Taylor's Faculty of Social Sciences & Leisure Management Convocation Ceremony Honors 522 Graduates

Convocation is one of the major highlights of our students’ life journey in Taylor’s University. This extraordinary event marks the pinnacle of our students’ academic achievements and a celebration of their excellence, dedication and perseverance. On the 17th of June 2023, we celebrated a total of 389 Undergraduates and 133 Postgraduates from the six academic schools - School of Education, School of Food Studies & Gastronomy, School of Hospitality, Tourism & Events, School of Liberal Arts & Sciences, School of Media & Communication and Taylor's Culinary Institute. Part of the graduating cohort were 262 international students who came from twenty-four countries including China, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea (South) and Maldives amongst others.

This monumental celebration was joined by the Chancellor, Y.Bhg. Emeritus Professor Tan Sri Dato’ Dr. Syed Jalaludin Bin Syed Salim; Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer, Professor Dr. Pradeep Nair; Executive Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences and Leisure Management, Professor Dr. Neethiahnanthan Ari Ragavan; Chair of Food Studies, University of Toulouse-Jean Jaurès, Professor Dr. Jean Pierre Poulain; Dean of ISTHIA, University of Toulouse-Jean Jaurès, Associate Professor Dr. Cyrille Laporte; Registrar, Ungku Nazli Ungku Ismail; Head of Schools; Head of Departments; Academicians and Graduands’ family members.

We are grateful to all Taylorian Community for their continuous support in our journey to pursue balanced excellence in education and continue to rise with the best. Their guidance, passion and unwavering commitment have paved the way for a brighter future. The faculty was pleased to celebrate all graduands success and wish to see the positive and significant impacts that they will bring to the community around us as leaders of the world.

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A Culinary Triumph Unveiled: TCI Graduate Kevin Wong Scores Hat-Trick in Michelin Guide Singapore

Chef Kevin Wong, a culinary graduate from Taylor’s Culinary Institute in 2014 and has not stopped learning and working day and night to bring him to where he is today. Taylor’s Culinary Institute has always been collaborating closely with the Best Chefs in France and it provides the students an opportunity to train or work in these restaurants during their internship, and Chef Kevin certainly did not let the chance go to waste. He started as a commis in ‘Le Parc Franck Putelat’, one of the few 2-Michelin Stars restaurant in Carcassonne back in 2013. Over there, he has collaborated with Chef Frank Putelat, a winner of Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF), the Best Craftsman of France since 2019.

About 2 years later, Chef Kevin moved to Coi Restaurant in San Francisco, one of the World’s 50 Best Restaurant in 2015 and worked as a Chef De Partie. A year later, he went off to the Benu Restaurant, a 3- Michelin Stars restaurant as a Stagiaire. At Benu Restaurant, Chef Kevin worked in every different station of the restaurant which included fish and meat section, butchery, garde manger and so forth. It was during the year of 2017, he moved his career back to Asia, and Singapore was his best choice because it was one of the few Asia countries that is full of prestigious restaurants from around the world. He started off as a Junior Sous Chef in a 1-Michelin Star restaurant - Meta Restaurant. He continued his journey and worked his way up in Meta Restaurant and finally became a Head Chef in 4 years’ time.

After thorough consideration, he finally decided to start up his own restaurant with a team who collaborated with him in Meta Restaurant and alumni of Taylor’s Culinary Institute. They are Ashley So Jen Wern, Andrew Ou and Rachel An Li Jing. The team started a restaurant named ‘Seroja’ that focuses on cuisine from the Malay Archipelago. With only a one-year-old restaurant, 'Seroja' was exceptionally emerged as the biggest winner at the Star-revelation Ceremony for the Michelin Guide Singapore 2023. The restaurant received a Michelin Star and became the first restaurant in Singapore to receive the Michelin Green Star, an annual award inaugurated in 2020 that honors restaurants which offer “Combines culinary excellence with outstanding eco-friendly commitments”.

On top of all the remarkable awards that Seroja received, Chef Kevin Wong was also awarded the “Best Young Chef Award,” an award that recognizes a young, starred chef with exceptional talent and immense potential.

Taylor’s Culinary Institute is extremely proud of Chef Kevin Wong, and believes the gastronomic world eagerly anticipates the delectable delights by 'Seroja'. Chef Kevin Wong's journey exemplifies the sheer power of passion and perseverance in achieving culinary greatness, and we cannot wait to witness the continuing success of 'Seroja' under his visionary guidance.

Congratulations to the entire team on this remarkable feat!

13th ATRA Tourism Forum | The New Dynamics of Tourism and Hospitality Workforce in ASEAN

ASEAN Tourism Research Association (ATRA), together with Taylor's University, Malaysia and Centre for Research and Innovation in Tourism (CRiT), recently co-organized the 13th ATRA Tourism Forum entitled “The New Dynamics of Tourism and Hospitality Workforce in ASEAN”. The Opening Remark and Keynote was delivered by Prof. Dr. Neethiahnanthan Ari Ragavan, President of ATRA and Executive Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences and Leisure Management, Taylor's University.

Meanwhile, the session was moderated by Dr. Puvaneswaran Kunasekaran, Honorary Treasurer of ATRA and Senior Lecturer from Universiti Putra Malaysia. Key representatives from the Hospitality and Tourism sector in ASEAN were invited to share their views. Esteemed panel members comprised of Mr. Shamsul Amree, Chief Executive Officer of Domino’s Malaysia; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Joaquim Dias Soeiro, Head of School, School of Hospitality, Tourism and Events, Taylor’s University; Ms. Xialeemar "Xiameer" Valdeavilla, ATRA Board of Director and Chief Executive Officer of XMS Consultancy, Phillipines and Mr. Ian Barrow, General Manager, DoubleTree by Hilton Putrajaya Lakeside to share their valuable insights during the forum. About 250 participants attended the forum in-person and virtually.

Generally, the speakers were optimistic that the industry will continue growing in 2023, with a focus on sustainable tourism, digital technology, diversification of tourism offerings and infrastructure development. With these developments, ASEAN countries are well-positioned to attract more tourists and continue contributing to the growth of the global tourism industry. Resilience of the industry was highlighted as the main aspect that the stakeholders should be focused.

Many service industry jobs shifted to remote work during the pandemic, particularly those involved administrative, customer service and office-based roles. Even after the immediate crisis, some companies adopted hybrid work models, allowing employees to work from home part-time. This change may have increased workforce flexibility and opened up new job opportunities for individuals outside traditional office locations. The speakers also urged the current tourism students to be well-equipped with knowledge and technology relevant to cater the post-pandemic market.

Following the presentation, the audience engaged in an interactive Q&A session, whereby the speakers addressed various inquiries and concerns. Participants expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to learn from such esteemed experts. The event concluded with a networking session, our sincerest appreciation to the invited speakers for sharing their expertise and bringing tremendous insight throughout the forum.