PolyU School of Hotel and Tourism Management Students Shine at International Events

Students of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University have had a successful academic year as they were recognised with top prizes at international conferences and summit including the 2024 Global ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) Conference, APacCHRIE Youth Conference and Young Hospitality Summit (YHS) held across the globe.

At the 2024 Global ESG Conference held in Jeju, Korea on 27-29 May, SHTM students won First and Second Prizes at the Undergraduate Students ESG Idea Competition as part of the ESG Global Student Challenge.

First Prize: “Trash to Trend: Upcycling Hotel Waste into Fashionable Treasure” by Mina Kang, student in the BSc in Hotel Management programme; and Jasmine Poon, student in the BSc in Tourism and Events Management programme. Advisor: Dr Sung In Kim, SHTM Assistant Professor.

Second Prize: “GREENIE, Your One-stop Online Platform for Browsing Hotels’ ESG Commitments and Performance Benchmarking” by Christopher Chen, Venus Chung and Ben Lim, students in the BSc in Hotel and Tourism Management programme. Advisor: Dr Ada Lo, SHTM Associate Professor.

Designed to empower the next generation of leaders in ESG practices, the Competition was successful in fostering creativity, critical thinking and collaboration among undergraduate students, and inspiring them to develop innovative solutions that address the practical application of ESG principles.

At the APacCHRIE Youth Conference held on 24-26 May 2024 in Seoul, Korea, SHTM students were bestowed two Best Paper Awards.

First Place: “Exploring the Asymmetric Impact and Relative Competitiveness of Service Attributes on Customer Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction: Impact Asymmetry Competitor Analysis and Two-factor Theory” by Xenia Wong, student in the BSc in Tourism and Events Management programme. Supervisors: Dr Hailey Shin, SHTM Assistant Professor; Dr Hyekyung Park, Assistant Professor, Florida State University; and Dr Minwoo Lee, Associate Professor, University of Houston.

Second Runner-up: “AI-supportive or Vigilant in the Hospitality Industry: Integrating Employee and Consumer Views to Extend the TAM and AIDUA Models” by Yu Jin Yang, student in the BSc in Hotel Management programme. Supervisor: Dr Ivanka Huang, SHTM Research Assistant Professor.

Since its inception in 2002, APacCHRIE has been playing an essential role in promoting academic and research exchange in the hospitality and tourism field in the Asia Pacific region. An extension of APacCHRIE, the Youth Conference supplements its mission and provides an opportunity for students to meet, exchange research information and to network, whilst at the same time fosters an opportunity for leadership development and encourages presentation of high-quality research by undergraduate students.

Earlier this year in March, SHTM students attending the YHS in Lausanne, Switzerland, stood out from competing teams and scooped two prestigious awards.

First Prize: Mandy Leung, student in the BSc in Tourism and Events Management programme, led her team to win the First Prize by proposing and presenting an idea to achieve food waste prevention, sustainability education and facilitation of a circular ecosystem within NEOM in Saudi Arabia.

Second Prize: Cindy Pang, student in the BSc in Tourism and Events Management programme, led her team to win the Second Prize on the topic of “Bridging Concepts, Beyond Realities” with “The Elevate Project”. The team proposed to build an innovative structure with screen and sound technology, and transform footsteps into energy for sustainability that is regenerative and unique within NEOM.

Hosted annually by the EHL Hospitality Business School, the YHS serves as a platform for industry professionals and student delegates to engage in insightful discussions on the latest topics relevant to the industry. As a student-led hospitality summit, student delegates have a chance to work together on unique hospitality projects to solve real-life business problems.

The SHTM is immensely proud of the achievements made by its talented students, and the efforts they made to contribute to the body of knowledge. The School is committed to providing students with different opportunities to ensure that they excel beyond the walls of the classrooms.

For 45 years, the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University has refined a distinctive vision of hospitality and tourism education and become a world-leading hotel and tourism school. Ranked No. 1 in the world in the “Hospitality and Tourism Management” category in ShanghaiRanking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2023 for the seventh consecutive year; placed No. 1 globally in the “Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services” category in the University Ranking by Academic Performance in 2022/2023 for six years in a row; rated No. 1 in the world in the “Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism” subject area by the CWUR Rankings by Subject 2017; and ranked No. 1 in Asia in the “Hospitality and Leisure Management” subject area in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024, the SHTM is a symbol of excellence in the field, exemplifying its motto of Leading Hospitality and Tourism.

The School is driven by the need to serve its industry and academic communities through the advancement of education and dissemination of knowledge. With a strong international team of over 90 faculty members from 20 countries and regions around the world, the SHTM offers programmes at levels ranging from undergraduate to doctoral degrees. Through Hotel ICON, the School’s groundbreaking teaching and research hotel and a vital aspect of its paradigm-shifting approach to hospitality and tourism education, the SHTM is advancing teaching, learning and research, and inspiring a new generation of passionate, pioneering professionals to take their positions as leaders in the hospitality and tourism industry.