Knowledge Update | Horizon University UAE – Essential Insights

The World Economic Forum has a list of four industrial revolutions, and we are in the fourth one right now. The third revolution, which was digital transformation and information technology, came after that.

The world is going through the worst pandemic witnessed in past 100 years that created havoc in the economy and growth aspects across the globe. The global economy has almost become stand still and thanks to the efforts

As we all know, the education system has gone through many changes during the centuries. At first, education depended all the time on the teacher, and students had to listen carefully, write notes and then take exams on what they understood and memorized.

In 2020, the world went through the worst disease experience since the Spanish Flu. Coronavirus spread as no other virus did because of flights and tourism activities.

The convergence of strategic thinking which is a component of strategic management, envisioning leadership and the adoption of socio-impactful entrepreneurship has never been real than in contemporary times.

Women`s writing or in a border sense literary works written and produced by women is one of the central issues in women`s and gender studies.

As we all know, hospitality and tourism have become a major source of income for all countries in the 21^st century. Focusing on the United Arab Emirates’ market, according to WTTC (World Travel and Tourism Council, in 2016 travel and tourism directly supported 317,500 jobs (5.4% of total employment) in UAE. This is expected to rise by 2.4% pa to 410,000 jobs (5.9% of total employment) by 2027 in the United Arab Emirates. For such reasons, colleges and universities in the country have started to give new training courses and majors related to the tourism and hotel management field. But, what is the benefit of studying such a program? And what are the jobs graduates can expect in the future? In this short article, these two questions will be discussed.

No one can deny the benefits graduates can gain from pursuing such major after graduation in one of the colleges or universities in Sharjah. One of these benefits is the unlimited job opportunities they can get. The course prepares the graduate to explore successful careers and to grow in the long run. It also polishes their skills to meets market demand and exceptional growth in the air-transport, accommodation, tour operation, cruise companies, event management, catering companies, museums and cultural venues, and retail sectors. Some of the jobs graduates can expect are accommodation manager, catering manager, conference center manager, event manager, fast food restaurant manager, hotel manager, public house manager, restaurant manager, air cabin crew, business development manager, customer service manager, fire risk assessor, health service manager, human resources officer, marketing executive, retail manager, tour manager and tourism officer.

Another benefit is by getting jobs related to hotels or restaurants, graduates will have the chance to travel abroad and see other cultures and learn a lot from them. Also, they will learn the needed skills for their careers such as leadership, teamwork, organization, communication skills and time management and these skills are needed in any industry. Other skills to be learned are customer service skills, cultural awareness, multitasking skills, work ethics, language skills like English, French and Spanish, adaptability, professionalism, friendliness, initiative, decision making and problem-solving skills. On top, it teaches students the importance of tourism, and how to get customers’ attention to have a good experience on things that they haven’t realized it is important in their lives. The course also directs students on how to deal with travelers’ customs, how to run hotels and restaurants effectively. Moreover, working on tourism means no routine work. It is a mixture of doing desk work, answering phone calls, organizing events, working with other colleagues, and speaking to different customers from many nationalities on daily basis. So, no boredom is experienced in such jobs and more skills are gained too.

In conclusion, to be successful in life, it is important to choose the right major according to the market need. Studying this major will help graduates to be successful in this industry, and they will be equipped with the needed soft skills and hard skills to fly into glory, and the good news is, Horizon University College has this major. There are core courses that include Foundations of Tourism, Management of Travel and Tours, Front Office Management, E – Tourism, Food & Beverage Services and Management and elective courses such as Event Management, Tourism and Hospitality Marketing and Impacts of Tourism.

Covid-19 has brought a change to university students on how they used to spend their time on campus by getting involved in various kinds of extracurricular activities, entertainment, sports activities and charitable fundraising activities that were a common sight at the university campus pre-Covid-19. It is hard to believe that COVID-19 has brought the whole world to a standstill including the advanced nations wherein everyone just feels that it is a havoc that has not been witnessed in human history in the last 100 years.

The evolving technology and innovative disruptions have made things move forward from a regular mode to a radically and digitally transformed virtual learning platform which can be easily seen in top colleges and business schools in the UAE. COVID-19 has made the high school and university students’ jobs very challenging, particularly in choosing a university with a question in their mind: Which university should I join?  Which is the best MBA program in UAE? Which are the top master’s and bachelor’s programs in the UAE? Which BBA and MBA ranking to follow out of several rankings available? And the list continues.

The teens are looking into possibilities of whether they will be able to get a job and be able to commit full-time, depending on the mercy of intermittent lockdowns imposed to stop the spread of the virus in and around the university campuses and also in the city in general.  The students who have been fond of being social and quite interactive with friends and faculty members are really missing the opportunities to fulfill their socializing aspirations which in fact is causing them great mental stresses ultimately.

There is a big number of students looking forward to second best scenarios or alternative options of continuing remote learning by using virtual platforms. In the UAE, COVID-19 pandemic has really impacted universities and schools as it did across the world, though the government machinery remains committed to tackling the situation in the best possible manner. In these tough times, there is a need for extraordinary approaches in dealing with the calamity. All of the aforesaid issues have given rise to a situation wherein blended learning and staggered classes for high school as well as university students are being resorted to. It is also important to note that the UAE has fully implemented the SOP’s (Standard Operating Procedures) and taken all necessary efforts making UAE schools and universities safe and conducive to learning.

