Grand Opening of UiS Study Program in China

According to Vice Rector Inge Særheim, who has just returned from a short stay at the Chinese university, the opening was both grand and festive.

Særheim represented the University of Stavanger at the opening of the program in Beijing together with the management and members of faculty from the Norwegian School of Hotel Management – Department of Business Administration.

"We met a group of highly motivated Chinese students who have a strong academic commitment. They have a varied and relevant professional background and high expectations toward the program," Særheim says.

Classes taught by University of Stavanger faculty
The in-service master program in service management was started at the university in the fall of 2005. Beijing Institute of Tourism (BIT) at the Beijing Union University now offers the program to hotel managers in the Chinese capital. The cooperation means that 80 per cent of the classes are taught by Chinese instructors and the remaining 20 per cent by University of Stavanger faculty. UoS professor Einar Marnburg gave his first lectures to the Chinese students last week.

Instruction in Chinese
The students are taught in Chinese and all course texts have been translated into Chinese. Simultaneous translation from English to Chinese is used for the Norwegian contributions. Twenty-three top and intermediate level managers from the big Beijing hotels are now students in the program. Seven of the institute's own faculty will also follow the program in order to increase their own competence in hotel management. Only the University of Stavanger among Norwegian universities offers a program at a foreign university.

The aim of the master program is to promote new ideas and stimulate reflection around management roles in order to increase competence in human interaction, handling of management systems and public communication.

The cooperation with the institute in Beijing has already opened for research projects and exchange of researchers. One such project was launched at the start of the classes.

The Olympic Games in 2008
Chinese tourism is undergoing great change. Beijing is the host city for the 2008 Olympic Summer Games. Many of the hotels in the city are state owned today, but several international hotel chains are already present. China is visited by 30 million tourists annually with a 10 per cent increase last year.

In-service program coordinator Hege Skjelbred-Knudsen, at the School of Hotel Management – Department of Business Administration, says that China is focused on internationalization and is proud to offer a European master program. The state hotels understand that hard work and know how are essential in order to compete with the big international chains. She adds that BIT is one of the most prestigious schools in the hotel and tourism industry in China.

Certificates issued by the University of Stavanger
"This is a master program and degree from the University of Stavanger. The university looks forward to being present in Chinese tourism in the future", Skjelbred-Knudsen says.

Some of the students' exam papers will be translated into Norwegian as part of a comprehensive quality check. Oral exams will be conducted from Stavanger by means of video transmission. The master program is concluded by graduation certificates issued by the University of Stavanger.