Thesis wins appreciation from Tourism Ministry

A faculty of Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration (WGSHA), Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), has received a letter of appreciation from Economic Advisor and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of National Council For Hotel Management and Catering Technology, Union Ministry of Tourism, Gyan Bhushan for doctoral thesis.

Dr Rajiv Mishra, serving as associate professor (Hospitality and Tourism), received the letter for his thesis, “Assessing the Effectiveness of Internship Component in Hospitality Management Education: An Exploratory Study in Indian Context”.

The thesis was awarded doctoral degree (PhD) in Management by Vinoba Bhave University in Hazaribag.

Elated to have received a letter from the Union Ministry of Tourism, Mishra said, “It is a matter of great pride that my PhD is highly appreciated by the ministry officials.”

In his research thesis, Mishra has explored the effectiveness of hospitality internship in Indian perspective with regard to three key stakeholders involved in the study: student-interns, educators and industry mentors.

The study identifies the perception change of students after experiencing the internship programme, analyses the educators’ perception on students’ employability-skills garnered during the internship programme, and probes the affability between industry and academia in terms of gauging the effectiveness of internship component.

The thesis was also applauded by Prof Pramod Pathak, senior professor of Indian Institute of Technology (ISM), Dhanbad for its novelty and detailed exploration.

Mishra, quoting from his doctoral thesis, said, “Internship (being an integral component of all hospitality curriculum in India) is a structured and supervised learning exposure, experienced in a real work-setting which provides practical skills to students, improves their social relationships, motivates their future learning, enhances their professional personality and exposes them to gain career interest, valuable knowledge and expertise in a particular domain.”

The study findings are of value to all three-stakeholder groups, because internship programs can be strengthened and improved in such a way that student-intern, organisations and institutions can benefit together, he added.