The curriculum has a blend of both theory and practice, and includes internships at hotel brands, says Prof. Chitre

Professor Sagar Chitre of ITM IHM covers the teaching-learning environment in detail in an interview with Shiksha.com, which allows students to take ownership and responsibility of their educational process. This technique encourages greater participation, exemplifying the finest academic practices at the Institute.

Professor Chitre is a results-oriented Hospitality Professional with extensive commercial and academic experience. He has over 20 years of experience in the industry and academia.

Read the complete interview below

Q: What are the salient features of the teaching methodology adopted by your college? How does this differ from others?

A: Conventional classroom lectures form the basis on which case studies, assignments, group projects, seminars, debates, group discussions, role-plays help in further development of the student. Field visits and Industry guest lectures give critical and practical orientation to learning. The teaching-learning environments enable students to take ownership and responsibility of their educational process, and this strategy drives higher engagement, thus exemplifying best academic practices at our Institute.

Q: How are you preparing your students to be Industry ready?

A: The diploma and degree courses at ITM Institute of Hotel Management are student-centric and the curriculum offers an optimum balance between theoretical and practical sessions. The programmes offer academic counselling through the Personal Academic Tutor, thus assisting students with pathways to achieve personal and professional goals. Additionally, the continual Industry-Academia interface ensures the development of skills and support networks and equips students to be future-ready.

Q: What are the qualities you are looking for in student applicants? What qualities do they need to do well in your course?

A: The hospitality industry and culinary arts offer a wide range of career options.  Therefore, to be successful in this segment there are certain skills and qualities that employers and guests look for; thus, forming crucial traits, as a pre-requisite for student applicants. Communication and networking skills, digital literacy, flexibility in approach, commitment, enthusiasm, empathy and leadership skills, pleasing personality and cultural awareness are attributes that would benefit the learning process and accelerate one’s career growth.

Q: How do you ensure that your course curriculum is up to date and meets industry requirements?

A: The curriculum has a blend of both theory and practice, and includes internships at hotel brands, in India and internationally. The learning environments are not limited to the core departments of functions of hotels and operations; but also include industry partnerships which mean that students avail of a curriculum approved by industry leaders and professionals.

The Board of Studies meets regularly to review the syllabus. Suggestions are recorded by means of student feedback, faculty feedback, review meetings with subject matter experts and Operational inputs from Industry experts. The suggestions are then passed by the board keeping in mind the relevance, quality of inputs and academic importance. This is a regular process that helps us to weed out the obsolete and include the updates. 

Q: Is your college receptive to innovation, technology, science & entrepreneurship? How? Could you cite some examples of these?

A: Being a professional course, experiential and project-based learning strengthens and empowers students. While the core curriculum develops and hones professional skills; the experiential learning at ITM Institute of Hotel Management offers students field experiences for setting up entrepreneurial ventures, industry tours, event planning and management, applied research projects for innovation in food product development, thus challenging the conventional, transforming careers and preparing students for rapid growth and change.