LONDON CALLING – Chaplin School to take students abroad

Aaron Pabon / Staff writer

Students will cross the ocean to study hospitality and tourism in London this winter.

The London Hospitality Winter Session, designed to coincide with the winter mini-term, will take students to spend two weeks in London learning behind-the-scenes operations of hospitality and tourism operations.

One of the reasons why London was selected as the location is because of the exposure it had during the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.

The Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management also did a survey on Facebook to see which country students would like to study in.

According to Dawn M. Fagnan, the assistant director of Enrollment and Recruitment Services at Biscayne Bay Campus, London was the first and most popular response.

Two courses that will be offered for the program are Field Study Abroad and Study Abroad Research.

In the first one, students will be exposed to the culture of London to gain an understanding of how to manage hospitality businesses in other countries.

For the second class, students will visit and interact with the local scholars and the hospitality and tourism industry leaders of London and conduct research on the development of the destination.

The program is not exclusive to students majoring in hospitality.

“While most who are planning to go are hospitality majors because we’re offering hospitality electives, we have other majors participating,” said Fagnan.

Students will also be able to take tours around London. Some of the places they’ll visit are the 2012 Olympic Village, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Kensington Palace, Fuller’s Griffin Brewery and Westminster Abbey.

Students will also be able to take a weekend tour in Paris. They will take a guided boat tour on the Seine River and another tour to the Eiffel Tower.

Guest speakers will discuss different areas of hospitality, including hotel, event management, tourism, restaurants, casinos and brewing science.

Although 25 students are currently signed up for the program, it can accept as many as 30 students.