A graduate from the University of Derby Online Learning (UDOL), Hema Jankee, has found her online degree useful for advancing her career prospects and that the hospitality industry responds well to this type of educational degree.
Originally from Mauritius, Hema studied a BA (Hons) International Hospitality Business Management with UDOL remotely whilst working in the hospitality industry in Australia. She graduated from UDOL in November at the University of Derby’s Buxton campus.
Since moving to the UK in 2008, Hema has worked in conference and banqueting for Hilton Hotels and Resorts, and in guest relations for Marriott International. She joined Leicester City Football Club as a Senior Duty Manager in 2011 and within six months she was promoted to Head of Hospitality.
Speaking about her current role, Hema said: “I oversee all customer service operations within the stadium. It is my duty to ensure that the highest levels of hospitality and service are provided. I always wanted to pursue further study. My workplace sponsored my degree as they knew it would be of benefit to my future career development.”
Hema added: “I chose online learning as it is more flexible. I was able to organise and plan ahead around my work commitments. I could join discussions at any hour and talk to my classmates and instructors remotely in chat rooms. Now that I have completed my degree I’m hoping to apply for a job in Operations Management.”
UDOL is now one of the UK’s leading providers of online learning and the University aims to inspire people to achieve more and realise their academic ambitions. Yukari Iguchi, the Academic Lead for Hospitality and Leisure with UDOL, said: “Hema was a highly motivated and committed student. It is our pleasure to see industry professionals like Hema enrolling on our programs and graduating with better career prospects. I wish her and all of our graduates the best in their future careers.
“At Derby, we understand what it is like to work in the hospitality industry – long and often unsociable hours, fluctuation in demand and sometimes very stressful,”she added. We have tried to reflect this in our learning and assessment design. Many of the course activities and assessments are based on realistic scenarios within the industry to allow students to apply their learning in their own workplaces and develop a deeper understanding of the sector of business in which they work.”
Since 2001, the University of Derby has offered online distance learning to students who require more flexible study options. As demand for these popular online distance learning courses increased, Derby learned to tailor its course content specifically for online delivery and in 2011, UDOL was launched.
For more information on UDOL and its courses, visit: www.derby.ac.uk/online
