The Macao Institute for Tourism Studies (IFTM) hosted its annual Open Day yesterday at its Mong Ha campus, with the event providing introductions to its degree programmes, workshops, games and performances for its attendees.
In a speech during the one-day event’s opening ceremony, IFTM President Fanny Vong Chuk Kwan said that the institute aims to launch a series of new bachelor’s degree programmes in “International Business and Innovative Communication”, and the revamped “Marketing and Brand Management”, along with two brand-new bachelor’s degree programmes in Chinese mirroring their English counterparts, in the coming academic year (2024-25). Other programmes intended to be launched include a “Master of Science in International Events Management” and “Doctor of Business Administration”, Vong added.
Speaking with reporters after the ceremony, Vong said that the new programmes are pending final registration with government authorities.
Moreover, on IFTM possibly becoming a university in the next academic year, Vong told reporters that the higher education institution is very optimistic that it can attract more applications from students, noting that she thinks that students care a lot about the quality of education when choosing programmes or universities, with an institution’s name having a lot to convey in this regard.
“I think with the renaming of the institute, students will have an easier time understanding the quality we are offering them through these programmes because this is also a recognition. We have come quite a long way”, Vong said, with IFTM having garnered international awards and recognitions, making the renaming of the institute good timing, she said.
Vong added that construction work, slated for a 2025 completion date, is currently underway for its Silver Jubilee Building and the new Accommodation Building at its Taipa Campus.
She told the Post that the project will have some 11 floors comprising around 60 classrooms, along with educational kitchens, while the staff quarters of the former University of Macau (UM) campus will be transformed into the institute’s second educational hotel and serve a different purpose to its Mong Ha counterpart.
There are currently 1,900 undergraduate, master and doctoral students in the current academic year.
Meanwhile, the Macao Polytechnic University (MPU) hosted its Open Day on Saturday on its campus in Zape, during which information on its degree programmes and achievements, among others, along activities such as games and seminars was disseminated.
IFTM President Fanny Vong Chuk Kwan delivers her speech during yesterday’s opening ceremony. – Photos: Rui Pastorin
Students take part in a workshop during IFTM’s Open Day yesterday at its Mong Ha Campus.
