fair in Canada. This is a great way to enable experiential learning while also connecting students to many industry partners that come to SAIT to recruit top talent.
Resilience and Adaptability
Alike several educational institutions, SAIT pivoted to online learning early in the pandemic. It also prioritized face-to-face learning for programs that required experiential experience, for instance, its culinary programs. SAIT’s faculty, staff, and students demonstrated extraordinary resilience and adaptability throughout the process. Alongside academic programs, the safety of students, faculty, staff, and community continues to be the paramount concern for the university.
“We are excited at the prospect of bringing more students back to campus for in-person learning over the coming months when it is safe to do so,” says James Overall (Dean, School of Hospitality and Tourism, SAIT).
James believes that the hospitality and tourism industry will thrive again despite the severe effects of the pandemic. He adds that the most powerful lesson taught by the pandemic was the importance of human connection. The industry is built on creating and empowering human connection and its future remains bright. He further mentions that human skills such as resilience, adaptability, creativity, critical thinking, etc. are becoming increasingly important. According to him, digital literacy is also a key. The recently launched School of Advanced Digital Technology strives to embed digital literacy across all programming at SAIT.
Learning: A Lifelong Pursuit
Technology is continuously reshaping the hospitality industry and the experience economy. Hotels are a great example. Self-check-in has been around for several years. However, the pandemic has accelerated the push for hotels to create a seamless capability for guests to check-in to the hotel and their room without needing to interact with any staff, if they so choose.
In a world where change is only accelerating, it is imperative that SAIT remains agile and connected to the industry it serves so it can adapt its learning. This Fall, the institute is launching the next evolution of its hospitality and culinary programs. The changes it is introducing are based on considerable industry guidance to ensure it continues to train and graduate students prepared with the skills and mindset to succeed in the industry. “Our job as educators, tasked with a mission to prepare our students for successful careers and lives, is to stay connected to the realities of our industry today, and the prospect of what tomorrow may bring,” adds James. SAIT imparts this knowledge to its students and most importantly, builds their resilience, their adaptability, and their thirst for knowledge as learning is a lifelong pursuit.
Read Full Magazine: The 10 Best Hospitality Management Institutes of 2021
