Issue Eight, February 2010

www.emiratesacademy.edu

The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management

PO Box 29662 Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Telephone: +9714 315 5555 Fax: +9714 315 5556

Email: info@emiratesacademy.edu

Page 2

Editorial Team “The Academy”

Issue 8, February 2010

Editor: Jane Campbell

The writers for this issue include: Elizabeth Naglestad, Nirvana Govender,

Stuart Jauncey

Photos by: Florian Kriechbaumer, Kit Belen, and others

Cover photos

Top: Group work: Cecilia Larsson, Kirby Daughdrill, Sten

Von Kuhn, Bernd Knaier

Bottom left: At the Graduation Ball:

DJ Flore with Antonia Jensen, Maria Luisa Silva, Genene Barraclough, Sarina Dayani, Joelle Janz

Layout & Design: J-Design

A note from the DeanLast week my son, who is 16, asked me to go to an evening event at his school. The theme of the presentation was ‘Positive thinking as a way of preparing for examinations’. During an interlude I got talking to one of the other parents who, after the normal exchanges of who we were and what we did for a living, suddenly asked me “why would someone work in hospitality?” I of course responded with the key employment facts: it’s the world’s largest and most diverse industry that offers some of the greatest opportunities for travel, adventure and pay, and that these opportunities grow even greater for well-educated and experienced managers who simply end up having the most fantastic careers and lives. I suddenly realized that about six people were listening to me and four of them requested business cards. Two parents suggested that they would make appointments to bring their sons and daughters to see the Academy. What surprised me about this incident, and about so many other similar incidents that I have had in the past, is that so few people seem to be aware of the wonderful opportunities that our industry offers. I think we all have a duty and a role to encourage and inspire others to think positively about the Hospitality Industry and to communicate the career opportunities that our industry provides.

Regarding the presentation, I am sure that there is a link between positive thinking and examination success, but as any good student will tell you, there is also the need for positive action in the form of consistent work and revision prior to the exam!

This issue of our newsletter records some of the events of the busy semester just ending. You will see that the Academy is continuing to review and revise our programmes and our structures. We are now the first fully accredited university in the UAE to have been granted permission to offer a three year honours degree. One of the reasons that we have been allowed to do this is because we now have a very robust system to monitor student performance and institutional effectiveness as a whole.

Another change that you will see around the Academy is that our senior students, those in years three and four, are now allowed to wear business attire rather than the Academy uniform. We made this change in direct response to student feedback and to a proposal made by the Student Council. It’s nice to see that all students take the new dress code very seriously, and if anything the air of professionalism amongst senior students is higher and more apparent than ever. It’s also typical of the Academy that we seek out and listen to the views of students and all of our stakeholders, and that we then try to act to meet these.

Traditionally Semester 1 is the more eventful of the two, with Graduation, and special events to welcome the new class, both of which you can read about in this issue. However, this year Semester 2 is looking equally exciting, with exchange students coming from new colleges, and other interesting developments. We hope you enjoy this issue of “The Academy”, and we invite you to join us again in April for issue #9.

Dr. Stuart Jauncey

The Graduating Class of 2009

Ron Hilvert (EAHM Managing Director), Gerald Lawless (Executive Chairman, Jumeirah Group), and H.E. Ahmad Bin Byat (Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Holding, and keynote speaker at the Graduation) award the Finance Prize to Zina

Sorensen, Annika Voss; and Oystein Dahle. The fourth group member, Kai Schukowski, was unable to attend.

Page 3

Congratulations to the 5th graduating class of The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management! With this year’s 48 graduates, the Academy’s total alumni population is now 171. Overall, 94% of Academy graduates are working in hospitality jobs, and 3% are studying towards master’s degrees.

Here’s what some of the grads are doing:

Kai Schukowski (BSc) is Operations Performance Analyst in the Kempinski’s Corporate Office in Geneva, Switzerland.

Zina Sorensen (BSc) is in the Future Leaders Programme of the InterContinental Hotels Group in Cairo, Egypt. This is a management traineeship that involves gaining experience in three different hotel departments and in three different IHG properties, over the contract period. Karima Pedersen, Naveed Shahani and Stella Teifouet are part of the programme in Oman.

Somer Badra (BSc) is Team Leader, Front Office, for the Park Hyatt in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Jocelyn Hidalgo (ASc) is Service Manager for the Radisson Blu in Oslo, Norway.

