Afbeelding
Chaman Preet Singh just couldn’t get enough of NHL Stenden and stayed on after his bachelor’s to do a master’s in International Hospitality and Service Management. Yet Chaman isn’t working in the hospitality industry at all. He’s living proof that a degree in hospitality management has great value in other fields as well.
“I really wanted to do hospitality management,” Chaman says. “My grandad is a hotelier, my father a chef. But there wasn’t a bachelor’s degree in hospitality in Italy, so it became quickly obvious that this was a great excuse to do an international course. It was my mother who suggested the Netherlands, I hadn’t even considered it and had no idea of the level of education here.”
”All the experience I got made my degrees real value for money”
Chaman Preet Singh, alumni 2014-2018 of International Hospitality Management and 2018-2019 MA International Hospitality and Service Management
Getting the same for less
It was a huge selling point for Chaman when he found out that the Dutch hospitality courses were more affordable. “The programme that’s offered is actually similar to the more expensive ones in other countries. It really is a high-quality programme, and this definitely gives NHL Stenden an advantage over other institutes. The cost of living is reasonable too. Compared to Rome, the prices are kind of similar for food and going out, but I got really lucky with my accommodation and got it really cheap. I worked as a waiter in a pizza restaurant and for NHL Stenden’s marketing department every so often. And I was a student ambassador and did an internship in the marketing department. All in all, quite a lot of work experience that helped make my degrees real value for money.”
A practical programme
“The programme itself included everything I had expected: gastronomy, wine management and management in general. It was all very practical. We also had to develop an idea for a company and pitch it to them. You know, it takes a lot of confidence to present your own ideas to a professional company. That’s a learning curve in itself!”
More than hotels
Over the course of his studies, Chaman realised that the programme wasn’t just about running hotels. “You can use these skills in any kind of work that involves dealing with people. It’s good for marketing, for HR and for sales, for instance, like in the work I am now doing in lead development for a cyber security company. I really like my job. It’s fun. I think that would be my advice to new students: do what makes you happy. You’re going to be investing time and money in your studies so make sure you enjoy it!”
