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IFT strives to offer students various practical experiences in the Bachelor degree programmes, enabling students to master the requirements of the industry and be prepared for the challenges in the job market. All Bachelor degree programme students are required to complete a 6-month internship programme at tourism organisations in Macao or overseas in their 3rd year of study. Since the establishment of internship programme, performances of the students are excellent and feedbacks from the industry are very positive. There is an increase of participating corporations every year. In the previous academic year, over 20 organisations and corporations offer internship opportunities to IFT students, including the Administration of Airport, Air Macau, Crown Macau, Four Seasons Hotel, Grandview Hotel, Hong Thai Citizens Travel, Macao Cultural Centre, Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, MGM Grand, New Sintra Tours, Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau, Sofitel Macau at Ponte 16, Wynn Resorts and other tourism organisations. To broaden the horizons of the students, IFT aggressively explore more opportunities of overseas internship. Students can choose to join the internship programme in large corporations in the USA, Europe, South East Asia, Hong Kong and mainland China to experience the local cultures. In the past, students have worked for UNESCO Asian Headquarter in Bangkok, British National Trust, Anantara Resort Maldives, Hyatt Dubai and other international well-known corporations. Since the academic year 2006/07, 17 students have completed various internship programmes at Disney World, Florida, USA. Currently, IFT and Disney World offer different internship programmes to students, including, · 6 months Internship programme of Food & Beverage Service at Disney World China Pavilion for year 3 students.
· 1 Year trainee programme of Merchandise and Food & Beverage Services for graduates.
· “International College Programme” offered by Florida State University and Disney World. Participating students will attend a 1-week extensive hospitality programme, followed by internships at the theme parks, water parks and resorts. Upon completion of the entire programme, a certificate from Florida State University will be issued. On 5 March, Disney World International Recruitment Team was invited to IFT for a talk on the internship programme, as well as a preliminary interview to the students. The recruitment team consists of Ms. Sue Sharpe, Disney International Recruitment Recruiter, Mr. Jeff Hickman, Team Leader of College Recruitment and Mr. Stephen Fan, General Manager of China Pavilion. This is the 4th consecutive year for Disney World to visit IFT for internship recruitment. Successful candidates will go to Disney World in Florida, USA to experience the operations of the theme parks, customer service and management culture, as well as chances to have cultural exchange with students around the globe. 3rd year Hotel Management student, Nyon Lam, has just completed his internship at Disney World last month. The internship experience in Disney is unforgettable. During the 6 months working for food & beverage service in China Pavilion, he experienced the culture of hospitality of Disney, appreciated the lives and working environment there, and got the chance to visit the places nearby. He believed that the experience will be beneficial in his future career in related areas. Disney International Recruitment Recruiter Ms. Sue Sharpe expressed that Disney is satisfied with the performance of IFT students in the past. She further stated that there will not be any quota for the recruitment and she hoped to receive more IFT students for this cultural exchange programme.
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The Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao SAR Government presents the 20th Macao Arts Festival (MAF) to be held between 2 and 30 May, 2009. Featuring more than 30 performances by artists from Portugal, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the USA, Canada and Singapore, the Festival season would not be complete without the ever-present spirit of performers from Macao and Mainland China, as well. In a clear show of support for local talent, Macao artists are given the opportunity to début works reflecting the region’s own performing arts scene, while on the international front, the Festival reaffirms itself as a window to the latest creative trends to emerge on stages the world over. The programme brings together theatre, dance, music, opera, cinema and multimedia arts, in a selection extending as well to lesser-known Chinese traditions like Qinqiang opera and Guangdong folk song. The 20th Macao Arts Festival opens with a Sadler’s Wells London production. Sutra (2 May, Macao Cultural Centre Grand Auditorium) is a brand new dance work inspired by the skill, strength and spirituality of Buddhist Shaolin monks, presented by celebrated Flemish/Moroccan choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. Macao-born composer Lam Bun-Ching’s contemporary opera Wenji: Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute (3, 4 May at Dom Pedro V Theatre) is the first contemporary chamber opera to be presented in the Festival. Incorporating influences ranging from Chinese Beijing opera to contemporary Western music, the opera is based on the true story of poet/musician Cai Wenji from the Han Dynasty. The story follows a scholar's daughter who becomes a prize of war, torn between two worlds. The local professional orchestras make a substantial contribution to the programme, beginning on 8 May with the concert The Macao Orchestra and Cho-Liang Lin (MCCGA). The Orchestra, led by Lü Jia, along with international superstar violinist Cho-Liang Lin ravish the public with Prokofiev’s masterful Violin Concerto No. 2. Mr. Lin’s interpretation of this work is widely regarded as the “most authoritative”. The Orchestra continues its Chamber Music Series, performing Romantic Evening on 17 May (Dom Pedro V