Welcome to the first issue of the quar-terly published SRU News. The first and upmost question asked is “What is Stenden Rangsit University (SRU)?” SRU is an academic joint venture be-tween Rangsit University, Thailand, and Stenden University of Applied Sci-ences, The Netherlands. Well, “What makes SRU interesting?” SRU offers a top BBA dou-ble degree in Interna-tional Hospitality Manage-ment (IHM) as well as unique and exciting mi-nors such as Spa & Health Management, Community Based Tourism Manage-ment, Event Manage-ment, and - newly intro-duced- International Pro-tocol and Diplomatic Stud-ies. SRU is where Western knowledge mingles with Eastern sophisticated hos-pitality, becoming a truly

cross cultural learning center for all national and international students. SRU News will be issued every quarter to inform you of what‟s happening on campus. For this first issue, our first year IHM students want to share their learning experiences at SRU. Besides the first year, we also proudly present

our first successes, Mr. Christopher Seidenberg and Mr. Seamus Jacobs have graduated and are now employed in London and Bangkok. Before we meet again in the next issue, SRU would like to thank and greet our friends of all Stenden campus sites around the world; The Netherlands, Bali, Qatar and South Af-rica. See you soon! Vorapa Udol

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

Welcome by the

General Manager

1

From the

Academic Director

1

Message from 1st

year students

2

First graduates of

SRU

3

Greetings from

friends

3

Culinary

examination

4

Jonathan Wigley 5

New research

journal

5

International

Protocol and

Diplomatic Studies

6

Meet Rosie 6

Stenden Rangsit

University

7

From the desk of the Academic Director

S T E N D E N R A N G S I T U N I V E R S I T Y

www.stendenrangsit.com

SRU NEWS 3 1 . 0 3 . 2 0 1 1 1 S T Q U A R T E R 2 0 1 1

Sawasdee krub! That‟s how we say hello in Thailand. 2011 in Thailand is where it‟s all hap-pening! Stenden Rangsit is once again charting new directions with style, flair and our trademark commit-ment to excellence in hospitality and beyond. We were visited by a truly international task team in January which has come up with some sugges-tions to our team here, and we look forward to introducing our special SRU world to increasing numbers in Asia

and beyond. A recent visitor to our campus was Robert Coelen, our Vice President In-ternational, who has shown great ex-citement at our plans for the year ahead. And, as many now, when Robert is excited, it means we really are doing some progressive things. Also visiting our campus were Dr Wouter Hensens, the Dean of the South African campus, and Nicole Of-ferein from the IHM programme in Leeuwarden. A very special friend of

Welcome!

Mrs Vorapa Udol,

GM of SRU with Dr Robert

Coelen, Vice President

International

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Prof Don Craig,

Academic Director

of Stenden Rangsit

University

S R U N E W S

SRU, Sjoerd Gehrels, spent a few days with us, sharing his expertise with our first year students. We take this opportunity to welcome Jonathan Wigley, a well-known hospitality ex-pert and developer to our Advisory Board. Then, a special welcome to two new staff members. On contract with us for a while is Peter Graham, an English language in education spe-cialist, and also Michael Ferraris, a sports scientist who will be getting involved with Mrs Thiparpa, our mod-ule coordinator, in our Spa and Health minor. Michael and Thiparpa are working on some great projects for our programme. In addition, we have a new minor in International Protocol and Diplomatic Studies (IPaDs) starting here in Sep-tember after the European summer break. It is aimed at students who

are especially interested in a top level management career, and exposes students to business, the political and economic environment, as well as diplomatic and media skills essential to the fast-paced world of tomorrow. We look forward to welcoming stu-dents who are up to the challenges of this rigorous and intensive course. Finally, in the true Stenden tradition, we have been involved in the com-munity. We recently had a football tournament to raise funds for a local charity. The amount realised was way above expectation, proving once again how committed we at Stenden are to unleashing potential! As always, we invite you to come and experience our campus. Be assured of a warm Thai welcome. Don Craig Academic Director

Message from the students As part of the first-year theme of this issue, students introduce themselves and share their ex-

perience at Stenden Rangsit University. If you want to get in touch with our students and hear

more of their impressions, come and join our Stenden Rangsit University Facebook Page.

