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UNESCAP APETIT Marco Polo programme

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The Network of APETIT was promoted and established by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) in September 1997. The purpose of the Network is to strengthen the institutional capabilities of various countries¡¦ tourism training, education and research institutes, to encourage cooperation among them and to overcome the quantitative and qualitative shortages of human resources in the tourism industry.

To facilitate student exchanges among the member institutions, a new initiative ¡§UNESCAP APETIT Marco Polo Programme¡¨ was proposed in 11th Executive Committee Meeting in Melbourne (Australia), further discussed in 12th Executive Committee Meeting and endorsed in 4th General Council Meeting in Hanoi (Vietnam).

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UNESCAP APETIT Marco Polo Programme aspires to expand undergraduate exchange opportunities beyond home institutions¡¦ reach to cover a wider geographical and cultural scope, allowing tourism and hospitality students to study at various institutions in Asia-Pacific to accumulate credits for graduation.

The programme also strives to reach beyond current objectives of bilateral exchange programmes that are often focused on, and constrained by, students¡¦ academic attainment and administrators¡¦ concern for compatibility between home and host curricula. UNESCAP APETIT Marco Polo Programme shall place equal, if not greater, emphasis on students¡¦ development as a person, while observing prescribed standards of academic excellence of programmes. It is hoped that the student who participates in this programme can come out a more understanding, culturally sensitive, and mature community member of the global village, in addition to having acquired essential academic knowledge and professional skills.

Students under the Programme should take courses cumulating up to 18 credits, usually for a duration of not less than one semester.

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At the end of the programmes, the providers submit an evaluation of the performance of the exchange students and advise the Executive Committee on the decision to award programme certificates. Students upon successful completion of the exchange programme under this scheme will be awarded with the relevant credit points from the host institutions as well as the UNESCAP APETIT Marco Polo Programme Certificates.

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The programme is available to all institutional members of the UNESCAP APETIT. Education providers are to complete the information in the Proforma and register their interest in participation with one of the following Task Force Members:

The Proforma includes the following information:

1.       Brief introduction of programme provider

2.       Proposed programme theme

3.       Number of places available

4.       Accommodation arrangement

5.       Information on the study destination

6.       Programme outline and course synopsis

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An example is provided in ATTACHMENT 1. The proposed programme has to be equivalent to at least one semester¡¦s worth of study. The medium of instruction has to be English.

All registrations will have to be approved by the UNESCAP APETIT Executive Committee. The Executive Committee evaluates the proposed programmes based on the following criteria:

1.       compatibility with the proposed theme

2.       duration of the programme and course content

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1. Institute For Tourism Studies, Macao, China (approved in July 2006)