Content of the issue: 1 From the Dean‘s Desk 2 Rangsit Baby Home

2 Global networking

3 Meet the Student 3 Introduction Day 4 Visiting the United Nations regional head quarters

5 Winter Wonder Land Thailand

6 Meet the Staff

7 A visit to the Mandarin Oriental

7 PATA anniversary

As 2012 winds down, the academic year 2012-2013 is still going strong. To be honest, for me this is not the moment to look back on the past year because we still are in the middle of some exciting projects and developments. Yes, it was a very good year and lots of efforts made by our team are now showing off. This makes it more interesting for me to give a preview of 2013. The presidents of both universities recently met and agreed that the collaboration between Rangsit and Stenden should be continued. And that is what we are going to do. In 2013 we are looking forward to welcoming more Thai and international students from South East Asia. Our marketing department is, as we speak, very busy recruiting students, visiting fairs and international schools.

According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), 22 million tourists visited Thailand in 2012. In 2013 this number is expected to increase to 24-25 million. This means that the famous Thai hospitality industry definitely is in need of a well-educated workforce to maintain its renowned high-level service standards. English, Cross-Cultural Management and International Hotel Management are key topics in our programme and are indispensable for the Thai tourism and hospitality industry. I am convinced that our graduates will surely make valuable contributions to the industry.

At this moment some of our fourth year students are doing their internship and management improvement projects with the Starwood Group in South East Asia. Our second and third year students have done projects and practice at the Anantara Bangkok Riverside Hotel and Resort. The experience of these outstanding hotel groups with our students confirms that our students are well-prepared for today’s hospitality challenges and are high potentials for future management positions.

The forecast from our Grand Tour office in the Netherlands is that more students choose to do their Grand Tour programme in Bangkok. This means that more international students will join us for a semester in 2013. In September we will start with an exciting new minor, Marketing and Management in Asia. This minor focuses on market research, marketing, marketing communication and cross-cultural management. We will benefit from several international companies based in Bangkok doing business in Asia. This minor is especially interesting for students intending to work in of for an internationally oriented organisation.

I sincerely hope that 2013 will be very prosperous and I wish you and your loved ones all the best for the new year! Sawasdee Pi Mai!

From the Dean’s DeskA review and outlook by Jaap Sanders

October - December 2012

A week before the deadline on Wednesday, December 19, 2012, a group of Stenden students were planning a very important mission which was conveniently divided into two phases. The first phase was simple: carry a donation box around the Rangsit University campus and raise both funds and awareness for a local orphanage, the Rangsit Baby Home (www.rangsitbabyhome.org). The orphanage oversees the care and safety of over 200 children between the ages of four and six and relies heavily on charity donations. The goal this year was to reach at least 20,000 Thai Baht. All week long, different shifts of students carried out this task until finally on Tuesday, the donated money was tallied up. They had reached their goal! That Wednesday afternoon, the second phase of the mission

went into effect. Twenty three faculty and staff visited Baby Rangsit Home and along with t h e donated money, they brought bags of donated goods such as diapers, stuffed toys,

crayons, coloring paper, snacks, and most importantly, themselves. Pre-planned activities were prepared for the children such as assisting with snack time and participating in play time with about thirty of the children. The 1st year students, Ms. Wassy, Ms. Pook and Mr. Adriaan were in charge of teaching the children several games during one hour play time which include Duck Duck

Goose, Musical Chairs and other dancing games. At the end, one of our IPAD students, Ms.Diane brought out crayons and paper for the children to cool down and

d i s p l a y their artistic expression before it was time for the Stenden students to leave from the orphanage. No matter how you look at it, sharing an afternoon with a bit of fun a n d happiness for little children is a great success. Mission accomplished.

Rangsit Baby HomeSRU‘s charity project continues

As further proof of the continued and increased cooperation between SRU and its campus in the Netherlands, SRU was pleased to host Ms Sandy Loup, Academic Team Leader in the International Hospitality Management program for years 3 & 4, for a two-day visit last October. During her visit, Ms Loup provided students with a guest lecture entitled “Revenue Management in the hospitality industry – what we can learn from the airline industry”. In the lecture she enthusiastically shared her extensive experience working for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines’ Revenue Management department. Students were introduced to Revenue Management concepts and how these are currently applied within the hospitality industry. Ms Loup also used her time at SRU to attend several classes and she attended meetings in which curriculum revisions were discussed. For these revisions, input from all Stenden global campus sites is incorporated. It is also in this light that SRU lecturer Pandate Romsaitong will travel to Qatar in late January to attend the international module coordinators meeting. During this meeting, which is organized for the second time, module coordinators from all campus sites have the opportunity to share their experiences offering the Hospitality Management program, present best practices and discuss upcoming curriculum revisions.