Theatre), a concert dedicated to the Romantic repertoire. The Macao Chinese Orchestra, in turn, is featured in three different concerts. Improvised sand animation by French artist David Myriam plays a central role in the first two concerts: Traditional Music Sceneries I / II (14, 15 May at Dom Pedro V Theatre). As the French artist creates fantastic and poetic figures in moving sand, his evolving creations are projected live, while the Macao Chinese Orchestra sets his art to music with a collection of inspiring and highly evocative pieces. The third concert, entitled Chimeras (24 May at the MCCGA), features four Macao premieres. The talent of the most outstanding Chinese contemporary composers is rivalled only by the genius of Maestro Pang Ka Pang in a showcase of rare and highly complex symphonic pieces. The Macao Folk Arts Association presents two concerts titled One Century of Guangdong Folk Song (23, 24 May at Lou Lim Ieoc Garden). Guangdong Folk Song, famous for its buoyant vitality and elegant rhythm, has become part and parcel of Lingnan’s (Guangdong) Intangible Cultural Heritage. The delightful assortment of original styles, ranging from Cantonese Narrative Singing to Naam Yam and Cantonese Opera, are all to be presented against the evocative backdrop of Lou Lim Ieoc Garden. On 10 May, MASS Ensemble and David Myriam present the show Earth Harp (at the MCCLA). The Earth Harp is the world’s largest stringed instrument. Its strings extend out from the stage to architectural elements at the rear of the auditorium, transforming the hall into one gigantic resonating instrument. MASS blends original music with cutting edge dance and visual arts to create an unforgettable multi-sensory theatrical experience. Live sand drawing is a spectacular and original sort of painting art. French sand animation artist David Myriam joins MASS Ensemble’s production in Macao, using moving sand to create continuously evolving fantastic and poetic figures. The German musical group Trio Bravo+ returns to the Festival with the cinema-live-concert Menschen am Sonntag (23 May at Mount Fortress). Half feature, half documentary, shot with amateur actors, People on Sundays is an outstanding work of the German silent movie avant-garde, directed by Curt and Robert Siodmak, Edgar G. Ulmer and Fred Zinnemann and based on a screenplay by Billy Wilder. The film follows the lives of a group of Berlin residents on a summer day at the Wannsee beach during the inter-war period. Trio Bravo+’s score takes up the easygoing, tempting atmosphere of a summer day and adds new rhythm to the images. Completing the musical palette of the Festival, !BAM Percussion! from Canada bring an eXplosion (28 May at Mount Fortress) that will electrify the crowd with its powerful rhythms and its deliriously funny sketches. The pulsating energy of BAM is contagious: through drumbeats and laughter, it overwhelms the audience. The Macanese Patois theatre group Dóci Papiaçám di Macau creates their now legendary caricature of local society with the premiere of Letrado Chapado? (Right, Mr. Counsellor) at the Macao Cultural Centre's Grand Auditorium on 16 and 17 May. This is the latest work by Miguel de Senna Fernandes, who for more than ten years has gathered Macanese friends to stage these hilarious stories about Macao. This time, the question asked is: What does it really mean to be a lawyer? The Macao General Association of Cantonese Opera and Music, dedicated to preserving and carrying forward the traditional art of Cantonese opera, presents a double-bill: It Is Forty Years Since the Dream Was Broken and A Forced Match on 9 and 10 May, respectively, at the popular Alegria Cinema, maintaining the Chinese opera tradition that has increasingly become a hallmark the MAF season. This year the Little Plum Blossom Qinqiang Opera Troupe brings an operatic style from the Mainland with Women Generals of the Yang Family (27 May at the MCCGA). This opera is a crystallisation of the national spirit, imbued with inspiring heroism. With a strong line-up of young artists in beautiful costumes, this fabulous performance will surely be one of the highlights of the festival. The showcase of local talent continues on 23 May with the concert Melodies of Youth 2009 at the MCCGA, an exciting showcase of classical and pop music from all over the world by students of the Macao Conservatory School of Music, including winners of the Macao Young Musicians Competition. Macao's own professional theatre company Theatre Farmers stages Eugène Ionesco’s Rhinocéros, a play written in 1959 (6 May at the MCCGA). The play, which belongs to the school of drama known as the Theatre of the Absurd, is often read as a response to the sudden upsurge of Fascism, Communism and Nazism during the events preceding World War II and explores the themes of conformity, culture, philosophy and morality. The Macao Fringe Club, another local theatre company, presents Sunrise by Cao Yu (21, 22 May at the Macao Cultural Centre Small Auditorium). Published in 1936, the second play written by this famous contemporary Chinese playwright describes the dark life of the Chinese people during the period from 1931 to 1935 under the reactionary rule of the Kuomintang. International theatre is also present in the festival. New British theatre company 1927 presents Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (8, 9, 10 May at Dom Pedro V Theatre). This play of cabaret theatre cleverly combines live music, performance and storytelling with films and animations. Using the aesthetic of silent film, a series of comic vignettes unfold in which the performers interact with the animations. Drama Box Ltd. from Singapore and the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre join forces to present Drift (22 May at the MCCGA). This tale of two cities – Singapore and Shanghai – spans three generations where cultures and memories are contested in the speed of modernisation. It features a stellar cast including Zhou Yemang and Lim Kay Siu. A family favourite, puppet theatre was not forgotten on this Festival programme. Between 15 