Anh Tuan Vu Dinh (BSc) is Business Analyst on the opening team for the Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel in Kuwait City, and is also involved in other Jumeirah openings.

Nadine Poser and Manuel Beck (both BSc) are both studying for master’s degrees in entrepreneurship at Hochschule Liechtenstein.

Does Iordan Iordanov look a little apprehensive as that stick approaches? With a touch, the Dean, Dr Jauncey, officially confers the degree. Iordan is one of

the minority of graduates who are working outside the hospitality industry; he is a sales representative for a pharmaceuticals company in Dubai.

The Jumeirah Graduates: These five graduates completed their studies for the Associate Degree in Business and Tourism part-time while working at demanding

jobs within Jumeirah properties. No wonder they’re smiling now! From the left: Nipun Benny, Boby Thomas, Akvile Pareigyte, Naser Al Marzouqi, Ravshan Abdullayev.

You can’t blame them for losing some of their professional restraint as it sinks in – they’re graduates, and they have the official plates to prove it! From the left:

Reem Al Mulla, Uwe Rotter, Felix Graebert, Sidrah Goheer (who took a couple of weeks off from dissertation writing to give birth to a baby boy),

Pang Nyet Yun Iversen, Joe Perry, Anna Muehling.

Anh Tuan Vu Dinh was recipient of the Outstanding Student Award for 2009 (here presented by Ron Hilvert, EAHM Managing Director, and Gerald Lawless, Executive

Chairman for Jumeirah Group). Anh Tuan, a Dean’s List student with the highest grade point average of the graduating class, delivered the valedictorian address.

Student Council newsby Liz Naglestad

The current Student Council consists of President Omar Aoun, Vice President Bernd Knaier, Secretary Genene Barraclough, Treasurer Kirby Daughdrill, Chris Dutt, Liz Naglestad, Viola Nejad, and Rohaid Stanley. Under the terms of the new constitution, we will elect our first year representatives at the beginning of the second semester.

One of our current main focuses is improving communication between the Academy’s students and its staff and managers. This will be achieved by working closely with the Academy, and also starting a Facebook fan page to easier communicate with the student body. The Facebook fan page is a two-way communication portal where students can express concerns and the Student Council can inform students about upcoming events and other relevant information.

Another of our objectives is to establish a strong foundation that future councils can utilize in their day-to- day operations. The main component of this goal is to review and finalize the Student Council constitution and other official forms of guidance. The Student Council is also working

on designing a logo which can unify the Academy and make profits throughthe sale of merchandise, such as hoodies, for financing of future Student Council events.

Other projects include setting up an office for students to communicate with the Student Council, selecting a charity for the non-uniform day funds, and continuing to arrange events such as the popular Rooftop evenings.

Come and join us for our next event, a barbeque, to be held at the beginning of next semester.

• Nationalities in the 2009 student intake = 29

• Nationalities in the whole student body = 54

• Largest nationality groups in the new class = Kazakhs, Indians, British

• Countries represented for the first time = Afghanistan, Belarus, Iraq, Mauritius, Mexico

• Gender ratio = 50/50

• Age range = 17 to 38 years, with 92% in the 17-21 year category

Page 4

The 2009 class in numbersIn September 2009 the Academy welcomed its 9th new class

Abhinav Sikhwal, Indian, 21 years oldIt wasn’t my first choice. I had almost completed my commercial pilot’s training when my family circumstances changed and my brother and I found we had to take over management of the family hotel. I signed up for an ASc but the longer I study hospitality the more I think it is the dream career. A hotel manager gets involved in everything: interior design, finance, people management… Now I’m thinking of switching to the BSc programme.

Mohammed Taseer, Pakistani national born and raised in Saudi Arabia, 18 years oldMy father has always worked in hospitality facilities management so I have been exposed to the industry my whole life. My other career choice would have been journalism or mass communications, but with the hospitality industry growing so fast in the Middle East, it seemed like the best prospect. Right now I’m interested in food and beverage management.

Richard Newell, British, but lived in Oman and Dubai his whole life, 19 years oldIn a way I got into the hospitality industry – in particular, events management – when I was 15. A friend and I organized BamBash, a concert for charity. It was so successful that we repeated it in two subsequent years. Then I organized another charity event, a fashion show, and raised GBP 20,000. At that point I decided this might be worth investigating as a career! I did two short work placements in a hotel just to be sure, and here I am.