Global networkingStenden campus sites unite their strengths

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Meet Phatchara Sae-wang, also known as Pook. She is one of the bright students with great potential who started the International Hospitality Management (IHM) program at SRU last September. This should come as no surprise as Pook’s official Thai name, Phatchara, already implies this. It namely means diamond. At just 17, Pook is the youngest student enrolled in the program. However, she has already gained a lot of international experience. Pook is trilingual in that she speaks Chinese to her father, Thai to her mother and English at SRU. After finishing 10th grade at Bangkok’s St. Joseph Convent School, an all-girls Catholic school, Pook got the opportunity to study in the United States for a year. A chance she grasped with both hands. During her year in Manchester, Michigan Pook not only became more proficient in English, but also learned to be independent. So much so that she decided to skip her senior year in high school and take the GED exam instead. She passed this test with flying colors, which made it possible for her to enroll at SRU at such a young age. This international background served as a great

preparation for the IHM program.Pook really enjoys the IHM program so far. Even though Problem Based Learning takes some getting used to initially, Pook mentions she likes the weekly sessions and notices that she remembers much more than when she would just cram for a test. According to her, discipline and active participation will lead to good results in the program. It is a matter of going to class and keeping up with the work. Another thing Pook likes about the program is that she gets to also meet Grand Tour students from the other Stenden campus sites. Pook’s passion for hospitality runs deep as her family owns no less than three hotels. When asked about her future plans, Pook remarks that she would like to work in the family business. A double degree from SRU is no doubt beneficial for that.

Meet the StudentPook from Thailand

Introduction Day in a foreign country can usually be overwhelming. There are many new faces, academic procedures, and cultural rules to learn which, although exciting, can be easily forgotten due to information overload. With this in mind, Stenden Rangsit University decided to add a fun twist to the Campus Tour. Instead of the usual routine of walking around and visiting important places around the campus, the Campus Tour was converted into a Treasure Hunt. Students were divided up into seven teams of about six members each and given a campus map. Each team had to complete special tasks at four different stations on the map as quickly as possible to win a prize. They could not determine the location of the second station on their map unless they completed all the tasks in the first station. This continued until they reached the end of the Treasure Hunt. One example of the tasks is in the Medical Clinic station where three team members had their blood pressure checked and recorded by a nurse. Five team members each also had their pictures taken separately on five different exercise machines. Once they completed these tasks which were verified by a staff member, the team was given the location of the next station and new tasks to accomplish at the new station. In the end, Team 2 was able to complete the necessary tasks in the least amount of time and won the Treasure Hunt. Introduction Day in Thailand is sure to be immersive, informational, and of course, fun.

Introdution DayTreasure hunting to welcome the newbies

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Taking advantage of all the international organizations based in Bangkok, SRU’s minor program in International Protocol and Diplomatic Studies (IPaDS) minor goes from highlight to highlight. Besides a rigorous multidisciplinary academic program covering international relations from a South East Asian perspective, students are exposed to various international governmental and nongovernmental organizations. In the past module period, a select group of students even had the chance to visit the United Nations regional headquarters twice.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) was the host for the first event, which was a guest lecture by Mr Wolfgang Schiefer, ILO’s Chief of Regional Partnerships, Resource Mobilization & UN Reform. He discussed relevant labor issues in the Asia

Pacific region as well as ILO’s Decent Work agenda. Students were also informed with labor issues in the hospitality industry within ASEAN.

The second visit to the UN building was arranged by UNESCAP, the UN’s Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. During a full-day program of interactive lectures by high-level UN officials, students were among others introduced to UNESCAP and its structure, the Millennium Development Goals as well as the work of the UN Development Program (UNDP). The final presentation on Careers at the UN sparked many students’ interest as well.

All students appreciated the busy, but informative day. IPaDS minor student Diane Diterwich remarked: “Visiting ILO and UNESCAP in the UN building is a great experience. The information presented to us in the lectures was entirely aligned with the IPaDS minor. The knowledge we gained during our classes at SRU gave us a more profound understanding what both organizations do and how they operate. We were introduced to some great speakers, which made the visit truly inspiring.”

Every semester a new group of IPaDS students maintains the Asia Now blog, which features new posts on current (South East) Asian developments every single week. For more information, please visit www.asianowblog.com.

Visiting the United Nations regional headquartersExperiencing diplomacy at the highest level

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Many Grand Tour students and Stenden faculty members who once spent the festive season in Thailand will agree that it‘s a special time of the year. Although it‘s very unlikely that you‘ll experience a white (or even cold) Christmas, you‘ll certainly recognize that the festive season - just as many other Western holidays - is celebrated in Thailand as well. With Buddhism practiced by around 95% of the Thai population, Christmas is not a public holiday. So, it‘s mostly business as usual – despite the fact that SRU and other international organizations are closed. However, with Bangkok as such an international melting pot and the openness

of Thai people to other beliefs (and especially celebrations) Christmas is celebrated widely. There are certainly other more important holidays to Thais (e.g you won‘t find many Christmas trees in people‘s houses), but nonetheless retail sales increase, Christmas parties are celebrated and presents are happily distributed amongst friends, families, and colleagues. The chance to have a good time with your loved ones makes Christmas a popular holiday in Thailand. However, for those who want to escape the festive stress can easily find peace visiting the many beautiful beaches. With December and January as the busiest months of tourist arrivals to Thailand, it‘s proven that many people (including Grand Tour students) use the time off to simply relax. We at SRU use the travel season as the kickoff for our second Facebook photo contest. To participate in the WinThaiWonderland campaign, all Facebook followers can share their best Asian winter shots. The best picture will win a brand new iPad mini. For more information visit www.facebook.com/stendenrangsit.

