Bhubaneswar: The 11-day orientation programme for fresh students held at the School of Hotel Management, faculty of hospitality and tourism management of Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SOA) concluded here, on Saturday.
Addressing the students at the concluding ceremony, Prof. (Dr.) Navin Mathur, former Vice-Chancellor of Jagannath University, Jaipur said, “Your goal, your purpose, your intention, deliberations and prayer should be common and your hearts must unite to achieve success.”
“Growth and progress are important, but they can lead to success only if they are integrated with spirituality and humanity,” he added.
Further, sharing a quote from the book ‘21 Lessons from 21st Century’ authored by Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari, Prof. Mathur said, “Technology isn’t bad. If you know what you want in life, technology can help you get it. But it you don’t know what you want in life, it will be all too easy for technology to shape your aims for you and take control of your life.”
During the virtual programme, Prof. Sitikantha Mishra, SHM’s Advisor-cum-Dean, in his welcome address, emphasised the importance of human value in education and more so for those training to become hospitality professionals.
He spoke about the intrinsic and extrinsic values which need to be cultivated among the students.
Chief Speaker B.K.Savitha, faculty of the IT wing at the headquarters of the Brahma Kumaris at Mount Abu focused on the need for the students to become emotionally and mentally strong which was the need of the hour.
The subjects discussed in the valedictory programme included career prospects in the aviation sector, logistic sector, digital marketing, food entrepreneurship, contactless service and hotels of the future.
The organisation of the induction programme was intended to make the students feel comfortable in the new environment, inculcate in them the ethos and culture of the institution, establish bonds with other students and faculty members and to expose them to a sense of larger purpose and self exploration.
It was pointed out that the market now-a-days was very demanding and the issue of the level of higher education not meeting the industry expectations was frequently discussed.
Contemporary topics pertaining to hospitality and tourism industry including Indian values were chosen to bridge this gap and equip the students with new age technology.