Ms. Shaily Pandey is working as a Learning and Development Manager at the Institute of hotel management and Culinary Studies. With a keen interest in training and education, she has acquired a multi-faceted role at IHMCS and looks after the overall development needs of the students. She is an MBA holder in HR and has done graduation in Hotel Management. Her areas of experience include butlers, guest relations, core front office, food and beverage activities. These all have enabled her to inculcate hospitality in her personality. She has published papers in NCTHM and is Executive Editor for Connecting Elements.

IHMCS Jaipur

What are your roles and responsibilities?

“To assist educational and motivational needs of students”

Apart from my academic responsibilities as a Food and Beverage Seer, I look forward to the overall learning needs of our students. I coordinate with our team for academics, events, workshops, training, and personality development programs. We have a 4 tier learning module called AIMS- Academic excellence, Industrial exposure, Mentorship Programs and Skill Development programs. I ensure the proper execution of this module. 

How was the experience of your students while switching from offline to online mode of education and vice-versa?

“This adaptation was an engaging encounter for us”

Fortunately, our students were quite enthusiastic and energetic towards the online mode. As you all already know that Hotel Management is a Skill Based Course and candidates are anyway keen on learning skills and not theory. Hence the transition has been a pleasant experience for the students and faculties both.

How do you bring in a practical and industry-oriented approach towards subjects?

“We do follow 4 tier AIMS module which is comprised of Academic excellence, Industrial exposure, Mentorship Programs and Skill Development Program”

We offer them industrial exposure in the forms of activities like Hotel Tours, Industrial Tours, Food Walks, Out-Door Catering Events and Events in college. Apart from that, we have a Panel called Career Buddies where Hotel Industry Professionals like Executive Chefs, Cruise line Chefs, Cabin Crews, Corporate Managers, Event Managers, Food Bloggers and Entrepreneurs guide the students about their own journey. Our skill development activities and programs that include Communication Classes, Interview Preparation and Skill Bases Workshops also help our students to acquire skills that are the demand of the Industry.

How your college is unique in comparison to others?

“We are exceptional concerning education, infrastructure and opportunities”

We have a team of professionals who are connected to the industry in different capacities like Training and Placement, Bakery Production, Wine and Spirit Club Managers, Marketing, etc. Their inputs are taken and considered while making changes to our curriculum to ensure that our practices are industry-relevant.

Our Campus is located in a prime location and is affiliated to a government university that gives the student a sense of assurance about the validity and legality of their qualification. We are associated with the Indian Culinary Forum, Indulge India, College De Paris. We provide 100 percent training and placement assistance to our students.

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What extracurricular activities are organized in college to expose students to real-world challenges?

“Social events and festival programs are organized in college to enhance their skills”

As I mentioned earlier, we have several initiatives like a magazine, docu-series, CSR activities, clubs, etc. that provides a platform for the interested students to inculcate and polish skills like Content Writing, Photography, Public Speaking, Human Resource Management, Presentation, Negotiation, Delegation, Money Management and many more. We also organize celebrations for festivals like Diwali, Christmas, Halloween, Holi, International Chef Day, International Housekeeping Week, International Hospitality Day, International Coffee Day, etc. Such events also help them to learn event management along with learning to celebrate occasions that are important in our Industry.

In your opinion, which education mode is better offline or online?

“Classroom teaching is far away better than digital learning”

In my viewpoint, there are actually a lot of opinions about the necessity of offline classes, especially the theoretical ones. However, I strongly feel that a direct connection between the trainer and the student can never be replaced by screen presence. Human efforts cannot be replicated by machines.

Which career options are available after pursuing Hotel Management?

“You can work in organizations or start your own business”

Hospitality Management is a course that prepares you to deal with people and their needs. The Hotel Industry itself is quite huge and there are many other sectors like Travel and Tourism, Event Management, Retail Management, Hospital Management, Catering Industry, Aviation Industry, Cruise Lines, etc. that require hospitality professionals. Apart from that, all corporation companies and organizations looking for hospitality professionals to join their Sales and Marketing Team, Revenue Management Team, Customer Relation Team and Public Relation Team. There are a lot of offbeat career options as well like Food Blogger, Travel Blogger, Food Show, Food Walk Curator, Hospitality Consultants. 

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Any advice would you like to give to students who will be joining the college in this session?

“Choose that career which drives your passion and skills”

I don't believe that one piece of advice can be applied to every student, as every kid is very unique. I would rather suggest that every student explore themselves. Your strengths and drawbacks, your passion, your innate skills. Discover what drives you. Gather experiences- get part-time jobs, do a lot of internships, volunteer. I would also like the younger generation to understand that hard work in the correct direction and persistence are key to long-term success.