News
Our academics are involved in conferences, seminars and events around the world. We also offer a busy programme of events for students and alumni, both within the school and externally.
Xin Zhang is Surrey finalist in Event Innovation Awards
18 March 2013
On March 13th 2013, Xin Zhang – a student of the MSc International Event Management programme at the University of Surrey – competed as a finalist in the first Planet Planit Event Innovation Awards in London. The Event Innovation Award aims to discover new ideas/concepts that can then be applied and developed within the events industry – specifically focusing on the sector of meetings, conferences and exhibitions. The student finalists, from four universities in the UK and Sweden, presented their idea/concept to a Judging Panel of event professionals.
Tourism a prize worth fighting for
12 March 2013
Professor Graham Miller, Head of the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at the University of Surrey, has been interviewed on Radio 4’s Today programme this morning (12 March) talking about the positive impacts of tourism on local economies. The interview was triggered by figures released by Leicester Chamber of Commerce who are anticipating substantial returns from visitors to Leicester Cathedral when the body of Richard III is interred there.
Smartphone, Smart Vacation
28 February 2013
Dr Sangwon Park, Programme Leader for the MSC International Hotel Management and Lecturer in Hospitality and Food Management, was announced as winner of the ‘Journal Article of the Year Award’ at the ENTER 2013 Conference held in Innsbruck, during January.
Sangwon’s paper, ‘The Role of Smartphones in Mediating the Touristic Experience’, published jointly with D.Wang and D.R. Fesenmaier, was awarded for being the most innovative and scientifically rigorous information technology and tourism-related paper published in an academic journal in 2012.
Marie Curie Success for Professor Allan Williams and Professor Vladimirov
25 February 2013
The School of Hospitality and Tourism have been awarded an FP7 Marie Curie grant of 300,000 euros to fund Professor Zhelyu Vladimirov to work with Professor Allan Williams on a two year project on the key factors influencing SME competitiveness.
The project will focus on new factors in global competitiveness, and the interaction between these in different institutional settings and at different stages in the current economic crisis. It will produce a conceptual model of SME competitiveness and will apply this to analysing both samples of Bulgarian SMEs at different dates and comparative samples of tourism SMEs in Bulgaria and the UK.
Professor Vladimirov, who will join the School in summer 2013 is currently a Professor of Management in the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at Sofia University, Bulgaria. He has published extensively on entrepreneurship, food and agricultural SMEs, and on anomie as a framework for analysing the post communist transition in Eastern Europe. The University of Neuchatel, Switzerland, awarded him a Dr. Hon. In recognition of his work on anomie.
Dr Jingjing Yang bestowed with Emerald Award
8 February 2013
Dr Jingjing Yang, Lecturer in Tourism Development in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, has been bestowed a Highly Commended Award in the Hospitality Management Category of the 2012 Emerald/EFMD Outstanding Doctoral Research Awards. Jingjing’s PhD thesis, entitled “Functions of Social Conflict in Tourism: Tourism’s Impacts on the Kanas Tuva and Kazakh Settlements, Xinjiang, China” was recognised in terms of its significance/implications for theory and practice, originality and innovation, and appropriateness and application of the methodology.
NEW Research Project on Accessible Tourism
31 January 2013
The School of Hospitality and Tourism Management continues its work on accessible tourism across Europe with another successful bid to the European Commission.
The new project, entitled ‘Economic Impact and Travel Patterns of Accessible Tourism in Europe’, is worth €250k in total and will examine the demand for and economic impact of accessible tourism. Findings from the study will be used to suggest ways on how to improve Europe’s tourism sector competitiveness and the attractiveness of its destinations.
The Surrey project team consists of Dr Victoria Eichhorn, Dr Gang Li, Professor Graham Miller and Dr Jason Chen.
Chris Cao has been appointed as research assistant for this project.
