Dr Ursula Gehbauer Tichler took the leadership of the Swiss School of Tourism and Hospitality in 2011. She is both CEO (Chief Executive Officer) and also the Chairwomen of the board who is responsible for the academic program. She studied in Zurich and Utrecht (Netherlands) and graduated with a PhD in German and English language and literature. She also completed an MBA at the University of Zurich (exchange programs at Fudan and Yale universities included) with a focus on intercultural management. SSTH has its presence in Nepal through its affiliate Global Academy of Tourism and Hospitality Education (GATE). In an interview with New Business Age, she talks why Swiss hospitality education carries such enviable premium about it. Excerpts:

 

 

Why Swiss Hospitality Education is regarded as the benchmark in the world? What is the secret? 

 

A definite strength of the Swiss education system is the practical and down-to-earth approach to management. We believe that in order to manage people and any business well, we must “know” the details and tricks of the trade. Start from the bottom, learn how to cook, learn how to serve, learn the operational details, only then will you be able to delegate effectively and manage staff well – because you know what it takes. This is an essential ingredient for any outstanding leadership. Therefore Swiss Hospitality Education incorporates the mandatory internship as a practical element, allowing students to gather practical work experience while studying for their degree. This may be considered a conservative approach by some but in light of the stable Swiss economy and solid Swiss qualities, it has proven to be successful in the long run. 

 

How do you view the Nepal market as far as student intake is concerned? Is it a high potential market? Why? 

 

Currently, we do not have many students from Nepal. But as you know worldwide the Travel & Tourism economy is expected to grow by 4.4% during 2010-2020. Currently, 8% of worldwide employment is in Travel and Tourism and 300 million jobs are expected to relate to this industry by 2020. Nepal alone due to its beautiful natural landscape, culture and gentle mentality will see a significant rise in tourist numbers. The tourism industry is growing and Nepal can be proud of growing tourist arrival figures. 

 

For the majority of Nepalese, studying in Switzerland is an expensive option. Yet tourism and hospitality will inevitably grow in this market as well, and as a hospitality management school, we would like to have a presence and ensure that the younger generation is best equipped for the boom in this exciting industry. 

 

Does anything make Nepali youth more suitable for the hospitality industry? How do you analyze their attributes for the hospitality sector? Do they have some inherent advantages? 

 

With big markets of India and China as its neighbor, service and hospitality is more natural to the Nepalese culture. Guests are treated differently with more respect and more effort is made in welcoming them. Serving and hospitality seems to come more naturally and is seen as a respectable occupation and carried out with a natural gracefulness and dignity. It is their inherent advantage. 

 

GATE College in Kathmandu is affiliated to Swiss School. How satisfied are you with its performance on enrollments and quality of education? 

 

Khem Lakai, the founder of GATE in Kathmandu, is one of SSTH most charismatic and successful Alumni. Not only does he as a person reflect the qualities that we would like to instill in every student, drive, love of hospitality, integrity and the ability to recognize talent, but Khem has succeeded in breeding these values in GATE as well. Khem is a wonderful SSTH Ambassador for the region, and our regular audits at GATE in Nepal prove time and time again that he has successfully managed to instill “Swiss“qualities in his programme.

 

Do you have plans to open GATE-like colleges in India and China where there is huge potential for hospitality education? 

 

GATE was one of the first SSTH affiliated colleges to be opened in the region. We are proud of GATE’s success, and ten years ago it was the right time to initiate such an affiliation. Today, we continue our partnership programmes but the model has changed slightly. The faster paced environment has led us to screen partners more carefully and created a need to refer back more often to our Swiss values. We believe in long-term solid partnerships – stability is important for us for the long-term perspective. We engage in partnership programmes but have made exchange semesters mandatory for all partner schools. Partners will need to send their students for an exchange semester to SSTH in Switzerland before they qualify to award the SSTH Diploma. We believe that “Swissness” must be experienced firsthand in order to live it. 

 

What are the key elements of hospitality education that you think is missing in this part of the globe? 

 

Swiss hospitality education is based on modeling and practice. The more we show and involve our students what we expect, the more we set them up for success. Managers in many South Asia destinations have trouble motivating and training their staff to meet the reliability and precision (being on time, delivering as promised) with which Swiss hoteliers excel in their jobs, the same Swiss level of responsibility, precision and reliability which surely is transferable from 100s of years of Swiss practices. 

 

Since studying in Switzerland is expensive, your target group in this part of the world would be children of well-off families. How do you plan to reach them? 

 

There are private and international schools in Nepal and there is an expat community which can be targeted through school visits or educational fairs. However, SSTH also offers a subsidized version of its BA programme to German speakers. Nepalese who speak German fluently (C1 level) can apply for the German BA programme that comes at reduced cost, since German is one of the official languages of Switzerland. 

 

How well placed is Swiss School in the long list of hospitality education institutes, some of which are highly reputed the world over, in Switzerland? 

 

SSTH recently entered in an agreement with EHL, École Hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL). As the only Swiss hotel school with a parallel educational system in German and English, the SSTH rounds off the bi-lingual (French and English) EHL programmes. EHL’s students come from Switzerland and also from overseas. The EHL is an international leader for hotel training and as a University of Applied Sciences offers Bachelor and Master degree courses. SSTH compliments EHL programmes by offering students similar quality in a smaller, more personal and practice-oriented learning environment. 

 

Besides being the CEO of Swiss School, you are also a prominent politician in Swiss politics. Which is more close to your heart - Politics and Education? 

 

My passion for education lies in the opportunity to develop individuals and groups of people. Discover their talents and help them recognize areas that they can excel in. To me, education is about movement and constant development and challenge. For me politics represents the framework/context that gives the educational framework scope and makes development possible. 

 

You have been to Nepal several times already. Nepal has somehow similar geography and natural beauty like Switzerland, but there is a big difference between the two countries in economic and social aspects. Where do you see the scope for improvement for Nepal? 

 

Institutional stability, stable legal and economic system is all what is needed for Nepal to bloom more intensively. 

 

How do the Nepalese student benefit from SSTH partnership in Nepal? 

 

Nepalese students studying at GATE have the option to benefit from an exchange programme with SSTH in Switzerland. Likewise, SSTH students can go to GATE for an exchange. This is very unique opportunity made possible just recently.