THE KEYS TO THE SUCCESS OF THE GLION INSTITUTE OF HIGHER EDUCATION'S LONDON CAMPUS (United Kingdom)
The London campus organized its recruitment day on Monday 27 March 2023, an opportunity to understand the attractiveness of the London campus and the reasons for its success. |
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THE KEYS TO THE SUCCESS OF THE GLION INSTITUTE OF HIGHER EDUCATION'S LONDON CAMPUS (United Kingdom)
The London campus organized its recruitment day on Monday 27 March 2023, an opportunity to understand the attractiveness of the London campus and the reasons for its success. |
Category: Europe - United Kingdom - Careers
- Career
Article written by Vanessa Guerrier-Buisine on 2023-04-12
Glion Institute of Higher Education is one of the elite schools for hospitality education. This year, it is again ranked fifth in the QS World University Rankings 2023 in the Hospitality & Leisure Management category. As such, it aims to offer more and more opportunities to its students by creating continuous synergies between the school and companies.
Glion London, a unique campus
Opened in 2013 as part of the University of Roehampton (UoR), which has over 10,000 students and 140 different nationalities, Glion's London campus is now based at Downshire House. This residence can accommodate up to 300 students, who enjoy all the facilities and social life of the campus.
The London campus is available to Glion students from their 3rdᵉ semester of their Bachelor's degree. A choice often attached to a desire for independence, autonomy, and which above all echoes the effervescent life of London. “When you think about London, being one of the most visited cities in the world, it has an excessive 75 star-hotels, it really is a tourism and hospitality hub. But it's also a financial capital city of the world. So for all of those reasons, it was absolutely the ideal place to bring a campus for Glion”, explains Georgette Davey, Director of Glion London.
The opportunities are exceptional for students seeking an international career. Between 220 and 250 students attend the campus each semester, either on internships or on courses.
A classroom across London
“Being based in a city gives us, as an institution, the opportunity to use the whole of the City of London as part of our classroom,” continues Georgette Davey. London has therefore quickly become a playground for Glion's teaching team, who simply accompany their students to Park Lane, and choose “from the 75 hotels available for an hour and a half tour. They see them, feel their atmosphere, it's really an immersive experience,” she says.
A very practical teaching method, which appeals to students, and which encourages teachers to constantly review their operations. Michael Heyward, CEO of Heyward Group, a specialist in Revenue Management, teaches International Hotel Management students. He is delighted with the balance between the applied and theoretical format and is particularly fond of the interactive, not exclusively top-down, way of working.
He can present case studies, follow up with more theoretical concepts and figures, and then invite London-based professionals to speak to the students. These are fast-paced days, never identical, which require constant adjustment to capture the attention of young people and provide them with transversal knowledge of the business.
Hoteliers also come throughout the year to offer master classes to students. The proximity of the entire hotel business allows Glion London to have distinguished guests on the Campus.
“We find it very easy to host guest speakers because they come directly from the city. In addition, we are very close to Hammersmith, which is an important area where Accor's headquarters are located. This makes it easier for professionals to come and engage with the students,” adds Georgette Davey.
A seamless continuity between the Glion campuses
“There is a seamless continuity between our campuses. We see ourselves as one school operating in two countries, on three campuses. All our Bachelor students start in Switzerland, so Bachelor 1 is delivered on the Glion campus. Students then have a choice: come to London for the third semester of the Bachelor's degree, or go to Bulle in Switzerland, and they can come and exchange for one semester or for the rest of their programme. This makes for a smooth pathway,” adds Georgette Davey.
To reinforce this continuity between the different campuses, “the academic programmes are identical”, says Georgette Davey. The courses taught are the same, and the teachers communicate with each other in real time so that the programmes progress at the same pace.
“One difference comes within the living environment. In Switzerland, our students in semesters 3 and 4 must live on the Bulle campus. It is not mandatory for our students to stay on campus here in Chadwick,” adds Georgette Davey.
77 rooms are available to students, “but many of our students coming in semester 3 or semester 4 want to live in Kensington, Chelsea, St. John's Wood”, they can fully immerse themselves in London life.
Regardless of the campus, students have their bearings. The Student Association, the Student Concierge and the Registration Office are all available on each campus to help newcomers with their daily lives and integration.
A programme tailored to the specificities of London
Here, students can take three degrees:
- Bachelor in International Hotel Management,
- Master in International Hotel Management,
- Master in Real Estate, Finance, and Hotel Development.
“We have expanded the masters' portfolio in 2019, in addition to the Master in International Hospitality Business, which is delivered in the UK and Switzerland. We have added three new master programmes, the Master in Real Estate, Finance, and Hotel Development which is delivered only here, the Master in Luxury Management and Guest Experience and the Master in Hospitality, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, both of which are delivered only in Switzerland,” says Georgette Davey.
The London Campus has an exclusive programme, the Master in Real Estate, Finance and Hotel Development, which opens up alternative career opportunities in the hotel industry and beyond.
