HND Hospitality Management student Emma Leitch has spent the last four days (Monday 26 – Thursday 29 February) on a top class HIT Scotland scholarship in Switzerland.
Emma (19) from Falkirk visited the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne, as part of a 12 strong Scottish delegation on a special bursary course, sampling training on offer at arguably the world’s most prestigious hospitality management school.
The aim of the HIT Scotland scholarship is to give an insight into the hospitality industry from a new perspective. Its purpose is to provide scholars with knowledge about how Scotland can improve its hospitality industry and be even more successful. Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne was founded in 1893 and was the world's first hospitality management school.
Emma, said: “I thought this was a great opportunity and I applied, but I was still surprised to get accepted to go. I try to work really hard and I am committed when I do something, so I am proud of the fact I was selected to go.
“I have been looking forward to it so much and it has been a great experience. We attended talks and workshops and it was great to see how the students work in the areas of restaurant and accommodation. I have been inspired by what I observed and it has been so beneficial for me.”
Emma, who also works as a chef in the Café Bar 1807 in Linlithgow, decided to do the HND Hospitality Management course at Forth Valley College to learn as much as she could about the practical side of the industry.
She added: “I would one hundred per cent recommend the HND Hospitality Management course at Forth Valley Course as it is a really good mixture of different kinds of learning with a great practical element running through it. The lecturers all have different background of experience which is also very useful to tap into. You are never bored on this course and that’s why I chose to do it rather than go to university, which might have been more theory based.
“I would ideally like to go into a leadership role in my career, maybe head chef and managing others, all the while learning and progressing as far as I can.”