Behnam Sharafshahi, Iranian, 26 years oldI completed three years of medical school before deciding it just wasn’t for me. Then I worked for a couple of years, while investigating various career possibilities. Hospitality was high on the list because the job prospects are so good and there are no geographical limitations in terms of where I could work. I’m really interested in psychology and I can see myself working in marketing.

Nicolas Nasra, Canadian, 20 years oldI studied computer science for a year but found it boring and too desk-oriented. Hospitality work is so varied and the people contact is great. I like challenges and I like to be busy. I was exposed to the world of culinary work two years ago in Canada, and loved it. To be sure this was the career for me, I worked in a catering business in Lebanon last summer, and now I read everything I can find on cooking and culinary arts— it’s my passion. In the long-term I can see myself owning, managing and cooking in my own fine dining restaurant.

Shruti Sethia, British, 19 years oldIn high school I was thinking of finance as a career, but then I had a work placement in the Marriott and that got me interested. My parents are both in the industry so I knew a little about it already. Hospitality jobs are active and you meet lots of people. I’m a people person and I like to make people smile, so guest relations would be a good specialization for me. Because it is the fastest growing industry in the world, there will be many opportunities for graduates.

First year student poll: Why did you choose hospitality as a career?

Omar Aoun, Kirby Daughdrill, Genene Barraclough, Liz Naglestad, Bernd Knaier, Chris Dutt

Sixteen study abroad students joined us from De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde in the Philippines. Here they are enjoying the Orientation Barbeque.

Page 5

Academy students in demand for events workOn New Year’s Eve, Bardia Hooshyar was not at home celebrating with his family. In fact midnight almost went unnoticed, as he and a group of fellow Academy students were so busy with their jobs as stewards and waiters at Madinat Jumeirah’s New Year’s Eve festivities. These energetic young men and women are among the growing number of students who are always willing to sign on as special events “extras”. For those who want it, occasional paid catering work is plentiful for Academy students.

Students are usually introduced to the work when Jumeirah and other hospitality companies inform the Academy that they need casual labour for events they are hosting or catering. The work usually revolves around preparing and serving meals and drinks, and cleaning up afterward, for events ranging from private parties for 25 people to lavish weddings with 1500 guests. On the first day of Eid al Adha, Bab Al Shams’ restaurant Al Hadheera welcomed over 2000 guests – and our student helpers were there.

Anywhere from 2 to 20 students work at each event, depending on size and requirements. Once selected, the student recruits are briefed and assigned a manager, and then the fun begins! The work is hard and the hours are long: a typical event might involve working from 5pm to 2am on a Thursday evening after a full day of classes. “But I don’t mind it,” says Bardia, “my tiredness just disappears when I’m working and I get caught up in the tasks at hand”.

It is not surprising to find college students seeking work to defray their school expenses, but these students are also genuinely enthusiastic about events jobs as means to learn more about their chosen career. “As managers we won’t be doing this work ourselves, but how can we

supervise others if we don’t know what the work entails?” asks Manuel Hesse. There are other benefits as well, according to the students. For Sorav Malhotra, who has never had paid work before, events jobs are a way to build up his CV. For Richard Newell, the attraction is gaining a variety of experience: “Every event is different and every time I learn something new”. Raveena Manghnani sees it as a way to gain confidence before her internship in semester 3. Shruti Sethia is a “workaholic who just likes to be busy” but she also really enjoys the great teamwork with the other students and workers. Manuel appreciates the contacts he is making with managers and staff within the industry. “Not only are the managers really friendly towards the students, but it can only help us in future to have a reputation as reliable workers”.

Occasionally there is an immediate and tangible benefit. When a group of students helped cater an event for Palmonâde Kitchens, the company donated a glossy new mobile kitchen to the Academy!

Does the work interfere with their studies? “Not yet”, says Richard. “The events are usually on weekends or holidays”. Bardia finds that his time management skills have improved since he started events work: “I have to be organized to get my assignments done and work too!.”

