The Higher Education Review

Instilling core skills and competencies among its learners, KLE Graduate School of Hotel Management and Catering Technology (KLEGSHMCT) strives to create industry-ready professionals in the hospitality industry. The institute strives to ensure quality in their educational system by developing the skills, knowledge and ability required to face the daily challenges of the hospitality domain as well as improving learners' practical abilities and instilling a feeling of lifelong learning.

Located in Belgaum, Karnataka, KLEGSHMCT is affiliated to KAHER ­ Belagavi, K.L.E. Academy of Higher Education & Research (KAHER) was established on 13th April, 2006 as per the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, Notification No.F.9-19/2000-U-R(A) dated 13th April, 2006, under the recommendation of University Grants Commission, KAHER is accredited A+ by NAAC, and approved by UGC, New Delhi.

The idea behind the inception of KLEGSHMCT was to educate students from North Karnataka, as candidates from this region had to rely on other large cities for these types of courses. KLEGSHMCT provides education which is at level-pegging with other best-in-class educational institutes in the country both in terms of quality and infrastructure.

Offering Learners, A Good Practical Knowledge
The mission of the institute is to provide its learners with skill-based higher education which meets global employability with lifelong learning for Catering & Hospitality industrial trends. KLEGSHMCT focuses on the changes happening in the hospitality sector and structures the curriculum for the students according to the developments taking place in this domain. KLEGSHMCT has adopted and implemented the current requirement aspects for the industry as well.

Also, in order to meet the future requirements of the hospitality industry, the research component has been implemented in the curriculum of the institute. At KLEGSHMCT, the curriculum is determined by the board of

studies, which consists of top industry professionals, experienced academicians, education advisers, and hospitality industry consultants. The course is developed with highly qualified professionals and academicians to be on par with the hospitality & event industry. The core courses are structured with the help of industry professionals as per the industry requirements eventually helping the students to get placed easily and successfully.

Other value-added courses are built into the institute's curriculum and these include encouraging entrepreneurial development, providing catering services to social clubs in the vicinity which includes professional clubs, academic councils, the Belgaum Club, and pre-clinical, clinical, and para-clinical departments. KLEGSHMCT has also implemented innovative didactics for students such as experiential learning, applications-oriented learning, project implementation, and research-oriented learning so that students can understand the prerequisites to be a part of the industry and align their behavior with that of the industry.

“The mission of the institute is to provide its learners with skill-based higher education which meets global employability with lifelong learning for Catering & Hospitality industrial trends”

Faculty members have been tasked with the development of soft skills, life skills, involvement in FDPs, and the delivery of table manners and dining etiquettes at KLEGSHMCT. As the institute stays attune with the latest developments in the industry, so do the faculty members. KLEGSHMCT has taken a step of orientation for staff in the hotel and event sector every semester, where teachers must go through an orientation program for a week every semester to get informed on the industry and the latest changes happening in the space.

At KLEGSHMCT, in pre-placement activities, students are filtered with grade system from the first semester itself and this allows the institute to identify who are lacking behind and offer them expert guidance. For these students, the institute offer special mentoring on various areas including soft-skill development, aptitude development, and linguistic knowledge among many others. Furthermore, the placement board plans CXO meetings and intensive training approaches to achieve the high placement standards.

Gearing for Future Challenges the institute has tie-ups and MoUs with prominent hotels where students have the opportunity to work closely with the property, and the institute has designed weekend immersion programs with major properties so students get better real-life experience.

"More than the challenge of infrastructure in the physical platform, the institute has been considered worthwhile on certain accounts. It has been able to establish itself in a concise period on online platforms to counter the onslaught of the Covid19 pandemic. In a paradigm shift from conventional ways of marking the assessments, our initiative is in congruence with GPA scores which allows students to retain consistency during their continuous assessment and the management is proud that ours is one of the fewest departments in the University to take such a lead keeping in view the needs of the candidates", highlights Dr. Prabhakar B. Kore, Chairman.

The road ahead, as envisaged by the visionary founder chairman Dr. Prabhakar Kore, is to become a full-fledged constituent of KAHER with support from Governmental Institutions in developing hospitality & tourism expertise in this area of the state. Several Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) are being negotiated with Skill Sector Councils at the state and national levels, with combined certification options with KLEGSHMCT. This is for students to offer their candidacy for gainful employment upon completion of the chosen programs on offer. KLEGSHMCT is also in the process of cooperating with international universities on dual course options and continuing education, which will create a larger pool of education for students to enroll even after the tenth grade, as well as to undertake masters in the hospitality business.

KLE Graduate School of Hotel Management and Catering Technology
Prabhakar B. Kore has been the chairman of KLE Society for more than thirty-years and has been a very active participant in the field of politics, education, agriculture, cooperative endeavor, and community building. With his various phil-anthropic activities, Dr. PrabhakarB. is making KLE Society socially accountable and responsible. On 21st May 2022, Dr. Prabhakar B. received Life time Achievement Award by the prestigious Indo American Press Club US, in New York.