INTERVIEW - VALÉRIE DE CORTE, GLOBAL ALLIANCE & PARTNERSHIP DIRECTOR OF THE EHL HOSPITALITY BUSINESS SCHOOL: “THE EHL ALLIANCE WORKS LIKE A START-UP” (Switzerland)
The EHL Alliance, founded in 2019, creates a high-impact link between student, student ambassadors and corporate partners, who benefit directly from EHL's assets. |
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INTERVIEW - VALÉRIE DE CORTE, GLOBAL ALLIANCE & PARTNERSHIP DIRECTOR OF THE EHL HOSPITALITY BUSINESS SCHOOL: “THE EHL ALLIANCE WORKS LIKE A START-UP” (Switzerland)
The EHL Alliance, founded in 2019, creates a high-impact link between student, student ambassadors and corporate partners, who benefit directly from EHL's assets. |
Category: Europe - Switzerland - Careers -
Recruitment / Job / Training - Interviews
Interview made by Vanessa Guerrier-Buisine on 2023-04-11
The EHL Hospitality Business School's Spring Career Forum highlighted the work of EHL and its partners. The school has been close to industry since it was founded 130 years ago and operates in an agile and innovative manner. It constantly questions its operations and encourages employability by promoting synergies between companies, students, and the alumni network.
During this day which brings together all these stakeholders, the Journal des Palaces met Valérie De Corte, Global Alliance & Partnership Director, to learn more about the keys to the success of the EHL Alliance. This emanation of EHL, which operates in a very transversal manner, stimulates daily interaction between all the parties involved in the life of EHL.Journal des Palaces: How was the EHL Alliance network created?Valérie De Corte: This network was born from an idea that germinated at the beginning of 2019, with the desire to work differently with our partners. Our initial desire was to enhance the relationship we had with these partners and to do something innovative, to enhance the employability of young people.
From the start, we worked in a very agile way, in start-up mode.
At the beginning of April 2019, we wanted to try the adventure by associating 22 founding members from different sectors of activity, and the Alliance was inaugurated in December 2019.
Today, we have reached more than 35 members, between founders, partner members and simple members.
Members who share the core values of EHL: family, respect, excellence, learning, and innovation.What benefits do companies get from this alliance?The founding members have been there from the beginning of the adventure, they are anchored in the project.
Partner members commit themselves for three years and simple members commit themselves annually.
In practice, each partner pays an annual fee, to benefit from specific advantages, which range from easier access to students, to the promotion of products, to consultancy delivered by our students under the guidance of our professors, to access to the alumni network, to the possibility of organizing conferences on campus, etc.
In addition to these benefits, each company is offered a tailor-made annual plan. The pillar of this project, which forms the link between EHL and the company, is the Alliance's student ambassadors. An idea born during the Covid-19.
As a result, prestigious brands such as Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Accor, Starhotels or IHG have been encouraged to join the Alliance.Could you describe the role of the Alliance's student ambassadors?Students are pre-selected by EHL and then selected by the companies to represent them for 6 months to a year.
This role is entirely voluntary. The students will devote up to 10 hours per week at the service of the company. Their mission is varied. They can lead different projects, including the organization of a discovery day with the partner.
For one day, the company will offer an immersion in its world. The companies arrive with a stand on the campus and set the scene. Different activities are organized, such as a conference, a challenge, a competition, a product discovery, a tasting, etc.
For these students, the Alliance offers more synergies and opportunities to get in touch with a company and a sector of activity, not only during an internship or a career forum, but repeatedly during the year, and this throughout their studies at EHL.
And somehow, there are opportunities for engagement. In this way, companies can already spot future talent, and future employees.What are the next announcements expected in the hotel industry?There are some very nice new hotel and non-hotel partners coming up in the upcoming weeks.
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