Ms. Neha Verma is a faculty member in the Front Office and Housekeeping at the Ananta Institute of Hotel Management and Allied Studies. She holds a B.Tech HNC, BA, and an MA degree. Currently, she is also pursuing an MBA degree from Sikkim Manipal University. Ms. Verma has 16 years of experience in the industry and academia in various roles. She has contributed her time to the Sheraton Rajputana Hotel Jaipur, Rambagh Palace by Taj Group Jaipur, Radisson Blu Nagpur, Hulhule Island Hotel Maldives, Royal Tulip by Golden Tulip, and Buena Vista Resort Jaipur.

Ananta Institute of Hotel Management

What is the philosophy of leadership? And how would you describe your leadership style?

Good leaders can demonstrate effective leadership through mentoring, advising, communicating, or other strategies. The best leaders use leadership philosophies to guide their actions. Every leader should develop a personal leadership philosophy. This is the leadership philosophy that I follow at the Ananata Institute of Hotel Management and Allied Studies.

What are the factors that make this program the best for the students to opt?

The most critical decision for a student involves their choice of higher education and subsequent career planning after completing their education. Students must gather and integrate information from various sources to make an informed decision regarding higher education. It is often the first significant decision they make regarding their financial, educational, social, and vocational future at this stage of their lives. These crucial life decisions affect not only an individual's future but also their families, communities, schools, universities, and the entire economy. Here are the important factors students take into account while choosing a college for higher education.

What will you say are the “best practices” in the course you’re offering?

The best practise is that we advise our students to keep journals. The benefit of keeping a journal is that you can record all of your ideas in one place, anytime and anywhere. Whenever an idea comes to your mind, you can write it down in your journal. Students can then revisit these ideas later on to look for new links, form conclusions, or even get a fresh idea.

What are some valuable insights of the program that you are offering at your institute?

We make it a point to listen to our students. It is important to get their opinion to improve our course and curriculum. We take their feedback and consult with our college administration on what changes can be made to our subjects. It is vital for us to keep our students happy, satisfied, and gaining results from our courses.

How does the program ensure that students are being prepared for the future?

Students are supported to develop new approaches and ideas on their own, which gives them ownership and responsibility for their learning. We provide them with all the tools and facilities they need to help them with their studies. The teachers are always present to provide guidance and mentoring for the students. However, we emphasise that the hard work must be done by them.

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How did you train yourself/faculty to deliver this program to the students?

Our teachers are constantly learning and updating themselves in their fields. We have teachers who are working on their higher education degrees. Others regularly take part in conferences and seminars where they network and communicate with fellow professionals. The college also organises faculty development programs for our teachers to learn new teaching techniques.

How do you tend to build an industry connect with this program? 

We have mandatory internships in place for all our students. Industry-based internships augment education by linking theories to practice. It develops an understanding of analytical concepts and tools, builds confidence in the students, and refines their skills, which are essential for their success.

What were the challenges that you faced while inculcating this program in your curriculum?

One of our biggest challenges is our large class sizes. It becomes harder to reach and teach all students individually. Another key challenge in the implementation of a competency-based curriculum. A higher number of students in a classroom tends to affect student-instructor interactions and can also prevent peer exchanges during discussions in the classroom.

What are the types of projects that the students are working on through this program?

We have our students working on several projects. Some work on reading and writing projects where they read, comprehend, and interpret specific books, novels, plays, and poems in their own words. The teachers assign books to the students, and sometimes they are given the freedom to choose their own books for such projects. We also have problem-solving or decision-making projects. Here, students solve problems and make decisions by being given or creating specific situations and complex problems.

What are the benefits and career options after pursuing this course?

After completing a course in hotel management, students will be able to work for significant hotel chains such as the Taj Group, ITC, Oberoi Hotels, and Hilton Group among others. We also have students working in the merchant navy and aboard cruise ships, where they are in high demand. So, if you’re considering a job in hotel management, it’s a good idea to enroll in the best institute possible because the odds of getting hired are usually better. Female students interested in the hospitality industry can also be in air-hostessing classes.

What would you like people to know about your Institute they may not know?

We have extensive laboratories where students are trained in the technical skills of hotel management. Students go through training and practicals at hotels as well. This helps them connect their classroom theory sessions to life.