Winter Wonder Land Thailand

Meet Prantik Bordoloi: Scholar, Teacher, 4th Year Coordinator, PhD candidate, IT-specialist, Sport Enthusiast, Public Speaking Award Winner, and much more. For his diverse skillset and opinions his colleagues jokingly call him “Guru”. A Guru is a Sanskrit term for „teacher“ or „master“, the perfect nickname for our dear colleague who frequently distinguishes himself with his general knowledge of a big variety of topics.

Not surprisingly, the list of academic achievements and awards Prantik has gained over the years is quite impressive. Prantik holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering from India. Thereafter he completed his MBA in Management of Technology from School of Management, Asian Institute of Technology where he received the “John A. Hrones Prize” in recognition of outstanding academic performance (the top rank) in the field of Management of Technology. Prantik is currently pursuing a PhD with an expected graduation in 2013. He also holds several IT certifications such as the IBM Certified E-Business Professional.

What do you like most about Stenden?We want our students to be able to perform in the real world effectively after graduation, and I strongly believe in the Problem Based Learning (PBL) educational philosophy that Stenden has adopted, helps a lot in this regard. This is the main reason that pushed me to join Stenden. As Stenden has multiple campuses in different countries, this provides our students an opportunity to learn and work in international locations, which will surely

help the students to prepare for an international career. What is the most exciting part of your work at SRU?I get to work very closely with the students and guide them through their research in the Strategic Hospitality Management semester and open minor projects. I also assist students in the management projects during their internship in the 4th year of the program. I find this very interesting as I see that most students have very good and exciting ideas. Secondly, as I am also the internship mentor for the 4th year students, I also get to travel a bit to visit my students on internship. Some of the exciting places I have been to include Ulan Bator (Mongolia) and Xiamen (China).

What are your hobbies?I am very impatient and hyperactive, so I am sort of interested in many things. I love watching sports, reading books, surfing the Internet, watching TV series and movies, cooking, etc. I have also been a very active Toastmaster for the last 2 years and have won some public speaking awards in Thailand, which has really motived me to strive to improve my public speaking and communication skills.

What is your key philosophy in life?I want to keep learning new things and keep improving as much as I can. I strongly believe in the quote by Mahatma Gandhi that says “Live as if you were to die tomorrow, Learn as if you were to live forever”.

Prantik Bordoloi

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Meet the Staff

On October 22nd, three of my friends and I went to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Chiang Mai. We are all students from the International Hospitality Management program at Stenden in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands. Since we are all in our third year of the program we already have theoretical and also some practical knowledege about hotel management.

Therefore we had quite some expectations about the hotel in

the way it looks and how it is managed. Of course, we all heard about the Mandarin Oriental before and we were excited to see it and to actually have a manager to show us

around. Especially, since Thailand is a new culture

for all of us.The visit to the Mandarain Oriental was quite an

experience. I think nobody expected that

the property was actually that big. It was more a village than a

hotel. We had lunch in one of the restaurants which is situated on a nice terrace. We had a set menu consisting of four courses. It was

delicious and the service was great. Food was served at once and the staff

was super friendly. They always refilled

our glasses and made sure that we have a good time. Moreover, the HR manager who showed us around the property was very friendly and helpful. She answered our questions and explained us a lot about the Thai culture. We could even do some rice planting which was a lot of fun. For all of us, it was the first time planting rice and the manager told us some stories why rice plantations are so important for Thai people in the North. It was very nice to see that such a big hotel actually takes care about the environment since it has its own plantation. Furthermore, tradition is of high value in the Mandarin Oriental. Due to that, the hotel provides about ists own temple where guests can pray to the Buddha. It was nice to see, that even though Mandarin Oriental is a big hotel, the focus is still on keeping old traditions alive while still fulfilling high international standards.All in all I can say that it was a nice and interesting day. It was fascinating to see how Thai people manage such a big property. I have never seen such a property in Europe before. It is very well managed and organized and the staff is incredibly friendly and open-minded.

A visit to the Mandarin OrientalGrand Tour student Mia writes about her visit to the prestigious Mandarin Oriental hotel in Chiang Mai

On Thursday, 15 November Stenden Rangsit joined the 40th Anniversary celebrations of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Thailand Chapter. PATA‘s mission is to enhance the growth, value and quality of Asia Pacific travel and tourism for the benefit of its membership. Stenden Rangsit has been a member for about 2 years and was happy to be represented amongst industry leaders. Stenden Rangsit’s collaboration with PATA is shown at regular guest lectures by PATA chairman (and event

organizer) Bert van Walbeek and many other networking and education events organized by the organization. Once again, we would like to say happy birthday to PATA and congratulations for the great event and collected donations!

PATA anniversary

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Stenden Rangsit University12th fl., Rattanakunakorn bldg.

Rangsit University52/347 Muang Ake

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