“The Master's programme has 29 students on the London campus, which is our largest intake to date. The programme is divided into three semesters [...] and students go off on an internship for the last semester. So, the students come from all around the world.
“We have a really diverse group of students, all different nationalities, and they're looking for consultancy and analysis roles, and working with hotel development teams,” explains Debra Adams, director of the Master's programme in Real Estate, Finance, and Hotel Development. A master's programme that prides itself on being multicultural, with 20 nationalities represented.
The evolution of mixed usage encourages students to take up these careers alongside the traditional hotel professions. “Certainly, all the big brands are still rapidly expanding, and we see a lot of projects and deliveries coming through, and an interesting range of new developments in terms of the types of property use”.
“For example, there is more mixed-use space, combining different concepts, either in one unit or under one logo. It's very interesting to be involved in this kind of diversified use of the property space,” adds Debra Adams.
To join the programme, students go through Glion's selection process, and must have a “passion for the industry. And wanting to develop and take on new ideas and concepts. They also need to have a strong commercial and financial awareness,” describes Debra Adams.
Involved students
Among the many students present at this recruitment day, the Journal des Palaces met Antoine Fromental, a Bachelor's student, and Shiv Nath Katariya, a Master's student in Real Estate and Glion Ambassador, Finance and Hotel Development. Both of them talked about what Glion brings to them and their respective roles.
For Antoine, who grew up in Hong Kong, Glion offered the promise of a “more personalized” journey. “Even semester one, we usually be three or four students with five or six teachers, so I think you get a much better understanding and look at the hospitality.”
He chose London for the location of the school, “the city, and the campus as well”. His goal is to manage bars and restaurants in South-East Asia, or even “to open a hotel later on”. Previously an ambassador, the young man considers that this role allowed him to “deploy his soft-skills and grow personally”.
On his arrival in London, he was elected President of the Student Association (SGA), a group of 3 or 4 students who organize events and help improve student life at the school.
For Shiv Nath, who already has a background in hospitality, the goal is to pursue a career as a hotel development consultant in India. “I figured that to advance my career, I wanted to learn and understand the real estate value and real estate aspects of hotels because that's the most important thing, and that's why I opted for Glion.”
His ambassadorship gives him “the opportunity to meet a lot of people and to be part of the school's marketing events. I show future students around the school and explain to them and their parents what the school is and what the students are like. I also work with Antoine because I'm part of his team at SGA”.
“So we are trying to help students in their life on campus. In terms of the ambassadors, one of our main programs and goals this semester is sustainability. So, we want to try and see how we can help the school achieve its sustainability goals,” he concludes.
Companies attracted by these profiles
33 companies were present at this recruitment day to promote their brands to young students and discuss their professional objectives with them. This day, organized every semester in London and Switzerland, aims above all to present students with internship or job offers.
“We want to give Glion students a concrete vision of the hotel, to represent it,” explains Lucrezia Lavis, Human Resources Manager of the Bulgari Hotel London.
For Jacquie Lutz, Head of Career Services & Industry Relations, the success of such a day is due to both Glion's reputation and the proximity of the Campus to companies. Glion works very closely with industry, in particular through its industry advisory panel, which enables it to offer programmes that are in line with companies' expectations.
Requests to participate in this day are growing rapidly, “word of mouth is working” says Jacquie Lutz, “reputation is the key” she adds.
“All the recruiters here today are mainly UK-based, but they are always recruiting beyond the UK. Many of them represent the EMEA region. So, they are looking for candidates from Europe, the Middle East and Asia,” says Georgette Davey.
“The students are exceeding the expectations of the companies. They are expecting to meet polite young ladies and gentlemen who have a future in the industry, who are interested, who are able to have a professional conversation and who are interested and knowledgeable,” says Jacquie Lutz. A view confirmed by the companies interviewed by the Journal des Palaces.
If the day was dedicated to recruitment, it gave an additional opportunity for the students to interact with confirmed professionals and to learn from their personal experiences. Like Élodie Roulleau, Front Office Manager of the Great Scotland Yard Hotel in London, who represented Hyatt. She came to find talent, but above all she was able to pass on her experience and show the young people the prospects for rapid development in the sector.
“We find the students excited about the Bulgari brand,” confirmed Lucrezia Lavis. The hotel offered students internships and jobs for the July/August period, and plans to respond to students within a month. Lucrezia Lavis praised the “authenticity, genuineness and personality” of the students present, who showed “a natural passion for the hotel business”.
A satisfaction shared by Victoria Fabre, Alumni 2021 and Consultant, Investor & Development Services at Cushman & Wakefield, EMEA Hospitality. Today, Victoria is involved in the development and financial feasibility of hotel projects, recruiting interns and identifying future employees for the UK and EMEA.
Victoria was delighted with her interaction with the students, with whom communication was more natural, due to her status as an alumnus. “The quality and practicality of the courses is reflected in their ability to work. They are extremely well-trained in the fundamentals and show a curiosity, an ability to go further,” she described.
An institution that is constantly reinventing itself, committed professors, enthusiastic companies and passionate students. This is undoubtedly the winning quartet deployed at Glion London.
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