Page 7 - HBiz_November_2024

EXPERT SPEAK
HOSPITALITY BIZ NOVEMBER, 2024 7
n

The Hospitality Education Case | Revealing Reality

By Prof. Satish Jayaram, PhD – Ideator | Innovator | Incubator

strongly worded reaction appeared like an ultimatum to way to achieve this change. Digital
hospitality education as it drew much attention on social knowledge will remain an open-access
A edia recently. Private chat groups were abuzz with opinions repository, limitations include accuracy,
m
on kick-starting a set of renewal imperatives. My experience of a ring- applicability, credibility, consistency
side view over three decades, suggests judicious balance to view matters of research versus industry practice.
in perspective! The demand supply chasm has clearly widened over Social media content gains popularity,
time, context may not be completely lost - but content certainly needs acceptance and eyeballs irrespective of
an overhaul. Since talent deficits get triggered largely in the front-line above considerations.
workforce domain, exit velocity is a natural outcome. Yet, are all education Hybrid solutions have been incubated,
challenges appropriately represented? Have alternatives been fully proposed, disseminated and made accessible on open channels. Such a
evaluated? Do solutions meet multiple stakeholder expectations? And case in point, is MoE’s Swayam Plus initiative with IIT Madras, an expertly
finally, does the process of incubating change, have a 360 degree buy- curated set of credit-endowed courses and micro-credentials, currently
in? It is therefore prudent, to rationally analyse the case for hospitality in initial throes of adoption. Future learning systems will have to invest
education. on digital learning for knowledge transfer. Sharp-skilling laboratories are
Several earlier columns by me on the subject, have demystified intensely infusing physical job-ready skills to facilitate early, repeated and
this problem domain from diverse view-points. While curriculum and prolonged exposure in industry to absorb current practice. Academics
structure have been a strong bone of contention, the context in which it working with practitioners to revise curriculum and enhance content with
needs to be viewed matters. The real challenge is currency and quality operations is a solution. The economy, industry and business processes,
of content deployed today, aside the agility required to implement will continue to evolve new content constantly. A potential breakthrough
radical changes. Add to this the degree of flexibility available to open could emerge with high quality joint research and development. This will
up a cafeteria approach, mid-stream, by offering lateral pathways. Even allow best practices to surface for digital sharing across all user bases. But
if adequately provided in the NEP 2020, implementation in institutions universal acceptance is key here, consensus building, is the first step!
remains a linear, not concentric systemic process. Knowledge banks and Many disruptions and action research initiatives in motion, suffer the
delivery mechanisms demand resources to curate content - matching delay of adoption inertia. While innovation acceptance must go through
the adoption curve, resources to facilitate integration
remain scarce. Execution suffers constrained by policy,
infrastructure, faculty competence, industry co-ordination
and above all, collective ownership to future-proof
bodies of growing knowledge. Cultural, institutional,
organizational baggage aside, the first step to take is adapt
learning and growing mind-sets. Once possibility thinking
becomes a minimum common programme, this impasse
can be broken. And by denouncing some fragmented
contributions, however glaring, sawing off the very
branches that talent sits on, is an unsustainable action -
this will cost future generations an opportunity to thrive.
The benefits of hospitality education are experienced in
multiple sectors that naturally adopt this very valuable
skill-set and hone it for their unique hybrid business
requirements synthesizing new content.
education process standards including design, delivery, assessment and The demand for millions of talents in the future may hardly be met by
evaluation! Empowering and upgrading faculty members to re-build such the few thousands in institutions today. Truly, the real answer is to grow
new bodies of knowledge via design thinking with industry experts, is the more institutions in this unique domain, as signature cultural icons of
only real way forward now, as redundizing the old is mandated. hospitality for this economy. And even as we witness its growth trajectory,
Logical alternatives open are incremental changes really, many of abundance thinking would represent greater positivity, than scarcity
which are in motion but may not reflect in concert, with the grand scheme thinking. After all, shutting anything down in impulse may appear simpler,
of transformation. The incrementalism of this process is both a limitation, until it values the tenacity and contribution of generations, who built a
yet, perhaps the only possibility. The next alternative is structural future with vision with little, besides enterprise. In conclusion, innovation,
changes, which requires renewal within mindsets of traditional academic disruption and change can only be implemented pragmatically. This
leadership. Whether with technology, phygital, hybrid, blended or newer transition to excellence in hospitality education, is the responsibility of all
lateral approaches, innovation in credit accrual mechanisms must emerge stakeholders who enjoy its myriad benefits by straddling some of its finest
as a fresh alternative. Open learning systems allow for cross-functional talents. n
and multi-disciplinary credits to be sought from different domains of The views expressed within this column are the opinion of the author,
expertise. Previous columns have expounded considerably on a staggered and may not necessarily be endorsed by the publication.

WWW.HOSPITALITYBIZINDIA.COM