Prodding to discover the students’ worst experiences and disasters got me nowhere - these students are just too good. Sorav did admit to a few broken glasses, and Bardia to hitting the General Manager of Bab al Shams in the leg with a chair (no lasting damage to the manager or the chair), but overall the students have performed impeccably. The proof? The managers keep calling them back.

The Palmonâde Team. Front right: Helen Morris, Executive Chef / Lecturer and Michael Kitts, Executive Chef, Senior Lecturer, who supervised the students’ work for this event.

A note from the outgoing Board of the EAHM Alumni Associationby Nirvana Govender

Congratulations to the Class of 2009! It is with great pride that we welcome you to the Alumni Association of the Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management.

2008 and 2009 have proven to be challenging yet rewarding years for the EAHM Alumni Association. Having kick-started 2008 with a successful 1st Ejteema [gathering] in February, our aims and objectives for the year were effectively accomplished. 2009 proved to be a dynamic year with more organizing and planning of the association. Our numbers have now increased to 171 graduates, a true reflection of the success of the Academy and thus the success of the alumni.

This year we hand over the association to a new board of elected members. As the President of the Inaugural Board, I am proud to state that teamwork, passion, fortitude and a vision for success of the alumni is how I would describe the Inaugural Alumni Association Board and Committee for 2008/2009. Pieter Bruener, the Vice President, Raziena Cajee, the Marketing and Communications Manager, and the Marketing Committee, have worked selflessly to create a strong foundation for an association that will grow from strength to strength. We are confident the association will play a powerful role in the Middle East hospitality sector and will be influential in the progress of our graduates and of the Academy.

On behalf of the outgoing Board, I would like to thank Mr. Ron Hilvert and Ms. Jane Campbell and the faculty of the Academy, for their support in helping us build the association to the success it is today.

The new Board members are: President, Samer Simreen (Class of 2006); Vice-President, Delna Prakashan (2005); Marketing & Communications, Amro Khoudeir (2008). To the new Board, congratulations on being elected.

Where are they now?Samer Simreen, Class of 2006 Operations Manager, Royal Catering Services

“I know it’s all worth it when my team succeeds in making a guest’s dining experience memorable; when we’ve provided that ‘one special meal’ for someone”.

Right from the beginning of his studies it was clear that Samer Simreen’s career specialization would be food and beverage. His favourite courses at the Academy were the kitchen

management ones and the highlight of his degree studies was the 2nd year restaurant project (his group devised an Asian fusion concept and named it Yin Yang). So it was not surprising that he chose an F&B management traineeship with which to launch his career upon graduating. As a member of the opening team for the Four Seasons Golf Club in Dubai, he was responsible for establishing the Stewarding Department. When the Golf Club hotel opened, he was promoted to Assistant Manager of Stewarding, and then transferred to the All Day Dining Restaurant.

In total Samer spent two years with the Four Seasons in Dubai, before accepting a transfer to the hotel’s property in Vancouver, Canada, where he worked as Assistant Manager for Stewarding and then Assistant Manager for Restaurants. Moving from a brand new hotel to the second oldest Four Seasons hotel in the world was quite an experience – “Working in an established, more conservative atmosphere slowed me down a bit,” he reports. In addition, the business environment in Canada was entirely different, and he picked up some useful – and foreign -- skills, such as how to deal with unionized employees.

Recently, Samer returned to Abu Dhabi to join Royal Catering Services L.L.C., as Operations Manager. From five-star hotel restaurants, Samer’s current concern is catering and related services for oil company labour camps in the Empty Quarter! The company organizes and serves three meals a day for over 2600 clients. “The basic procedures are the same as in the hotel industry, only the luxury is missing!” he laughs.

Why the change? “It seemed like a good career move not only because the catering industry is thriving in spite of the crisis, but also because we are starting to expand into restaurants.” Royal Catering Services opened its first restaurant, NOVA, on the Corniche in Abu Dhabi in 2009 and the company is keen to develop this end of the business.

Samer, who is half German and half Palestinian, was born in the UAE and after living in Abu Dhabi for a few years spent 18 years of his life in Germany. In his precious free time, he likes to cook and is a keen sportsman. As well as biking, swimming and hiking, he is an avid snowboarder and made good use of the ski slopes in Canada for this pursuit. However, being quite a strong environmentalist, he refuses to make use of the Mall of the Emirates ski slopes; he switched to a kite board instead.

