We believe in imparting practical education, says Dr. Ketan Chande, SoHM, NMIMS

Dr. Ketan Chande, HOD-School of Hospitality Management, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, is a hospitality operations professional turned accomplished educator. He has demonstrated the ability to teach, motivate, and direct students while maintaining high interest and achievement. He has passed out of the prestigious Institute of Hotel Management, Ahmedabad. Also, he has worked for 5 star hotels, resorts, restaurants, banquets, and industrial catering at different levels.
He further pursued Masters in Tourism Management, MBA-General with elective marketing, MBA in Education Management and Ph.D. in management.

In this Take 5-Series with Shiksha, Dr. Ketan Chande talks about the unique aspects of studying at School of Hospitality Management, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies; the kind of projects, internships and placement opportunities that students have, the best programs to study and how to take admission to these.

Q. What are the salient features of the teaching methodology adopted by your college? How does this differ from others?
We follow different approaches to ensure that the tutelage imparted is related to the cognitive domain of the students. Particularly in a practical class of SoHM, we resort to incidental learning i.e. planning an activity that is seemingly unrelated to what is learned. Secondly, the emphasis is laid on discussion and argumentation, which deepens the students’ learning. We spark a meaningful discussion in a classroom and encourage students to ask open-ended questions.

Another aspect is embodied learning which involves self-awareness of the body interacting with a real or simulated world to support the learning process. When learning service in the training restaurant, physical movement is an obvious part of the learning process. In embodied learning, the aim is that mind and body work together so that physical feedback and actions reinforce the learning process.

Q. How are you preparing your students to be Industry ready?
In SoHM, the core subjects are all supported by relevant practical sessions which give students a hands-on experience which is as good as working in the industry. As they progress in further semesters, students will be given to planning a particular theme lunch/dinner and all the curation will be done by the students themselves like planning menu, cooking food, setting up service for the same i.e. it will be more of an event and all possible industry aspects will be covered in that, which develops the students required industrial skills.

Q. What are the qualities you are looking for in student applicants? What qualities do they need to do well in your course?

Students need to be good at communication, inclined towards teamwork and enthusiasm and a great attitude. Further, students with good listening skills and patience could be great managers of tomorrow. Acumen towards current affairs and general knowledge add a lot of value.

Q. How do you ensure that your course curriculum is up to date and meets industry requirements?
The curriculum for the hospitality operations and management course has been designed by a perfect blend of inputs from renowned academicians and industry experts. The four primary stakeholders are students, educational institutions, the industries and government. The curriculum is designed to suit the needs of the various stakeholders.
Time and again, varied inputs are collected from industry experts visiting the institute and accordingly changes will be suggested to the board of studies.

Q. Is your college receptive to innovation, technology, science & entrepreneurship? How? Could you cite some examples of these?
Being a very industry-based course, the current trends of food production and service are garnered to ensure a very futuristic view. Variety of new equipment is released in the market and the information of the same is provided to the students. Videos of many imported equipment and their working are streamed to students in the classroom. Wherever possible, year over year, new equipment will be ordered so that students can actually use them and learn.
Students are given projects to plan a restaurant or bar, or a tourism itinerary, an event or a retail outlet with all aspects planned by them like the theme, marketing, financial aspects, operations and controls to develop the entrepreneurship acumen in them. Students are told to develop a project which is innovative and implementable.
They will be assisted to set up stalls at various events and sell the things prepared by them like food, pastries, sustainable items like best from waste, artefacts, etc.