Nearly 60 Emirates Academy students to graduate

The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management will hold a ceremony on October 7 for graduates of its undergraduate and masters programmes.

Held at Jumeirah Emirates Towers, the ceremony will witness 59 students graduating from its courses, with almost 10% of them being Emirati nationals.

“We are proud to have so many Emirati graduates this year and it is an indication that the local community places significant value on the constantly evolving and dynamic nature of the hospitality and tourism industry,” said The Emirates Academy managing director, Ron Hilvert.

This year will represent the largest graduating class that the academy has seen – they are the eighth to pass through the school. The undergraduate programme has 53 graduating students, and six have come through the masters course.

Hilvert told Hotelier Middle East in June: “I think we’ve seen a tremendous improvement in the quality of our Emirati students. This is a new industry for them, and 10 years ago there were no Emirati students graduating with hospitality degrees.”

“We can see a real improvement and, therefore, would say in 10 to 20 years down the road, one would have to be optimistic that there will be a number of very good young Emiratis running big businesses in this country,” he added.

On average, more than 90% of students at The Emirates Academy are in employment within six months of graduation, and alumni are now working in more than 40 countries, having been employed by close to 100 companies worldwide.