Dr Scott Cohen Awarded by International Academy
17 January 2013
The International Academy for the Study of Tourism has bestowed the award of “Emerging Scholar of Distinction” on Dr Scott Cohen, Senior Lecturer in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. The award recognises Scott’s substantial contributions to tourism research and scholarship since gaining his PhD. In June 2013, Scott and two other award winners will present their research as honoured attendees at the Academy’s biennial conference in Olhão, Portugal. The Academy is an international organisation created to enhance both theoretical and practical research in the field of tourism. Its membership is comprised of highly accomplished tourism researchers from throughout the world.
Success for MSc in Sustainable Tourism
14 December 2012
In September this year, the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management (with the Centre for Environmental Strategy) introduced a new MSc in Sustainable Tourism in association with Explore Worldwide.
The innovative approach to teaching and direct collaboration between industry and academia adopted by this new MSc has been recognised as Explore have been awarded the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO) prize for the Most Innovative Sustainable Tourism Initiative for 2012.
The Debate: Is the travel and tourism industry taking responsibility for reducing its greenhouse gas emissions?
9 November 2012
Dr Scott Cohen recently took part in a debate, sponsored by BBC World News, at the World Travel Market in London on whether the tourism industry is doing enough to manage its carbon emissions. Dr Cohen explained, “The debate was a constructive one, with the industry and academic sides converging and diverging on a range of points. The debate clearly pointed to the need for more dialogue between academia and industry in helping to shape society’s response to this accelerating problem. The audience was polled in the beginning as to whether they felt the sector was taking enough responsibility for reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, and nearly the entire room felt industry was not. Polling at the end of the debate showed opinions had not changed. The large audience was mainly comprised of young professionals working in the tourism, travel and hospitality sectors, suggesting that the future leaders in these sectors are primed to take increasing responsibility for the industry’s emissions.”
Business and Management Postgraduate Research Studentships
8 November 2012
The Faculty of Business, Economics and Law is offering full-time doctoral (postgraduate research) studentships in Business and Management starting in October 2013. The 3 year studentships will cover all tuition fees, and provide maintenance for a total of up to £16,800 pa*.
We are looking to recruit exceptional doctoral (PhD) students to join our internationally recognised research groups in which our doctoral students play an important part. As a member of the ESRC funded South East Doctoral Training Centre we offer excellent research training and the opportunity to be part of a vibrant research community that shapes agendas of scholarship and practice.
Tour de Force
7 November 2012
As it goes from strength to strength, the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management team continues to travel the globe searching for the best that academia and industry has to offer …
The UK’s number one School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at the University of Surrey has boosted its number of staff over the last few months, recruiting more top academics and industry practitioners. The School already enjoys an excellent reputation for research, influencing policy and tackling the big issues in the industry. New staff joining the school are adding to this body of knowledge and giving students access to cutting-edge thinking.
Pro Vice-Chancellor attends the Dongbei University of Finance and Economics (DUFE) 60th anniversary celebration
16 October 2012
Surrey’s new Pro Vice-Chancellor (International Relations), Professor Vincent Emery, represented the University of Surrey at the 60th anniversary celebrations of DUFE in Dalian, China at the end of September 2012. The Surrey International Institute-DUFE (SII-DUFE) is a joint academic partnership and is the third largest British higher education programme in China with over 1500 students undertaking undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
Widening the Benefits of Tourism
24 September 2012
At a breakaway event during last week’s UGPN Mini-Conference, members of the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management took the opportunity to host an informal networking evening to welcome Professor Luiz Gonzaga Godoi Trigo and Dr Mariana Aldrigui from the University of Sao Paulo into the group. Over some traditional British pub food, the visitors and ‘home team’ together explored areas of common research and publication interests in the fields of tourism, events and hospitality.
Dr Lynn Minnaert selected as top Games Expert
26 July 2012
On July 24th, PODIUM (the further and higher education unit of the London 2012 Games) presented their database ‘Games Experts’: academics in various disciplines who conduct research into the Olympic Games. Ten Games Experts were specifically selected and bundled in a ‘Top Trumps’ card set, to promote the initiative. Dr Lynn Minnaert of the University of Surrey was selected as part of these 10 top experts because of her research into the impacts of the Olympic Games on socially excluded groups.
Former Four Seasons Manager joins us as Tutor in Hospitality Management
11 July 2012
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