The rapid growth of Asia’s convention and event management industry has led to a greater need for training the right people to satisfy industry demand. The School of Hotel and Tourism Management at Hong Kong Polytechnic University (SHTM) is excited to be leading some of those efforts. 

One way this is being done is by educating those students who will be responsible for planning and organising meetings and conventions in the future. This semester we launched our first bachelor’s degree in convention and event management, for students who have already completed a higher diploma or associate’s degree.

The demand for the new programme has been outstanding. One good reason for this is that the degree is not about the teachers and professors telling “war stories”, if you will – it is about building the professionalism of leadership of the industry. The degree programme clearly addresses this need by requiring the students to plan, organise and run their own conference.

Held over two semesters, the students manage each step of the convention-planning process. This year’s focus was on the International Convention and Expo Summit 2009, held in Hong Kong last May. The students were completely responsible for organising and running the event.

Based on their great success, the future looks bright for the continued growth of Asia’s convention and event industry. I encourage you to do your part in moving it forward by participating in the continuing education of both yourself and your teams. 

David Jones is associate professor at the School of Hotel and Tourism Management, Hong Kong Polytechnic University