It's Time To Explore Food Hotel Asia (FHA) Learning Field Trip to Singapore

Taylor’s Culinary Institute and School of Food Studies and Gastronomy’s students had joined the Food Hotel Asia (FHA) Learning Field Trip to Singapore. FHA was an event of the year for Asia’s Food and Hospitality industry to discover top trends and innovations from across the globe and it is a trade event that was only open to relevant professionals from the industry.

FHA organizer had organized a group tour for students to check out all the booths in the event which included an impressive Robotic Barista Innovation. The Robotic Barista is able to imitate human’s barista work and produce a latte art on the coffee that had impressed most of the students. Besides that, the students were also given opportunity to join the Beverage Masterclasses by Monin and Davinci.

In the masterclasses, students had learnt several varieties of Monin syrups and powdered beverages as well as learnt how to produce few different beverages with the products. Nevertheless, there was also restaurant equipment explanations to the students such as Victorinox, the largest producer of Swiss knives in the world. The students were shown to different types of knives available, how they were made and how can they be used for different occasions. This year’s focus on technology saw an increase in robotics at the exhibition, including upcoming trends in coffee, gelatos and pastries.

During this Learning Field Trip, the schools also grabbed opportunity to bring the students to the iconic and newly refurbished Raffles Hotel, enabled by alumnus Louis Toh, Assistant Head Sommelier of the hotel. During the hotel visit, Louis Toh showed the students few classic cocktails making such as Singapore sling with the traditional cocktail making equipment. It was an eye opener for all the students as they were able to experience the real bartender world and able to understand the vast variety of spirits/alcohol available in the industry.

During the field trip, students were also exposed to many touristic experiences, including living in hostels, and taking the public transport to visit the various landmarks and attractions such as the famed Merlion statue, Marina Bay Sands, watching the night laser show, Gardens by the Bay, Jewel at Changi and even made it to the Universal Studios for a day out. A short but productive and memorable learning trip for all!

ECCE Phd Scholar's Diary Ep.4: Meet “Mum-Preneur” & Founder of Junggle Brain

In her diary episode #4, Denise Duar, Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) PhD Scholar from the School of Education, Taylor’s University took us to meet the Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Juggle Brain, Malaysia, Ms. Akriti Anand who is formerly a school educator, too!

Juggle Brain, Malaysia is a parenting companion that supports kids' development with engaging products focused on sensory exploration and encouraging curiosity.

Inspired by her passion and dedication towards her own children, Ms. Akriti began to create "Busy Bags", little pouches containing simple activities for young children to be kept occupied independently. Fast forward, this led to Ms. Akriti to embark on the early childhood entrepreneurship journey as she courageously took her first step into officiating her handmade products for sale.

Denise shared her conversation with “Mum-Preneur”, Ms. Akriti Anand in the second part of the entry on how she turned her personal experiences and emotions as a new mother in a foreign country into an inspiration that led her to build her very own empire today (i.e., Juggle Brain).

Amongst the key “Ingredients” to succeed as an Entrepreneur she shared, here are the four (4) pro-tips:-

1. Do not procrastinate! If you have an idea, just execute it … the sooner the better!

2. Do not be afraid to try, which leads to point number three

3. It’s perfectly okay to start small … and finally

4. Have faith in the process, things will always turn out well.

But of course, having said that, one must be equipped with the right set of qualification to hone the skills and knowledge to work with young children. Here at Taylor’s University, the School of Education offers the Bachelor of Education (Honours) in Early Childhood Education as one of the five Specialization options. This degree programme covers a module entitled “Entrepreneurship and Small Business” where the students will be equipped with comprehensive knowledge and skill sets to become an Entrepreneur like Ms. Akriti one day.

Watch the full entry/video at Episode 4-Early Childhood Entrepreneurship ft. Juggle Brain, Malaysia (1 of 5)

Multiple Universities One Classroom | BIHM Global Learning Collaborative Initiative

Under School of Hospitality, Tourism and Events (SHTE), the Bachelor of International Hospitality Management (BIHM), Taylor's University (TU) First Year students had the Global Collaborative Classroom experience for two modules - Hospitality Management & Leadership and Accommodation Management with St. Dominic College, Philippines and PES University, India .

14 Bachelor Degree students from St. Dominic College, Philippines collaborated with 16 Taylor's BIHM students for the Accommodation Management module. They worked together on an assignment and were peer evaluated by the lecturers. The eight (8) global collaborative classroom sessions had the students working on group discussions virtually and learning the various practical lessons in the housekeeping department. The students worked in established groups throughout the semester while lecturers provided direction and feedback on learning concepts and performance.

Likewise for the 15 Bachelor Degree students from PES University, India collaborated with 22 Taylor's BIHM students for the Hospitality Management & Leadership module. They were given a group assignment on “Identifying Sustainable Green Practices in the Hospitality Industry” where they had to interview hoteliers and present their findings.

The students gained greater insights and were extremely delighted to be part of this Global Collaborative Classroom. The learning was significant for the students and the global classroom collaboration was imperative in creating the overall positive experience for the students and faculty. The experience is perceived as more of “add-on” by the students and their reflections as mentioned are a testament to this eventful project.

Student reflections: “Talking about the practical class, a lot of things and ideas came up like the concept and difference in various policies, procedures, and practices in housekeeping class”. “…I believe it was extremely beneficial in terms of gaining a different perspective development of higher-level thinking, oral communication, and self-management. It also had a great interaction with them and encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone, become more social, and experience a different culture that I would not have otherwise had the opportunity to experience.