The School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University received a donation of HK$1.08 million from Zhejiang Drore Technology Co., Ltd. (Drore) for the establishment of the “Drore Scholarship” in support of the SHTM’s efforts in advancing hospitality and tourism education.

With full support from Drore, two entry scholarships per academic year will be set up for three years commencing 2017. The scholarships will be awarded to local as well as non-local students intending to pursue their studies at the SHTM with the Master of Science (MSc) in Global Hospitality Business, MSc in International Hospitality Management, MSc in International Tourism and Convention Management or MSc in International Wine Management programmes.

Based in Zhejiang province, Drore is the leading company in the mainland that develops and operates smart tourism cloud services, integrating the technologies of cloud computing, tourism big data, three-dimensional real scenery map as well as mixed reality. The company attaches much importance to research and development on smart tourism technology and its application.

While presenting the donation cheque on behalf of Drore, Dr Fuhua Song, Founder and CEO, said, “We see education as the backbone and foundation to the sustainable development of the entire industry. With the establishment of the Drore Scholarship, we hope to support the SHTM’s efforts in nurturing future leaders in this dynamic and fast-growing sector.”

Professor Kaye Chon, SHTM Dean and Chair Professor and Walter Kwok Foundation Professor in International Hospitality Management, expressed his sincere gratitude to Dr Song. “This benefaction does not only play an important role in the advancement of hospitality and tourism education, but also demonstrates the industry’s deep commitment in nurturing future industry leaders,” he remarked. “The SHTM is a recognised leader in hospitality and tourism management education and, with concerted efforts, we offer students the most advanced educational programmes in the field.”