and 17 May, the Lou Kau Mansion hosts the Bonecos de Santo Aleixo from Portugal. The “dynasty” of these puppets dates from the middle of the 19th century. They are manipulated by a “family” of professional actors which guarantees the authenticity of the performances. In Macao they will perform The Story of the Creation of the World and The Story of the Birth of Jesus. The Spanish puppet theatre company El Retablo presents Animales, a concert of small histories concerning the animal world, on 23 and 24 May at the Macao Conservatory Auditorium. These shows are a celebration for the senses of the child, a theatrical proposal as a game between diverse elements, a game that will produce in the child an intellectual, emotional and aesthetic experience. Comedic theatre is also featured in the festival with Ennio Marchetto (28, 29 May at MCCSA), a world renowned and awarded Italian comedian who has created his own theatrical language mixing mime, dance, music and quick change costumes made out of cardboard and paper. In 18 years Ennio has performed in over 70 countries for more than a million people, and his show has received numerous awards and international critical acclaim. The Festival also offers multidisciplinary performances. Canadian company L’Arsenal à Musique presents L’Arche (24 May at the MCCSA). In a series of tableaux, The Ark gently invites us to reflect upon the slow crumbling of the world around us. Using music, projections and performance to celebrate life, The Ark takes a critical look at the delicate balance between man and nature. Davy and Kristin McGuire present Silent Movie (23, 24, 28 May at Lou Kau Mansion), a multimedia performance that mixes projections and live acting and is viewed by the audience through holes made in the front wall of a huge wooden box. The couple also presents A Study of Eating Habits, an interactive video installation designed as a life-sized, immersive, walk-through installation which depicts the story of a couple’s relationship through the meals they eat (23~28 May at Lou Kau Mansion). Dance rivals music as one of the main highlights of the Festival. Portuguese contemporary dance company Quorum Ballet (12 May at the Macao Cultural Centre Grand Auditorium) has a reputation for presenting subtle works and performances of quality. Impacto is a piece about how human beings are changing in the modern world – the often isolating world of communication and technology – and how that world affects their identity. Last but not least, the performing group bringing the 20th edition of this Festival to a close is British Hofesh Shechter Company (29 and 30 May at the MCCGA). Hofesh Shechter exploded on to the international dance scene last year with his acclaimed works In your rooms and Uprising. Political, urban and uncompromisingly direct, his choreography has a raw, distinctive edge that has earned him a well-deserved reputation as “a true original” (The Guardian). The performing arts contribute further to the MAF itinerary with a series of shows to take place in the north of Macao between 15 and 17 May. The Outdoor Performing Arts Showcase, to be held at Iao Hon Garden, brings together international and Chinese artists who present a marathon of performances falling just outside the mainstream, including Chrome from Australia, Jamie Adkins from Canada, Urbano Drums from Portugal and Mime Crime from Germany, in addition to The Macao Conservatory Drama School and local and Mainland China Cantonese opera performers and musicians. Also provided are workshops and conferences supporting the events, with the objective of stimulating public interest in the arts. In accordance with a long-standing MAF tradition, rehearsals for some of the performances will be open to the public. The Macao Government Tourist Office kindly supports promotion of the 20th Macao Arts Festival in Mainland China and overseas. The performances held at the Macao Cultural Centre are supported by the Macao Cultural Centre’s rental subsidy scheme. Tickets for the 20th Macao Arts Festival will be available after 10am on 29 March 2009 at all Kong Seng Ticketing outlets. Telephone and online bookings will be available from 1pm on 29 March. There will be a variety of discount plans (up to 40%). Detailed publicity materials are available at ticket counters. For more information please check the website of the Cultural Affairs Bureau at www.icm.gov.mo/fam. Information (853) 2855 5555 in Macao; (852) 2380 5083 in Hong Kong Online Reservations: www.macauticket.com
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Organised by the museums in Macao and co-organised by the Macao Digital Photography Association, the “Museums and Tourism” Photography Contest of the International Museum Day 2009 is now accepting entries. All local residents and tourists are cordially invited to participate. Entry submission will be closed by the end of March. The “International Museum Day of Macao” is a major annual event organised by around 20 local museums in Macao. To celebrate the IMD this year, a photography contest themed “Museums and Tourism” is held in wish to provide both tourists and local residents a chance to present the aesthetic and dynamic aspects of local museums through photographs with personal sentiments after visiting the museums. Submitted entries can focus on the exterior, special features or activities held in any museum in Macao. This contest accepts both “Public group” & “Student group” entry, there are 6 awards for each group and the 3 winners awarded “Best of the contest” in the public group will receive a certificate and MOP 2,000, while the five “Best of the contest” winners in the student group will receive MOP 600 book voucher along with a certificate. The awards will be presented in the opening ceremony of the “Museum carnival” which marks the beginning of the “International museum Day 2009” on the 3rd of May. Detailed regulations, submission locations and the application form can be obtained and downloaded at the “Museum of Macao” website (http://www.museums.gov.mo). For any queries please call 8798 4181.