There are four of us in the IHM first year group. We have a mixture of nationalities, a Thai, a Bhu-tanese, a Congolese, and a 'Luk Kreung' (half Thai, half Irish). Baby, our Bhutanese student is the funny one of the group. Her cousin who is studying at Rangsit I.C. recommended she study at SRU. Fortunately, the 5th King of Bhutan gave her a scholarship. Kam, our Thai lady, studied at Leysin Hotel School in Switzerland, then came back to Thailand, and on a friends recommendation, she decided to study at SRU. Noah is Congolese. His father loved Thailand and enjoyed working with Thai people so much, he sent Noah here to study. Rosie, the Luk Kreung, studied in England, but then decided to move back to Thailand for a change, and because she was getting bored of cold England! Jens Dallmann – our first year module coordinator is a very straight forward man, and knows exactly what he wants. He likes everything to be in per-fect order. Jens sometimes has a hard time trying to keep his first year students in line!!

Three of our favorite lessons at SRU are: Cooking class with Aj. Nat. We are very lucky to have a Cordon Bleu quali-fied chef to teach us. She‟s someone who makes cooking fun and interesting, and the ways in which she explains, makes it easy and enjoyable. As a result we all enjoy cooking, and have gained a lot of new experience from planning and organi-sation to presentation skills. Another enjoyable lesson believe it or not, is ac-counting, Aj. Pandate is our accounting teacher. Although accounting just isn‟t the most captivating subject, somehow Aj. Pandate makes numbers and problems fun and interesting. He even makes maths seem likable. And finally, we couldn't forget about PBL, with Dr Wanchai and Mr Seamus. Both tutors offer their support in different ways, and we all benefit from them. Both have exceptionally good knowledge and that inspires us during our PBL sessions. We like the aspect of self study and then joining up as a group to discuss our findings and share our ideas to one another.

Dr Wouter Hensens, Academic Dean & General Manager Stenden South Africa

SRU’s First graduates

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We‟re feeling very proud of ourselves here at SRU. Two of our students have completed their four years of studies, and the examination com-mittee has announced that they have met all the

requirements to be awarded their degrees. This means that are now able to spread their wings and go off into the wide world with their double degree in hand! Seamus Jacobs and Christopher Seidenberg have come a long way in their hospitality studies. They leave us with a world class educa-tion, some wonderful experiences, and also a deep and abiding love for Thailand. They are a credit to SRU, and testimony to the fact that

hard work and dedication, discipline and enthusi-

asm produce exceptional people. Seamus is now a manager at Bangkok‟s leading animal hospital and he will be spending a few more months with us at SRU, where he is a PBL facilitator, and informally a men-tor to all our other students. Christopher is currently working in London at the Lancaster Hotel where his international career is starting to take off. We congratulate our soon-to-be

-graduates. Rangsit University

will be honouring them at a de-

gree ceremony in December,

while Stenden will recognise

their achievements at a cere-

mony in Leeuwarden later this year as well.

“Congratulations on an important step forward for SRU in

establishing its own newsletter. Having visited the campus at the beginning of the year, I have grown very excited with the possibilities and potential of this campus. With the re-

newed focus on the development and growth of this cam-pus I believe we have a potential pearl in our midst and wish the team and management of this campus all the best

with their journey towards excellence. I believe that SRU will surprise us all in the near and far future!”

“Stenden University Qatar would like to congratulate her sister insti-

tute Stenden University Bangkok with their first edition of their news-letter. You surely have a reason to be proud, firstly that you have a channel now to communicate the exiting developments on the cam-

pus and secondly that the public knows about your developments. Good luck with your first edition and that many editions may follow.”

Christopher

Seidenberg

Dr Alexander Grit, Academic Dean Stenden University Qatar

“My team and I would like to congratulate Stenden Rangsit

University with its first official newsletter! Stenden Rangsit is a very vibrant and dynamic campus with many interesting developments going on at the moment. We think it is great

that we -and all other close contacts- are now able to stay up to date by means of a newsletter. Thank you for this! We look forward to the next edition of your newsletter!”

Seamus

Jacobs

Maureen van der Meché General Manager Stenden University Bali

Greetings from friends

P A G E 4

S R U N E W S

Final exam of a different kind At the end of the Food & Beverage module, all first-year students could prove their culinary skills. After weeks of studies, the long anticipated final examina-tion of their hospitality manners cooking workshop was about to take place. Eight exhausting weeks of practice in the kitchen and students were finally ready to present their cookery to a jury of food experts, led by Prof. Don Craig, Academic Director of Stenden Rangsit University and gourmet to the core. And what a presentation that was! With such a re-

nowned guest list, students were eager to impress all

participants with an extraordinary culinary experience.

