TedQual, considered the “AACSB accreditation for Tourism”, is the world’s most prestigious accreditation standard for Tourism and Hospitality.
TedQual accreditation is implemented by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). On July 8, UNWTO accredited the DTU International Hospitality Management and International Restaurant Operations Management programs with a high score of 771/845 points, meeting up to 91,2% of the criteria. DTU has now become the first Vietnamese university with UNWTO.TedQual qualified programs
The TedQual certified logo
To successfully get accreditation by UNWTO, DTU has spent nearly 10 years building advanced and high-quality programs in Tourism and Hospitality in partnership with Pennsylvania State University (PSU), one of the world’s top five universities in Tourism. In the past three years, to prepare for the accreditation, DTU received instruction and consultation from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Hong Kong PolyU), which holds the highest spot in Tourism & Hospitality in many rankings. Interestingly, the DTU International Hospitality Management and International Restaurant Operations Management programs have received TedQual certification with validity of 3 years, which is better than Hong Kong PolyU’s first TedQual accreditation result with validity of just 2 years.
Being recognized as the world’s most prestigious tourism accreditation standard, many universities leading in Tourism in the world have education programs accredited by UNWTO, including:
- Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Hong Kong Poly),
- the University of Queensland, Australia,
- the University of Québec at Montréal (UQAM), Canada,
- the George Washington University, USA,
- the Bournemouth University, UK,
- Beijing International Studies University, China,
Some pictures of the UNWTO.TedQual accreditation at DTU
Currently, about 277 educational programs at 102 universities in 41 countries in the world have been granted UNWTO.TedQual certification, out of which 150 programs are in Asia. In Southeast Asia, 52 programs at 12 universities in
Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam received UNWTO.TedQual certification.
To receive UNWTO.TedQual certification, Tourism training programs at universities must not only meet the criteria of UNWTO.TedQual, but they must integrate the UNWTO Global Code of Ethics for Tourism. According to the criteria of UNWTO.TedQual, learners must be central and the training programs are evaluated on the relationships among 5 groups of subjects, including:
1. Students
2. Lecturers
3. Employers
4. Educational program and pedagogical system
5. Management
All the above criteria are required to be integrated with the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, which accounts for nearly half of the score when assessing the quality of the training program.
DTU students study in an ecosystem of tourism right at university, which is very rare at Vietnamese universities
In addition to achievements in education, research, practice, and business relationships, it is necessary to mention Professor Lim Sang Taek from Korea, Director of the DTU Hospitality & Tourism Institute (HTi), who plays an important part in the success of the HTi.
After obtaining a Bachelor of Science from Yonsei University in South Korea, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Dallas, and a Doctorate of Business Administration from the United States International University, Professor Lim Sang Taek gained years of experience in teaching and management. He has held many positions, including that of Chairman of the Asia Pacific Tourism Association (APTA), Director of the Dong-A University Institute of Lifelong Education, Busan, Korea, Chairman of the Busan Future of Tourism Association, Korea, Senior Advisor in the Tourism Policy Department for the Presidential Palace (Blue House) of Korea, and Founding member of the Pacific Asia Tourism Education & Training Association.
Hero of Labor and Distinguished Teacher Le Cong Co gives flowers to congratulate Professor Lim Sang Taek for receiving an award from the president of Korea
In August 2019, as Director of the DTU HTi, Professor Lim Sang Taek was honored by the President of South Korea, Moon Jae-in, with an Order of Civil Merit for his outstanding contributions to South Korean education.
Professor. Lim Sang Taek said: “It is a great honor for DTU to be the first university in Vietnam to receive UNWTO.TedQual certification for Hospitality, Restaurant, and Tourism. TedQual’s recognition will give the DTU Hospitality & Tourism Institute a firm international reputation for education, research, and management in Tourism.”
(Media Center)