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Being one of the public higher institutions in Macao, Institute For Tourism Studies strives to offer comprehensive assistance to students to encourage them to further their studies and motivate them to join the internship or exchange programme overseas and contribute to the society in the future. To provide financial assistance to mainland students with excellent academic results, in order to encourage them to further their studies in Macao, IFT will establish a new scholarship in the academic year 2009/10 to these outstanding students. Each year, one scholarship will be awarded tuition fee and living expense. To continue receiving this sponsorship until graduation, the student will be required to achieve a GPA of 2.5 or above each year. Mainland student who is granted this scholarship will be fully exempted from tuition fee, hostel fee, as well as meal expenses at the student cafeteria. In addition, a monthly allowance of MOP1,000 will also be granted, sponsored by IFT-BNU Credit Card foundation. High school graduates from the mainland who have attended the “Unified Exams of Admissions of National Universities and Colleges” and attain a score up to or above the first level standard of admission are eligible to apply for the scholarship. To show support to students affected by the Sichuan earthquake last year, students from Sichuan will have priority to apply in 2009/10. For many years, various associations, individuals and corporations have shown their support to IFT by sponsoring a wide range of scholarships to over 50 distinguished students. These sponsors include the Macao Foundation, Macau Government Tourist Office, Banco Nacional Ultramarino, Henry Fok Foundation, Macau Polytex Group, Mr. Cheung Lup Kwan, SKAL International – Macau, Ocean-Tech Group, Venetian Macau Limited, Cultural Affairs Bureau and Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute. IFT has been persistent in providing quality education and making contributions to the industry and the society. IFT anticipates that, with the establishments of various scholarships, students are encouraged to learn and achieve higher academic goals, or participate in exchange programme and overseas internship programme, so as to broaden their horizons and be prepared for their future responsibilities in the tourism industry.
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Due to routine inspection and preservation, the Exhibition of the Bryde’s Whale Skeletal Specimen at the Seac Pai Van Park in Coloane, will be temporarily closed to the public from 2nd to 3rd March 2009. The exhibition will be opened again on 4th March 2009. Along with the exhibition, there is a Chinese White Dolphin skeletal specimen on display also. Exhibition venue: Seac Pai Van Park, Coloane
Opening hours: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (closed on Mondays)
Admission: free
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The passage of the National Security Law has filled a longstanding legal vacuum, fulfilled an inevitable constitutional obligation, and laid down a solid foundation for Macao’s social stability. In an address to the Women’s General Association of Macau at the Women’s Day Reception today, Mr Ho said the enactment as required under Article 23 of the Basic Law marked a substantial step forward for the SAR. Despite the completion of the legislative process, we should continue to promote public awareness and understanding of the law, he said. Our constitutional obligation did not only refer to the legislative procedures, but also to the implementation by the Government. With a view to enhancing our legal system, we should continue to promote our laws and provide training for related staff. Mr Ho said in facing the future, we must maintain our focus on the overall situation and continue to safeguard social stability and promote the sustainable development of the SAR. Speaking on the importance of the role of women in Macao, he said they played key roles in the building of the Macao SAR and in times of challenges. He encouraged the Association to continue to work with the Government and the public to tackle the challenges brought about by the global financial turmoil and contribute to the implementation of the principle of “One Country Two System”.
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