Women in travel offered scholarship opportunity

SYDNEY – – MasterCard Worldwide and U21Global have launched the fourth year of the MasterCard-U21Global scholarship programme for women in the travel and tourism industry.

MasterCard-U21Global scholarship programme was initiated in 2006 to empower women executives through education to realise their full potential.

It comprises 20 scholarships for the U21Global Postgraduate Diploma of Business Administration.

Last year, three Australian women were included among a talented pool of 20 scholarship recipients from the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA) region:

• Robyn Keenan, Skills Link Manager with Queensland Tourism Industry Council (Victoria Point, QLD);

• Kathryn Thwaites, Airport Operations Manager with Air New Zealand (Sydney, NSW);

• Nicole Blake, Corporate Consultant with Spencer Travel (Sydney, NSW).

The programme is intended for graduates who want to develop skills in the management and marketing of tourism and travel products and programs.

It is designed to provide participants with a solid foundation in core management subjects and equip students with a firm grounding in basic management capabilities.

Core subjects include organisational behavior, finance, marketing management and strategic management, as well as tourism-specific subjects like service quality in travel and tourism and understanding the tourism consumer.

“As women take on leadership roles within the travel and tourism industry, they can upgrade their skills and fast-track their career development through the MasterCard-U21Global scholarship program,” said Michelle Pilot, vice president, brand marketing, MasterCard Worldwide.

The course was developed by U21Global, a leader in quality graduate online education for working executives and professionals in conjunction with the Christel DeHaan Tourism and Travel Research Institute, a part of Nottingham University Business School.

Students completing the diploma can qualify for the University of Nottingham Master of Science in Tourism and Travel Management

The 20 scholarships are made possible by a grant from MasterCard Worldwide. Since its inauguration, 60 women have been awarded the MasterCard-U21Global scholarship programme for women in travel and tourism.

The scholars are professionals from a broad spectrum of the industry, from hotels and airlines to travel and tour operators.

Recipients of the scholarship can enjoy the benefit of studying online and can hence better manage their work and educational commitments.

Organisations from the travel and tourism industry are invited to nominate female employees.

MasterCard and U21Global will bring together a distinguished panel of judges to choose the 20 worthy recipients from throughout the APMEA region.

The deadline for nominations is June 30, 2009.

Those interested in more information on the scholarships and course components can log on to U21Global’s website http://www.u21global.edu.sg/mastercard.