ESHotel NEWS

On Youtube, film of the 2009 jury

ESHotel is celebrating its own evolution in the 2008-2009 season with an academic innovation. Its Master of Hospitality students will realize real-life-simulation group projects, to be judged by a jury composed of academics and hospitality professionals.

This year’s project themes will revolve around Charles Darwin, in concert with global bicentennial commemorations of his birth on February 12, 1809, and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his famous treatise “On the Origin of Species” in November 1859.

Eshotel believes in offering its students strong positive role models as well as academic courses. Darwin is a powerful model in today’s world. The hospitality industry is crying out for managers capable of creativity with discipline, flexibility with structured thinking, openness to change yet with strategic vision, and, most important, a life-long willingness to learn not only in our own specialty – hospitality – but also to immerse ourselves in issues of general culture that will help project mankind into a favorable future.

Our second-year Master students have already written a thesis in the first year of this 2-year program. Now, by collaborating on small-group projects of no more than 5 students per project, they will gain hands-on experience in team building, leadership, negotiating, and interpersonal and professional communication. The students will be accompanied by a professor who will lead and coach a practicum on Project Management.

The five projects deal loosely with a Darwin theme and involve integrating the principles of best-practice finance, marketing, human resources and strategy with cutting-edge environmental or developmental practices:

1) The Galapagos Hotel Spa & Resort Project: a “blue-print” for a resort hotel adapted to the highly sensitive, protected environment of the Galapagos Islands and meet the high expectations of an emerging eco-minded clientele. PDF Presentation : Galapagos Project

2) The Beagle Cruise Ship Project: development of a cruise ship dedicated to scientific tourism or turnkey on-board entertainment and educational programs to market to existing cruise lines for the Darwin bicentennial. PDF Presentation : summary-beagle-project

3) The Darwin Eco Lodges Project: conception of an international chain of budget hotels for medium-long stays targeting both a family and academic clientele. PDF Presentation : Eco Lodge Project





4) The “Paris Evolution” Event Project: organization of a major event for the City of Paris to celebrate Darwin’s Bicentennial on February 12, 2009, and/or a series of events leading up to the 150th anniversary of his “Origins of the Species” in November 2009. PDF Presentation : Paris Evolution

5) The “Origins” Restaurant Chain Project: conception of an accessibly priced gourmet health restaurant chain in France with a low carbon footprint and high ecological/environmental theme (bio, natural, healthy). PDF Presentation : Origins Restaurant

The Darwin Projects afford our students an exceptional opportunity to practice their leadership, communication and team-building skills.

Project leaders are all volunteers. This year, they come from France and Madagascar. Team members come from France, Mauritius, China, Thailand, Gabon, Russia and Algeria.

Project leaders are careful to share leadership opportunities with their team members. By using the “team meeting format” – a tool used throughout the year for discussion and analysing case studies – all participants play all the roles alternately of facilitator, time keeper, decision maker and coach. Students learn to give feedback in a positive manner that reinforces motivation and learning.

Further, all Master students take a scientifically developed leadership survey which reports on their styles of dealing with information. This exercise emphasizes the necessity to cultivate good followership as well as leadership skills.

Project Management is taught by a professor with both coaching credentials and a professional background in project management. Further administrative project backup is provided by a professional of the hospitality industry, in order to facilitate our students’ research in and obtain cooperation from hospitality institutions.

We at Eshotel believe that our Master’s Project program provides an exceptional challenge and opportunity to our students while responding to the needs of the hospitality industry, where creativity, long-range thinking, leadership vision, and an openness to change in a high-risk economy are in great demand.