As part of M.U.S.T.’s 22nd Anniversary celebration, the Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management (FHTM) held the first “Three Minute Thesis Competition (3MT®)” on March 25, 2022. The competition was sponsored by MGM and it was an honor to have Mr. Francis Tan, MGM Vice President of Learning & Talent Management, Mr. Patrick Schaub, MGM Vice President of Hotel Operations, Prof. Ben K. Goh, Dean of F.H.T.M, Dr. Zhang Yang, Program Director of FHTM and Dr. Elizabeth Agyeiwaah, Assistant Professor of FHTM as judges for this competition. The competition attracted more than 100 Faculty members and students, and 35 graduate students competed in this event.
Prof. Ben K. Goh, Dean of F.H.T.M welcomed Mr. Francis Tan and Mr. Patrick Schaub from MGM and presented the certificates of appreciation to the two guests from MGM for their support to the competition. Prof. Goh expressed that 3MT® is one of the most popular competitions in the world. The idea behind it is to increase researchers’ academic presentation and research communication skills, capacities needed to effectively explain a research topic in three minutes and in a language appropriate to a non-specialist audience. On behalf of MGM, Mr. Francis Tan remarked: “Under the Tourism+ Talent Development MOU we signed with M.U.S.T. last December, we are delighted to see a lot of talent exchanges between both parties so far. MGM is honored to sponsor and participate in the 3MT®. This is a great collaboration between the academia and the industry, and we look forward to more integrations to continue to nurture and develop the young talents for the industry.”
In the competition, each contestant was given three minutes to make an academic presentation. Judges scored the candidates based on their performance. The audience also voted for their favorite contestant. In the end, Lin Manying won the championship. Chen Haoran and Wan Deying won the first and second runner-up, respectively, and Liu Sifan won the People’s Choice Award.
After the competition, the five judges commented on the performance of the contestants. The judges affirmed the performance of the contestants and wished the students would continue to work hard and try their best. Mr. Patrick Schaub shared this was a great platform for the industry to gain inspirations from the academic world. Prof. Goh hoped more students would participate in the competition in the future. The contestants also said that it was a good opportunity for them to showcase themselves and to gain experience. By listening to other contestants’ presentations, they could also expand their research horizons, improve their presentation skills, and learn from each other.
Since the signing of the MOU between the Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management of M.U.S.T. and the MGM Talent Development Partnership Launch Ceremony & Seminar on Mastering Hospitality in December 2021, a total of four visits, seminars, and competitions have been held successfully. Students have visited MGM to learn about room management, banquet planning and management, restaurant and kitchen operations, and Dr. Iwan Dietschi, MGM Senior Vice President of Hospitality, was invited as guest speaker and provided an insightful talk. Through site visits students are able to learn about hotel operations, and to that end FHTM and MGM will jointly organize more seminars and activities to bring more learning and practical opportunities to students and MGM team members.
