Hotel school to open at Missenden Abbey in Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire New University (BNU) has announced plans for a new hotel school based at its Missenden Abbey site.

Missenden Abbey International Hotel and Hospitality School (MAIHHS) will open its doors to the first cohorts of students in September. It will provide tuition in hotel management, international hospitality management and hospitality leadership at bachelor’s and master’s levels.

Vice-chancellor Professor Nick Braisby said: “We are delighted to be opening MAIHHS this year and adding hospitality education to our repertoire.

“At BNU, we pride ourselves on producing employment-ready graduates, and MAIHHS will be no exception. With a forward-facing curriculum, a teaching team with extensive experience and industry connections, and the stunning and historic backdrop of Missenden Abbey, this is an exciting development for the university and for international hospitality tuition.”

Teaching will take a hybrid approach and students will benefit from classroom learning at the university’s High Wycombe campus, as well as rotations of on-site training at the abbey and placements within the sector.

There will be industry involvement in every module and organisations signed on to co-design the curriculum and provide placements for students include Bespoke, Leonardo, Red Carnation Hotels, Firmdale, Exclusive Collection, Zetter and Vacherin.

The school will launch with two undergraduate degrees – BA (Hons) Hotel Management and BA (Hons) International Hospitality Management – as well as an MSc in hospitality leadership. Plans are already under way for the expansion of the course portfolio in 2024, with pathways in hospitality entrepreneurship, events management and hotel innovation and sustainability.

Head of school for MAIHHS Lisa Wyld said: “I’m really thrilled to be launching this exciting new, sector-leading project with courses that are unique to the UK market.

“Our students will develop solid business principles alongside contemporary sector knowledge and plenty of hands-on experience working in areas related to the field of study. The industry-focussed curriculum is sure to produce graduates of the highest calibre with expertise that meet the current needs of the industry.

“This is hugely exciting for the hospitality sector, and we look forward to opening our doors in September.”

Missenden Abbey is a 12th-century former medieval abbey and a longstanding subsidiary of BNU, operating as a hotel and conference centre since 1988. The abbey will continue to trade in its current capacity, with the training facility operating in tandem with the day-to-day running of the hotel.

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