'Now is THE time for a career in Hospitality. Everything is possible.' - states Inès Blal, Managing Director & Executive Dean at Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) in this in-depth interview.
André Baljeu, Founder at techtalk.travel sat down with Inès Blal at the EHL campus in Lausanne, Switzerland. In this conversation, Inès shares her thoughts and views about how higher education and hotel business schools adapt to the change accelerated by the crisis and how the EHL community navigated through this difficult time. She speaks about what future challenges educational institutions face, the importance of the learner's journey, customer-centricity, the problem of hospitality businesses copying each other, the EHL Innovation Village, and much more.
Time-stamps:
00:35 - Adjusting to radical change
09:06 - Key messages to students and faculty
11:40 - Future challenges for educational institutions
19:56 - Vision on digitization in higher education
24:21 - Why choose a career in hospitality now?
30:53 - Retaining talent and future leaders
34:34 - The EHL Innovation Village
37:24 - Digitizing the academic portfolio and learning experience
39:04 - Inès' favorite hotel and hotel experience
42:28 - Inès' favorite restaurant and food
If you prefer watching the video-version of this conversation, find it here and on our Youtube Channel.
Passionate about unlocking human capital, Dr. Inès Blal assumed the deanship and Managing Director position in August 2017.
She joined EHL in 2006, as a lecturer, while she was completing her doctoral dissertation. She designed and taught undergraduate, graduate, and executive courses and managed applied research and consulting projects for the hotel industry. She establishes the strategy and leads the development and implementation of blended and digital training programs in a multicultural and global environment. During her fifteen years of experience in higher education, Ines gained expertise in curriculum development, implementation of innovative teaching practices, management at senior level, academic governance, and program accreditation in Europe, North Africa, and the United States.
Inès holds a PhD in Strategic Management in Hospitality and Tourism from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, an MBA in Hospitality Administration from EHL, and a bachelor’s degree in International Business from the INSEEC Group.
Connect with Inès on LinkedIn.
Founded in 1893, EHL is considered one of the best hotel management schools in the world. Inès heads up 170 people on the faculty and 3,700 students.
EHL has two campuses in Switzerland, in Lausanne and Chur-Passugg, plus a new campus in Singapore. Each campus brings the strengths and trends of their surrounding industry regions to augment the quality of the student experience. Bachelor of Science in International Hospitality Management students can request to spend a semester on a different campus from where they are based.
Resources
Also, find these interviews with inspiring hospitality industry professionals and leaders:
Interview episodes with Philip Ibrahim, General Manager at The Student Hotel Berlin; Grit Pauling, General Manager at The 25hours Hotel The Circle Cologne; and Kevin King, COO at Shiji Group.
Interview episodes with Pontus Berner and Lars Becker from berner+becker revenue management; Leif Jägerbrand and Alexander Erdström from Atomize; Thibault Gence and Florian Montag when with Hotelhero; Moritz Klussmann from Customer Alliance; Kristian Valk from Hotelchamp; John Burns; Connie Reams when with Beekeeper; Mark Fancourt & Cheyne Colefrom TRAVHOTECH & Testbeds Vegas; Mike Ford from SiteMinder; and Adam Harris and Richard Castle from Cloudbeds.
Interview episodes with Michael Curtis when with Airbnb; Yannis Moati from HotelsByDay; Sarah Fults from MGM Hotels & Resorts and when President at HEDNA; Erik Tengen from Oaky; Maarten Plesmann when with Revinate; Brendan May from HERA Hotel Res Bot; Ben Stephenson from Impala; Martin Stockburger from Concept Hotels; Ulrich Pillau and Martin Reichenbach from apaleo; Iris Steinmetz when with Snapshot; and Ricco de Blank from SHKP
Interview episodes with Ullrich Kastner from Myhotelshop; Johannes Thomas when with Trivago; Robin Rossman from STR; Rajesh Vohra from Savora Hotels in UK; Steve Rubin from TRI Hospitality; Mike Keriakos from Curacity; Kurien Jacob from Highgate Ventures; Maximilian Waldmann when with Conichi; Wilhelm K. Weber from SHS Swiss Hospitality Solutions; and Erik Munoz when with Vertical Booking.
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