The Hindu Business Line : International Group plans hotel mgmt institute in Dubai

THE Kolkata-based International Group, which runs three hotel management institutes in India under the International Institute of Hotel Management banner, has firmed up plans to set up a hotel management institute in Dubai.

The proposed institute, first of its kind in the Emirate, is set to become operational by April this year.

It will offer a three-year, full-time undergraduate degree course in International Hospitality Management. It will be located in Dubai's Knowledge Village.

Successful students will be awarded a BA degree in International Hospitality Management by Queens Margaret University College of Edinburg, UK, with which the International Group has a six-year alliance.

The Dubai venture will entail an investment of Rs 20-25 crore that will be generated from internal accruals and other sources of finance.

Mr Suborno Bose, Chairman of the International Group, told Business Line that, although there were around 45 star-category hotels in Dubai, the Emirate does not have a single hotel management institute.

While the hospitality industry there generates a huge demand for trained professionals, the availability of those trained locally is scarce.

Mr Bose said that in the absence of a proper training institute, most of the required professionals in Dubai consisted of expatriates. Around 70 per cent of them were Indians, he said.

"Every year, a large number of our students are absorbed by star hotels in Dubai, such as Fairmont, Hilton, Jumeria, etc. By setting up an institute there, we propose to train not just local students but also children of NRIs based in places such as Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and other countries in the Gulf," he said.

The proposed institute will enrol 120 students every year. The faculty would be sourced from the International Institute of Hotel Management in Goa and from other places in India.

For the first two years, the students would be trained in Dubai. In the third year, they would undergo training in Queens Margaret University College, Edinburg.

Mr Bose said that on successful completion of the course, the students would be given a permit to work in the UK for two years. Necessary legislation in this regard had already been passed in the UK.