Pierre Fenech

Q:  Having started your jouney as a student at ITS and now leading the Institute as CEO, what key changes have you seen in hospitality education, and how have these changes influenced the curriculum at ITS?

The Tourism Industry has been evolving ever since and I must say that the changes were substantial. This obviously means that the Institute needs to constantly keep abreast of such changes.

If possible, we need to anticipate the changes upfront and prepare our students for the needs of tomorrow. To achieve this, we regularly engage with industry leaders to discuss emerging trends and student outcomes. The insights gained from these discussions are crucial in refining our curriculum.

Q: What strategies have you implemented since 2015 to ensure ITS remains at the forefront of hospitality education, both locally and internationally?

ITS saw a massive transformation in the past 9 years with the main focus being on good governance and internationalisation as the two major strategies. These have led to major achievements in the past years.

On the good governance side, a major achievement was the Extension of Scope given to ITS so that now it can self-accredit courses up to Level 7. This has been achieved after passing through rigorous audits by different international panels which recognised the level of good governance of the Institute.

On the Internationalisation there were major achievements but if I might choose, these would be the agreements signed with top ranked international institutions mainly The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management, Institute Lyfe (formerly known as Institut Paul Bocuse) and the Haaga Helia University of Applied Sciences. These agreements elevated ITS on the world stage and made our offer more attractive to foreign students which now account for 25% of our total student population.

Q: Can you share your vision for the future of ITS and how you plan to continue driving innovation in hospitality training and education?

Our vision is to expand the successful work we’ve established here in Malta to a global scale. We already have established satellite campuses in China, Switzerland, and Jordan, with the first official ITS students studying on our curricula abroad starting in the coming weeks.

These will serve as feeders to our main campus in Malta, allowing students to further their studies. To support this growth, we are currently constructing a larger, state-of-the-art campus capable of accommodating more students.