Opportunities Beyond The Classroom

Learning continues beyond the classrooms.

School of Hospitality has close contacts with industry and our students benefit through hands-on experiences on campus, through Industry Experience Programme and at external events.

We also offer the prestigious Singapore Tourism Board Scholarship. This is awarded annually to three outstanding first year Diploma in Integrated Events Management students. Selected Diploma in Hotel and Hospitality Management students would have the opportunity to do their internship and work at award-winning hotels and resorts under the Raffles Hotels & Resorts brand locally and internationally.

In addition, the Republic Polytechnic has a myriad of student-led interest groups and the School of Hospitality is no different.

Interest Groups

Formed in January 2009, the SOH Club is the governing student body of School of Hospitality. The club seeks to enrich the students’ learning in RP, providing them with the right industry exposure and honing their skills and expertise in hospitality, service and event management. With these experiences, students from SOH will be more proficient in the service skill-sets and mindsets required by leading organisations in the hospitality industry.

The objectives of the SOH Club are:

  • To train and develop students to meet the demands and challenging expectations of the dynamic hospitality industry
  • To equip them with hospitality related knowledge and core skills by exposure through events and industry engagements
  • To provide opportunities for the students to network with students from other diplomas and interest groups
There are currently three interest groups (IGs) under SOH Club. They are JIVE IG, STORM IG and Hotel F.U.Z.E. IG. Each of these IGs promotes the different interests of the three diplomas offered by SOH.

JIVE Interest Group

Founded in 2006, JIVE IG is an exciting platform for students to learn and showcase their capabilities as competent and professional event organisers. The main objective of JIVE is to equip students with necessary event management skills through:

  • Enrichment via training
  • Experience via industry engagement
  • Personal growth via leadership opportunities
Activities that have been organised include event-related talks and training, attachments on external events, study trips and event site visits, leadership training camps and programmes, fundraising projects and outings. Some completed projects include Yellow Ribbon Carnival, Singapore International Water Week, HarmonyWorks! Conference, Canberra CC National Day Dinner, STB F1 Ambassador at F1 Night Race and Narpani Pearavai Family Day at the Zoo.

2008 was a year of ‘harvest’ for JIVE as it became the largest IG in the polytechnic in 2008 with over 840 student members. It won accolades which included the Freshman Orientation Champion, Best Booth Award at SLA Fiesta 2008 as well as the Young Aspirers Pushcart Overall Champion and Best Sales Awards. It also received commendation from industry partners such as SCORE, STB, PUB, OnePeople and Narpani Pearavai for the excellent contribution from the student members.

STORM Interest Group

Set up at end 2008, STORM IG is a student-led interest group of choice that empowers members with lifelong skills, knowledge and values to become champions in the art of service.

The eight values are:

Attitude - It is the attitude that counts at the end

Timely - Act promptly to ensure we meet and exceed customers’ expectations

Talent - We learn from one another‘s strengths.

Initiative - Be proactive and use creativity to solve problems

Teamwork - We believe in collaborative relationships

Unity - United we stand, divided we fall

Diligence - We work hard to achieve our goals

Ethical - We serve, act and behave in a principled and moral way

The objectives of STORM are as follows:

  • To foster a world class service attitude through gaining the relevant skills and values in delivering service
  • To acquire self-confidence and recognition in the service industry
  • To go the extra mile as the norm

Activities that are organised include industry related talks, industry events and collaborations, vacation programmes, student mentor/buddy programme, personal grooming and public speaking workshops.

F.U.Z.E Interest Group

Hotel F.U.Z.E. IG was set up in July 2008 to serve as a hospitality-enhancement IG for students to experience and realise their passion in the hotel and hospitality industry through various internal and external events.

F.U.Z.E. stands for Fun, Unique, Zesful and Engaging – the four important qualities that a hotelier needs to have when working in the hotel and hospitality industry.

To inculcate students with a sense of these qualities, Hotel F.U.Z.E. aims to:

  • Immerse students in the hospitality industry by learning outside the classroom
  • Engage students in the hospitality industry, both physically and mentally
  • Expose students to the hospitality industry’s requirements prior to students’ Practice @ Industry training programme (applicable to Diploma in Hotel and Hospitality Management only)

Some of the activities that have been organised include a retreat and team-building camp, Christmas party for Children@Street 11, talks by practitioners on aviation, food and beverage industries; and tourism trends, as well as workshops on dining etiquette and wine appreciation.