Preparation, presentation, taste, hygiene, and service

were assessment criteria and students achieved high

scores throughout. Under the guidance of the cooking

teacher, Ajarn Nattanan, students presented an excit-

ing 3-course menu: After an intensely concentrated

leek soup with croutons, all guests were absolutely

stunned by perfectly grilled salmon with white sauce,

served with seasonal vegetables. After this feast, stu-

dents had yet another culinary delight to

offer. The chocolate fondant with raspberry

sauce for dessert let all jury members sing

students highest praises, confirmed by jury

head Prof Craig: “This was absolutely im-

pressive work and amazing restaurant qual-

ity. Congratulations to all of you!”

Stenden University launches a brand new hospitality research journal in April. The very first edition of the „Stenden Journal for Research in Hospitality Manage-ment‟ is being completed as we speak. This fantastic initiative offers academics as well as professionals worldwide a great opportunity to exchange valuable research projects and outcomes. A strong focus lies on issues which have an immediate practical applica-tion. Adding to our appeal, abstracts are not only provided in English but also in Dutch and Mandarin. These Mandarin abstracts are translated by Li Zhang, Associate Director, Rangsit University, International Affairs Department and Chinese Business School, thus making our journal a truly international affair. The first edition features revolutionary articles addressing why there is no rea-son anymore to argue about taste, which highlights why taste is not as sub-jective as one has been thinking for a long time and also a new approach to food and wine pairing. These particular articles are written by Prof. Peter Klosse, an acknowledged member of the Dutch Hospitality Industry; owner of a Michelin Star restaurant, author of recognized lit-erature and founder of the „Academy for Gastron-omy‟. Tjeerd Zandberg, at his turn, sees a great op-portunity in the new journal to shine a light upon the practical training system of the hotel school of Sten-den. Herewith he focuses upon the influence of mid-dle managers (students) upon strategic decision-making. Hensens, Struwig and Dayan publish the outcomes of their research: „Do social media display

correct conventional hotel rating?‟ and compare rat-ings of TripAdvisor with the conventional ones. Milhailescu provides the reader with a clear insight in „a comparative study between the Caribbean and the Eastern Cape regarding charter airline benefits‟ and therewith gives an answer to how South- Africa could sustain the economic benefits of the 2010 Football World Cup. To support the global character of the

new journal, the first edition travels from The Netherlands, South-Africa and the Caribbean towards Qatar, where an innovative study was performed ad-dressing its „destination branding‟ op-portunities. Furthermore Grit and Lynch publish their eye-opening study con-cerning the „almost forgotten‟ phe-nomenon of home exchange organiza-tions and their intermediation proc-esses, membership profiles and the in-fluence of the media. Having named a few of the many di-verse research subjects, the journal

invites academics and professionals to consider pub-lishing their research articles in the new international Research in Hospitality Management Journal. Short communication, book reviews and substantive topic reviews discussing disciplines of sociology, demogra-phy, business science, culinary science, economics, psychology, anthropology, philosophy, media, cul-tural studies, law, education, leisure science and tourism are welcome. Please direct queries to renske.goedhart@stenden.com

P A G E 5 1 S T Q U A R T E R 2 0 1 1

Jonathan Wigley Stenden Rangsit University is proud to welcome Jonathan Wigley to our Advisory Board. With his ex-perience and passion for the hotel industry, we are delighted to have him onboard! Jonathan Wigley has accumulated 24 years of experience in the hospitality industry, working for inter-

national hotel chains from Hilton, Omni Group of Hotels, Delta Grand Pacific Ho-tel to the Landmark Hotel Group. His previous engagement as Managing Director for InVision Hospitality Co. Ltd. was to help setting up the company with strong foundation for future business vision. Prior to that he was Vice President of Operations for Minor International's hotel division landed him in many parts of the world, including Vietnam, Bali and Du-bai. Under this capacity, he was responsible for establishing brand standards and enhancing revenue growth. Prior to this engagement, Jonathan was sta-tioned in Thailand and assumed a role of Group General Manager for the three franchised Marriott Resorts & Spas as well as Anantara Resorts & Spas. Having spent more than 15 years in the region, he possesses a firm understanding of Asian traditions and business cultures.