What advice would he give to students currently studying at the Academy? “Make the best of your university education by taking advantage of all the resources and experiences on offer.” He confesses that he only understood the importance of being a ‘nerd’ toward the end of his studies, during which he spent two rewarding semesters at Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne, and completed his internship in Paris. As newly-elected President of the Alumni Association, Samer will be a great role model for new graduates.

Page 6

The yacht El Mundo was the setting for the annual “EAHM Alumni Association Graduation Ejteema”. Thirty-five alumni enjoyed a leisurely cruise around

The Palm and Marina, while catching up with each other’s news.

Page 7

Chinese noodle demonstration by Eng Yew Khor (Executive Chinese Chef, Jumeirah Mina A’ Salam)

Something’s fishy in the F&B curriculum

Accelerate your learning at the Academyby Dr Stuart Jauncey, Dean

When Nipul Laxman signed up for his BSc at the Academy, he had no idea the curriculum would include getting up at dawn for a visit to the Fish Market in Deira! But he quickly learned that first year students taking food and beverage (F&B) subjects are more likely to be found outside of the classroom than sitting in neat rows taking notes. The syllabi for Food and Beverage Service 101, Food and Beverage Management 101 and Professional Food Preparation 101 have been designed to get the students involved in the subjects in a direct, hands-on style.

The teaching team for the food and beverage subjects comprises three highly experienced F&B practitioners-turned academics. “A strong practical introduction enhances learning, and gives the students a more realistic perspective on the industry”, says Executive Chef and Lecturer Helen Morris. “For every two hours spent on theory, the students spend seven hours in practical sessions in the kitchen or dining room”. In the formal, taught portion of the three courses, the students spend 12 days working in either the kitchen or the dining room of the student restaurant, !con, cooking for and serving real guests.

The courses also have an off-campus component. To learn about catering management, the students visit real catering businesses, including Emirates Airlines (to see onboard catering in action) and Wild Wadi (to see fast food operations).

Guest lectures and demonstrations form another part of the programme. The 2009/2010 academic year has featured demonstrations of sushi-making (delivered - or perhaps the word is performed - by chefs from Jumeirah Emirates Towers), ice carving (by “kitchen artists” from Madinat Jumeirah), and Chinese noodle preparation (by chefs from Madinat Jumeirah), as well as a cigar seminar (by Casa Habanas) and the annual tea seminar (delivered for the last 7 years by EAHM patron Teehaus Ronnefeldt). The early-morning Fish Market outing was tied in with a kitchen session on fish-filleting.

But these three courses are only “tasters”- the students have month-long work placements in hotel restaurant kitchen and service as well. Some students take advantage of part-time work opportunities to garner yet more experience (see the article on page 5 of this issue).

Nipul had taken a BTEC course in food and beverage operations before he came to the Academy, so he expected to know much of the material for the first year courses already.”The difference is in the details” he says. “We don’t just read how to do things like cutting julienne of vegetables, we actually have to do them. The demonstrations make the techniques clearer too. My work placement is in F&B at the Burj Al Arab, and I feel really well-prepared.” If Nipul feels confident working at the Burj Al Arab, with their extremely high standards, then the Academy’s food and beverage teaching team must be doing something very right!

In September 2010, the Emirates Academy will introduce a three-year honours bachelor degree programme. We are the first university in the UAE to be approved by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research to do this.

This change to the programme will mean that we will offer courses over three 12-week trimesters rather than the two semesters we have used in the past. Students who have a GPA of 3.0 or higher will be able to register for 5 courses per trimester rather than 4, which will be the norm for students with lower GPAs. Naturally all students can choose to take only 4 courses per trimester and to stay with us for the full four years.

Students with a GPA of less than 3.0 will be provided with support and encouragement to improve their GPA so that they too can accelerate their learning.

The content of the programme remains exactly the same, with the same courses and internship, all still fully validated by the Ministry. One of the main advantages of the trimester system is the flexibility it affords individual students. High achieving students can finish more quickly, while part-time and flexibly learning students can schedule their courses over three periods of the year. Another major benefit of the new structure is of course a significant saving on accommodation and living costs for students who complete the programme within three years, as well as the opportunity for them to launch their careers earlier.

