Bangkok / 19 December, 2012 – The Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (Public Organization) or TCEB is raising standards in Thailand to prepare the country as ASEAN’s MICE Education Hub. A new international standard MICE curriculum has been developed for adoption by 16 higher education institutions across the North of the country. The initiative aims to generate more than 24,000 “Quality MICE” graduates by 2015, in preparation for the forthcoming trade liberalisation under the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).
Mr. Thongchai Sridama, TCEB’s Acting Director, explained: "TCEB and its partner agencies have produced this international joint curriculum entitled ‘Introduction to the MICE industry’ as the country’s very first international standard MICE curriculum, and indeed, in the Asian region. The curriculum has already been adopted by 28 higher education institutions across the country, which for TCEB is a significant step forward in accelerating the development of a new generation of MICE professionals; we are building on this progress to expand to other educational institutions."
In order to position Thailand to become ASEAN’s MICE Education Hub, TCEB has now expanded this initiative to cover a further 16 institutions of higher education, 11 in the north of the country, and 5 in the central region. This means that the MICE curriculum will soon be available at all higher education institutions across the north, and will help stimulate the region’s MICE industry in attracting events within the GMS, CLMV and BIMSTEC blocs.
The ‘Introduction to MICE industry’ curriculum was developed by a MICE Course Board as one of the key initiatives under the MICE Programme Standards scheme, implemented jointly by TCEB, the Thai Exhibition Association (TEA), Thailand Incentive and Convention Association (TICA) and the Business of Creative and Event Management Association. Together, we have worked to build a large body of MICE industry knowledge from all around the world, and combined it with thirty years of private sector industry experience. The result is this curriculum, combined with a standard educational textbook in the field of international convention, exhibitions, trade shows and incentive travel – the first of its kind in Asia.
Mr Thongchai added, "This signing ceremony to announce the cooperation between TCEB and all 16 higher education institutions covers not only the preparation of textbooks in Thai and English, but also teaching materials. The course will also offer opportunities for students to gain practical workplace experience and professional skills. We expect the qualifications and capabilities of MICE graduates to be in strong demand among employers around Thailand and the whole region, as Thailand moves closer towards its status as an ASEAN MICE Education Hub.
“The course content provides an entry-level introduction and overview of the MICE industry. The course outline is divided into 3 major parts: (1) The Outlook of Thailand’s MICE industry; (2) MICE event management; and (3) Key features of the MICE industry. Taken together, the three parts will provide students with comprehensive industry knowledge, from basic principles of industry event management, comparisons of the MICE industry in various countries, venue management for conferences and exhibitions, companies and key organizations and key industry standards. The curriculum also covers industry ethics and governance.
"TCEB is confident that this partnership will lay a foundation for a strong and sustainable MICE industry in Thailand, by increasing our capacity to produce capable and knowledgeable graduates who can contribute to delivering the highest standards of service. The initiative is timely in view of the forthcoming liberalization of trade under the ASEAN Economic Community. Strengthening the competitiveness of Thailand's MICE personnel is also expected to dampen the impact of free movement of labour in the region. We expect more than 8,000 students per year to graduate from the 44 participating institutions, which will contribute to growth in both numbers and standards in our MICE industry workforce. By 2015 Thailand will have more than 24,000 MICE graduates," said Mr Thongchai, in conclusion.
In the first phase of implementation, higher education institutes will offer the course “Introduction to MICE Industry - MICE 101” to first and second year students. In future TCEB will continue to develop the International MICE Standards Programme as a Major course module both at Bachelor and Masters levels. TCEB is confident that the launch of the ‘MICE Curriculum’ will contribute to human resources development and elevation of service standards in the MICE sector. Ultimately, we can expect a new generation of future MICE leaders to drive the industry at national and international levels, and we are therefore confident that Thailand can maintain and extend its leadership in ASEAN’s MICE industry in a sustainable way.
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For more information, please contact:
Parichat Svetasreni
Tel : 02-694-6092 / 081-8404701
Email : Parichat_s@tceb.or.th
Sumet Kanchanapan
Tel : 02-694-6096 / 086-604-9594
Email : Sumet_k@tceb.or.th
SOURCE / Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau