Main Headline University News

IFT celebrates its latest batch of graduates


中文摘要 / Summary in Chinese

The most recent graduates from IFT shared the excitement and significance of their academic accomplishments with peers, family and friends at the IFT Graduation Ceremony 2018. During the event, a total of 386 fresh graduates received bachelor degrees – collectively representing the output from a total of 8 programmes – via either daytime or evening study.

Professional diplomas in Western Culinary Skills and in Pastry and Bakery were presented to another 26 students.

The ceremony was held on 22 June at the Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion. As well as the many hundreds watching from the public gallery, the event was also attended by Macao’s Acting Chief Executive, Dr. Wong Sio Chak, and the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Dr. Alexis Tam Chon Weng.

Commenting on the future role of all graduates honoured this year, Dr. Fanny Vong, President of IFT, told those attending the ceremony: “I hope that all of you can actively participate in community activities…, contribute to the development of the tourism industry and related service industries, and help build a better future for Macao and the Greater Bay Area.”

Dr. Vong called on all fresh graduates to “remain humble” throughout their future careers, while being able to “listen to different opinions”. She urged them to keep investing in lifelong learning and personal development.

The IFT President additionally took the opportunity to express her gratitude to all the IFT faculty and staff members for their hard work. “You are making a significant contribution to tourism education in Macao and to the development of IFT,” Dr. Vong said.

One of the students graduating this academic year was Fiona Yuan, who completed the 4-year programme leading to the degree of Bachelor of Science in Tourism Business Management. She delivered a speech on behalf of the graduating class at the graduation ceremony.

“It was not easy, but we made it,” she proudly declared, addressing her peers. The student representative praised the “great opportunities” offered by IFT to its students, which she said were key to “opening the doors of success” to them. She acknowledged that, after 4 years of study at the Institute, members of the graduation class were now more “knowledgeable and confident”, ready to “fight to achieve our dreams and create our own future”.

IFT offers the biggest selection in Macao of bachelor degree programmes relevant to tourism and hospitality. The Institute employs academics from around the world and has a global network of partners in those industries.

Studying at IFT does pay off, according to a graduate employment survey by the Institute. It showed most bachelor programme students graduating in academic year 2015/16 were enjoying attractive salaries within 6 months of leaving.

The survey’s data indicated that more than half of those who responded to the survey – and that had full-time employment – were already earning monthly salaries of more than MOP14,900. According to the results, 80.8 percent of the respondents had already got a job by the time of the survey, with 75 percent of that cohort finding work in the tourism and hospitality sector.