Institute News Main Headline

More than 400 scholarships provided to IFT students

中文摘要 / Summary in Chinese

IFT held on 28 September the Institute’s annual scholarship and fellowship presentation ceremony. More than 400 scholarships were presented during the ceremony.

IFT’s annual scholarship programme is supported by financial contributions from 25 bodies, including government ones, private enterprises, associations and individuals. These partners sponsored a total of 311 scholarships, with an aggregate value of more than MOP3.1 million, in academic year 2017/18.

The Institute also offers scholarships internally: in the current academic year, 81 new IFT students were fully exempted from tuition fees.

The overall IFT scholarship programme serves several purposes. It not only aims to recognise students for their academic performance, but also rewards undergraduates who have performed exceptionally during their respective curricular internship. Some scholarships provide grants either for students to attend an internship overseas, or to participate in academic seminars outside of Macao or to join international exchange schemes. Other scholarships provide financial aid to undergraduates facing economic hardship.

During the presentation ceremony, IFT President Dr. Fanny Vong expressed her gratitude to all the Institute’s scholarship providers for backing the scholarship programme. Dr. Vong highlighted the importance of such contributions to IFT and to the student recipients, in terms of the development of Macao’s tourism industry.

Supporting new talent

The network of IFT scholarship providers features a number of government bodies, including the Macao Cultural Affairs Bureau, the Macao Government Tourism Office, the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute and the Macao Foundation.

Some of these bodies provide grants to students on particular bachelor degree programmes. The Cultural Affairs Bureau’s scholarships reward academic excellence among students enrolled on the Heritage Management bachelor degree programme. Since academic year 2007/08, a total of 48 students has been awarded scholarships by the bureau.

“The Heritage Management programme is really important” to promote heritage protection in Macao, says Cultural Affairs Bureau President, Dr. Mok Ian Ian. “We are thankful to IFT for launching this programme.”

Dr. Mok says her bureau wants to see more local talent engaged in heritage protection. The bureau each year offers 3 scholarships to Year 1 students enrolled on IFT’s Heritage Management programme; it also offers a scholarship to the programme’s best student.

“Our aim is to encourage high school graduates with good academic results that would like to engage in the heritage management industry” to enrol on the IFT programme, Dr. Mok explains.

Private-sector partners

Most IFT scholarship providers come from the private sector. They include hotel firms, banks and integrated resort operators.

Wynn Macau Ltd, which runs the Wynn Macau casino-hotel and the Wynn Palace integrated resort, is one of them. It offers scholarships to recognise the best of those students from the Institute that undertook their Year 3 curricular internship with the company.

Senior Vice President for Human Resources at Wynn Macau Ltd, Ms. Zuleika Mok, says this model was introduced in academic year 2015/16. Previously, the company offered 2 scholarships per year to IFT students performing their curricular internship at the Wynn Las Vegas integrated resort, in Nevada, in the United States. The latter property is operated by U.S.-based Wynn Resorts Ltd, the parent of Wynn Macau Ltd.

“We decided we would like to offer more scholarships and have students doing their internship with us in Macao,” Ms. Mok says.

The Wynn Scholarship programme now offers a total of 12 scholarships per year. It is open to IFT students performing their internship at either of the company’s Macao properties.

“Scholarship recipients are often highly recommended by our department supervisors, and they can be hired immediately,” Ms. Mok says. She praises IFT for the quality of its graduates, adding that Wynn Macau Ltd plans to continue collaborating with IFT to nurture new talent for the city’s hospitality sector.

Strong encouragement

IFT student Chen Lu was one of the students awarded a scholarship in the latest presentation ceremony. The Year 2 student in the Tourism Event Management bachelor degree programme had her award sponsored by the Macau Gaming Equipment Manufacturers Association, recognising her academic performance. She also received a grant from state-owned conglomerate Nam Kwong, to support her participation in a summer programme outside Macao.

Lu says the support recognises her academic results. As well as being a form of financial support, the awards also provide a sense of accomplishment, she adds.

Other IFT students were offered more than one award in the scholarship presentation ceremony. Lo Chak Kuan, a Year 3 student on the Tourism Event Management programme, received a scholarship from Macao Foundation, recognising her academic performance; and a scholarship sponsored by philanthropists Ms. Isabel and Mr. Patrick Huen, for top students who wish to attend an exchange programme.

“Scholarships are important to students,” says Chak Kuan. “Some students may not be that good in their academic results, but if they have their progress rewarded with a scholarship, it will eventually encourage them to work harder,” she says.

IFT Scholarship and Fellowship Providers
– Macao Cultural Affairs Bureau
– Macao Foundation
– Macao Government Tourism Office
– Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute
– Banco Nacional Ultramarino (BNU)
– Bank of China
– Mr. Cheung Lup Kwan
– Decanter
– Galaxy Entertainment Group
– Golden Burger (Macau) Charity Association
– Henry Fok Foundation
– Inspirational Youth Association
– Mrs. & Mr. Isabel and Patrick Huen
– L’Arc Macau
– Macau Gaming Equipment Manufacturers Association
– Macau Hotel Association
– Macau Polytex Group
– Macau Traveling and Cultural Exchange Promotion Association
– Melco Resorts and Entertainment
– MGM China Holdings
– Nam Kwong (Group) Company Ltd
– Sands China Ltd
– Sheraton Grand Macao Hotel
– The St. Regis Macao Hotel
– Wynn Macau

President’s Corner

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