As we approach the 21st foundation day of IIHM, I reflect on the past Twenty One years. My initial reaction is how fast they have passed!

It has been undoubtedly a wonderful and satisfying experience to serve as the Director of this prestigious institute. Establish on a solid foundation of truth, honesty, dedication & innovation in the distant past, a decade and a half ago, to lead in the field of hospitality management training and education, buffered by a passion to create global hoteliers with an aptitude to lead from the front, IIHM has bravely sailed forth into its 19th year of the journey. Today the institute is one of the largest Hotel Schools in the India and abroad with campuses in Kolkata, Delhi, Bangalore, Pune, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Bangkok and provides a variety of choices to discerning students who are willing to continue with hospitality management education & training, with AICTE approved national level certifications and highly acclaimed International degree programmes.

Depending on the qualification and the associated awarding bodies, the courses are quality controlled through regular review and validation by the Edinburgh Napier University, UK, University of West London, London, UK the British higher education Quality. Assurance body QAA and by the national academic review & approval systems activated through the AICTE.

These courses are designed to produce graduates who are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills required of the hoteliers in the 21st century. Over the last 19th years, besides creating managers for the hotel industry within the country, IIHM has also created opportunities for students to study, to secure training assignments and be employed abroad through its extensive international collaboration and association with Universities in the UK, Hotels in the UK, USA, Middle East & Australia.

Building on its commitment and a passion for excellence over the last 19 years, the learning and teaching environment at IIHM today, is world class and while the present infrastructure mirrors the top hotel schools around the world, all teaching staff have extensive industry experience and undertake ongoing professional development, with several lecturers visiting their industry counter parts around the world each year.

Yet the staff, the students and the associates share working relationships that of a large family where the values are deep rooted in our rich cultural background. At IIHM we realize that knowledge and personal liberation come from stepping outside of one’s comfortable boundaries and questioning the unquestioned. Boundaries only limit possible discoveries and new understanding be it in the field of management & occupation or in one’s life. Hence on one hand as we tenderly nurture the young

students through individual attention, care and inspirational counseling, on the other we create realistic platforms for students to experiment their acquired knowledge, skills and attitude in the world through real time activities like events, competitions, seminars and interaction with the leaders in the industry. Perhaps that is the reason, over the years IIHM students have always been able to crack enviable management training interviews and stood apart in their jobs. Besides, we also think that education should furnish students with noble ends rather than just means to an end. To continue here, I would like to mention that behind the success of the institute there always remained the core value of service to the community, the people and the society at large.

This value is strongly ingrained in the students from the time they take admission in the institute. We ensure that all students take active part in the numerous charitable activities we undertake at IIHM every year. Interestingly, these experiences remain with the young minds forever in their life informal surveys with the ex-students have proved that many times. I would say that if one is seriously looking for an education that extends beyond the four walls of the classroom and that which is Contemporary, a qualification accepted internationally with hands on experience in highly skilled areas of the hospitality industry, then IIHM IS THE ONE.