The motivation for the change came in part from Europe, where the Bologna Agreement of 1999 initiated a process of standardizing degree programmes in higher education institutions. A three-year honours bachelor degree is one of the agreed standards, and many European universities have already adopted this. We were also responding to feedback from some of our students who had requested an accelerated option.

During the initial period we will be closely monitoring the impact of the new system on student learning and satisfaction, and if all goes as expected, the three-year honours bachelor degree will become a fixed feature at the Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management.

All students will also be invited to a presentation during next semester where the implications for them and their cohort will be fully explained.

News & Events

The Academy’s Agnes Salido was a finalist in the recent “Jumeirah’s Got Talent” competition. Of the many Jumeirah colleagues who auditioned at the various properties, only 13 made it to the finals. Agnes sang one of her specialties, Beyoncé’s Listen, to an appreciative audience including twenty enthusiastic Academy colleagues. Those who missed the event were able to hear Agnes’ lovely voice at the Graduation Ball, where she sang a special song for the 2009 graduates.

The Academy’s got talent!

Elisabeth Naglestad and Chris Dutt, both fourth year students, represented the Academy at the first Young Hoteliers Summit (YHS), held at Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) in late January. YHS, the brainchild of students at EHL, brought together hospitality management students from colleges around the world for a rewarding professional programme, including a competition to solve a real-life case study devised by Jumeirah Group. Guy Crawford, CEO of Jumeirah Group, was a keynote speaker. The two-day event also featured workshops, a panel discussion with student and industry panelists, and networking events.

Young Hoteliers Summit

Hospitality is one of the most exciting and varied professions-- in what other degree programme would students have the opportunity to travel to England to help at a horse racing festival? Last summer four Emirati students from the Academy had the honour of representing Jumeirah and the UAE at the Newbury Racecourse in the UK, during the three-day Dubai Summer Festival and International Arabian Race Day. They were invited to participate by the office of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, (Deputy Ruler of Dubai and the Minister of Finance and Industry of the United Arab Emirates), who is a patron of the Newbury racetrack. They were sponsored by Jumeirah, and while there, mentored by Abdin Nasralla, (General Manager of Bab Al Shams, and at Newbury, responsible for catering for 18,000 racing fans!)

The four Emirati students who were chosen for the adventure were Reem Al Mulla and Ahmad Al Moosa from fourth year (now graduates), as well as Mashael Al Fardan and Hussain Al Fardan from first year. Hussain was the only truly “horsy” student of the group: he regularly competes in endurance races on his horse Leader. However, as hospitality students, all were keen to expand their hands-on experience in the real world.

The three day event went by in a blur of activity. The students helped to set up and staff the Jumeirah stand, interacting with race-goers and providing information on Dubai, Jumeirah, and the Academy. They attended official events such as the launch dinner. One of their jobs was menu tasting for Jumeirah Hospitality, which was responsible for catering for the Sheikh’s entourage. One day they were introduced to the UAE ambassador and had tea with him; on another day they were thrilled when Sheikh Hamdan took the time to speak with them (kindly arranged by Mr. Nasralla). A lunch meeting with travel agents was deemed to be one of the best professional experiences, providing insight into public relations and networking, among other useful skills.

“The purpose of this trip was to educate ourselves professionally and that was exactly what we did,” says Mashael. “Whether it was putting our PR skills to the test during banquet lunches or at the Jumeirah stand,

we had to know what to say and prepare our information beforehand. We were able to network with the industry’s top players. While doing so we were able to observe how such a massive event was organized”.

According to the Academy’s Director for Industry Liaison, Graham Challender, who went along to support the group, “They were treated as part of the Jumeirah team and that in itself was a good learning experience. They had to interact with all levels of people and work effectively as part of a new team”. His final verdict? “They were excellent ambassadors, portraying the Academy, themselves and the UAE in a good light”.

The benefits were not all professional, reports Mashael. “I felt confident travelling for the first time without family and was able to take on responsibilities that I would not typically have had in similar situations. Now I am more self-assured when it comes to taking matters into my own hands”,.

And yes, the students did occasionally have a chance to watch the races! All in all an excellent experience and one the students hope will be offered to others next year.

“Horsing around” becomes a learning experience for Academy students

Liz and Chris

Hussain, Abdin Nasralla (General Manager, Jumeirah Bab Al Shams), Reem, Mashael, Ahmad

Graduates Ammad Hussain and Stian Torres are fans!