A call to researchers

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S R U N E W S

“No true

international

career could be

complete without

the skills offered

here, and no

international

education could

be complete

without eastern

exposure.”

Today‟s world is fast-paced, thrilling and rap-idly changing. This means that the hospitality industry is looking for men and women who are comfortable in dealing with managerial situations at the highest level, and able to re-late professionally and socially with people across a broad socio-cultural spectrum. Diplomacy as a discipline is not aimed exclu-sively at diplomats, but at everyone who is wanting to reach the pinnacle of a global ca-reer. With skills as varied as economics and political negotiating to media relations and television grooming, this course opens doors into a dynamic and international world. Set

against a backdrop of a world where political stability and economic prosperity of nations have become more complex and increas-ingly dependent upon events beyond national borders, this new six

month minor trains professionals who can serve in governments, international organisa-tions and international business.

This is yet another world exclusive for Sten-den. For us at SRU, it is a privilege to be able to offer this programme on our campus in Thailand. Bangkok is a diplomatic hub, and with its sophistication, style and cosmopolitan peoples, we believe that there could be no better venue to study. No true international career could be complete without the skills offered here, and no international education could be complete without eastern exposure. The double minor programme covers interna-tional relations from international security, in-ternational law, international politics, diplo-matic history, international economics and business culture with a focus on the Asian re-gion. Wherever possible, there will be case studies drawn from the experiences of Asia. Since political, economic, cultural and legal issues at the international level are becoming increasingly intertwined, a multi-disciplinary approach will be employed in the teaching and learning of these subjects. Are you up to the challenge? Enquiries can be made through our offices in Thailand (sru@stenden.com), or directly from the iLearn offices in Leeuwarden.

NEW International protocol and Diplomatic Studies: Are you up to the challenge?

Leave nothing to chance Rosalie Byrne, a first year International Hospitality Management student at Stenden Rangsit University in Bangkok, believes you leave nothing to chance. Rosie is a much travelled lady. Although born in Saudi Arabia – when? you don‟t ask a lady that !– she only spent three months of her life there, and the next six years in Thailand, courtesy of an Irish father and Thai mother. Then off to school in Surrey, England. After graduating in 2009, not sure of what to study, she came up with a plan. Rosie couldn‟t make up her mind between teaching or hospitality. So, she decided not to go straight to uni-versity but first tested the water. She spent 4 months as a hotel trainee at the Pullman Hotel in Khomkaen, Thailand then moved to England where she worked in catering for an events company. Back to Thailand to try out the other possibility, working for three months as a teacher‟s assistant at her younger sister‟s school, Harrow International in Bangkok.

Decision Time! Weighing it all up, she decided on Hospitality, and in February 2011, started at SRU. “I‟m loving the challenging course here at Stenden Rangsit, and studying something I really enjoy” The future? Again, leave nothing to chance! “After graduation, al-

though I like to travel,

I‟ll settle in a job here

for a couple of years,

getting experience

working in all depart-

ments of hospitality,

and then I‟m off to see

the world!”

Meet the students

Bangkok City

at night time

S R U N E W S

Stenden Rangsit University is based on the

campus of the Rangsit University near Bang-

kok in the Kingdom of Thailand. We are a

joint venture between Rangsit University and

Stenden University of Applied Sciences of the

Netherlands.

Rangsit University is the fastest growing pri-

vate University in Thailand with 35 000 stu-

dents at a collegiate-style technologically ad-

vanced modern campus in Bangkok, the dip-

lomatic hub of the East.

Stenden University, with campus sites in Em-

men, Assen, Groningen, Meppel and the main

campus in Leeuwarden in the Netherlands, as

well as Port Alfred (South Africa), Bali

(Indonesia) and Doha (Qatar), has 12,000 stu-

dents and staff from 60 countries and offers

the renowned International Hospitality and

Hotel Management Studies degree among its

other 22 degree courses.

Drawing from the best brains of both partner

universities, Stenden Rangsit University offers

you a highly qualified and committed staff

with a passion for teaching. Quality and excel-

lence are assured!

Stenden Rangsit University

12th fl., Rattanakunakorn Bldg.

Rangsit University

52/347 Muang Ake,

Phaholyothin Road

Lak-Hok, Pathumthani 12000

Thailand

T: +66 2 997 2200 (ex. 4097)

F: +66 2 997 2200 (ex. 4097)

E: SRU@stenden.com

Follow Us:

www.stendenrangsit.com

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