The following options are available for the students of UAE.

They can choose from variety of splendid options available locally like pursuing a bachelor of business administration degree in international business. There are several institutions in UAE offering this degree program. Moreover, the students who graduated in 2020 and also in 2021 might be in a dilemma whether to take up a job which may not be very exciting due to current environmental and job market situations, may get promising options for obtaining MBA from CAA-accredited institutions in the UAE. It is useful to note here that several UAE-based institutions have started to offer scholarship programs for non-local students too, which is a welcoming step towards establishing UAE as an education hub fostering the attainment of a knowledge-based economy status. Some learners or professionals might also look forward to doing short online courses with certification from coveted universities in the UAE.

Furthermore, there are a lot of young entrepreneurs and employees who lost their jobs or experienced business failures who are looking for the options related to reskilling themselves with the contemporary and most sought-after skills. There is a good news for these people as they have an option to come back to the Continuous Learning Centers of universities where they can upgrade themselves at affordable cost. Some fortunate people might also look for a very different approach by staying at home and taking care of family members with a chance to spend a few months with just family and friends.

PRACTICE. That one word sums up how you will become proficient in public speaking.

Speaking up in class is always a rather daunting prospect. Quite apart from the idea that we have that we might not know the correct answer, or our fear that people will laugh at us if we do not know the exact answer, is the fear that we won’t pronounce words correctly or we might stutter. Even worse, someone may interrupt us as we are speaking and we could lose our train of thought and look foolish and become embarrassed. Have I just typed out your literal nightmare? Believe it or not, this is a common stressor among the student body.

It takes a lot out of us in terms of energy and courage to speak up in class. In fact, it takes a lot out of us to speak up in any situation. Unless we are one of the small percentage of super confident individuals, we all struggle to some degree. Fear, shyness, possible embarrassment, not fitting in with the accent and/or correct word choice are all fears that most people face. This is especially so for those of us who are not learning in our first language.

So how does one go about developing speaking skills in the classroom? This takes me back to my first word in this blog. PRACTICE. In the current climate in education, most classes are online. It is easy to record and re-listen to the material being taught. If you don’t feel confident asking a question as the lecture is happening, take a moment to note down the point at which you need to re-watch the lecture and you can frame your question in a no-stress environment later. This will give you a chance to think about what you need to ask and the way in which you need to ask it. Listen to the way in which your teacher has spoken. Listen to the way in which your classmates have answered or asked questions. Model your own speech patterns on that. In this way, you will start on a small scale and build up your skills as time passes.

Once you know what you want to say, say it! It might sound silly, but the mirror is your best friend here. If you have family members who are willing to be an audience for you, then go ahead, use them. If, however, you prefer to start on your own, use your mirror. Practice asking what you need to ask a few times. Each time you will see that your speech pattern will become clearer. This in no way means that you will suddenly be confident in the classroom. I’m afraid that is a subject so huge it would be the content of an entire blog post.

Once you have asked those first few questions, you will naturally feel safer asking questions as the semester progresses. Start to become involved in class discussions. Make one or two points to start. See how your classmates and your teacher respond to your points. If your teacher is a good one, they will guide you in a supportive a safe manner through the process. Don’t be afraid to ask for clarifications. A good teacher never moans about going over material for a second or third time. This could all build up to your needing to design and deliver a presentation to the class.

For the presentation, ensure that you understand the topic thoroughly. You don’t need to be distracted by the content material if you are struggling with speaking skills. Once you have the topic, plan your presentation effectively. Know what you want to say and know when you want to say it. If you feel it necessary, have cue cards on hand to help you remember. The trick with cue cards though is that you do not want your entire speech written on them. This will just distract you further if you get stuck at any point in your speech as you will have to look up the point at which you got stuck. There is also the temptation of reading the entire speech instead of presenting it. Instead, have a few key words that will jump-start your memory and enable you to carry on with the presentation. Once all of that is out of the way, it is time to get to work on those speaking skills.

If you are still not confident in your speaking skills, even after all the work you have put in throughout the semester, it will be time for a new tactic. IMITATE. Watch videos online where people are presenting speeches on your topic. Remember your teacher and what and how they spoke about the topic. Lean on your classmates for support in issues of pronunciation and enunciation. Have one-on-one discussions with your teacher. I’m positive they would be glad to guide you where they are able. Join a club at school or Sharjah college that deals with speaking skills. These clubs are normally set in quite nurturing environments which means that you do not have to worry about being teased or laughed at. Horizon University College has a Toastmasters Club that meets every two weeks. If you would like to know more about the club or join it, feel free to contact the admissions department and they will guide you.

Here is a short ‘checklist’ you could use before you deliver any presentation:

• Do I have all the information?
• Have I practiced my presentation a few times?
• Have I timed my presentation to make sure that it fits with the instruction?
• How many ‘um’, ‘ah’, ‘so’, ‘and’ etc. do I have in my speech? How can I eliminate these?
• Are my cue cards ready and appropriate?

The truth of the matter is, that even with all of the tips given to you above, it all comes down to you. You can employ each of the tips and still feel your legs shaking with that first public speech. It is only with constant practice and exposure that you will feel like you are improving. So, PRACTICE.

“At the time of writing this article, there are approximately 10,000 cryptocurrencies used in the market”

Historically, since the dawn of time, man has invented and developed various forms of payment. To take a shortcut, reaching the currently used fiat currencies known as a banknote.