Пятигорский институт
(филиал)

The hospitality industry in Russia develops in high speed recent years. Noticeable growth of quantity of accomodation is noted: business hotels, mini-hotels, motels, hostels, etc. Among a set of the conditions defining efficiency of their activity and the high quality of the services delivered the professional competence takes the first place, as well as a continuing professional development of personnel on customer service. The higher is the quality of service in hotel, the higher is the guarantee of services delivered at the level of the international standards and competitiveness of the Russian hotel business. In this regard requirements to quality of service, professional level of employees of the hotel enterprises sharply increased in recent years.

According to forecasts of experts, in years to come the North Caucasus tourist s cluster will be able to accept 5-10 million vacationers a year not only from Russian regions, but also from other countries of the world. In this regard there is a need of application of system - wide approach of training of specialists for the sphere of hospitality on the basis of application of new methods and forms of education with use of the European experience of training personnel for the hotel enterprises.

One of the priority directions of development of the North Caucasus Federal university is involvement of foreign experts for the purpose of improvement of educational programs. The department of tourism and hotel business successfully implements the educational bilingual program with partial teaching in English – 43.03.03 "Hotel business". Importance of identification of features of development of hotel business in the world demands attraction to teaching experts from the countries in which hotel service develops most effectively.

This problem was solved by means of establishment of the international cooperation with Kaplan Ugurlu, Doctor of Philosophy degree in Production Management and Marketing, the Master of Social Sciences degree in International Hotel Management, the research associate of the Kyrklareli University (Turkey). Now the first stage of implementation of this program is completed.

During realization of a stage lectures and master classes for students in subjects were given: "Particularities of development of the international hotel business", "Organization of activity of the hotel enterprise", "Technologies of effective management in hospitality industry", "HR organization of management in hospitality industry", "Technologies of development of projects in hospitality industry", "International standards in hospitality industry".

During lectures videoconferences with colleagues from NCFU (Stavropol) were organized. Lectures and master classes attracted huge interest of students, they listened to the teacher with enthusiasm and had an opportunity to ask the questions they took interest in and to enter a dialogue at the end of each lecture. Most of all listeners were interested in questions of the European standards of service in hotels, the best strategy of globalization in hotel business. Students note that the greatest value of communication with the foreign guest is that he shares with them the wealth of experience and expertise in hospitality industry.

During career in hotel business Kaplan Ugurlu worked as the chief accountant, the internal auditor, the vice-director of finance department of The Ritz Carlton Istanbul Hotel, in Turkey, the finance controller in several hotels of Turkey (Radisson SAS Hotel Ankara, Okan Holding AS, Crowne Plaza Ankara), Finance and Administrative Manager.  Kaplan Ugurlu has experience as the invited foreign teacher: in 2012 he was the invited  lecturer at the university of Debrecen in Hungary, in 2013 in Portugal, according to the Erasmus Teaching Staff Mobility program (the EU Project), in 2012 he was a researcher of the Baltic Tourism and Entrepreneurship Academy in St. Petersburg (Russia) supported by Higher Education Council of Ministry of Education of Turkey and also in  2013 he worked as the visiting lecturer of University of Vincent Pol, in Poland at Department of Tourism and a Recreation. Kaplan Ugurlu knows three languages: Turkish (native), English and German.

The classes with a foreign teacher allow students not only to gain new professional knowledge, but also practice skills of informal English conversation. The teachers of School of the Caucasus hospitality who are carrying out training of students according to the program of bilingual preparation noted that they also had an excellent opportunity of practice of real-life communication in English.

Within the international cooperation advanced training courses according to the "Possibilities of Use of Foreign Experience of Conducting Hotel Business at the Enterprises of Hospitality Industry of Russia" program for teachers of School of the Caucasus hospitality and experts of hotel business were conducted.

Mr. Ugurlu acted as the involved international expert during a roundtable discussion on a subject: "Harmonization of the legislation (standards of safety) of the European Union and Turkey in the field of hospitality" which was organized within realization of the educational module "Regulation of Safety of Foodstuff in the European Union" / "Food Safety Regulation in the European Union" of the grant Erasmus Jean Monnet Module program. Kaplan Ugurlu noted the leading role of the legislation of the European Union in the international development of the industry of hospitality including the questions of food and food security.

Kaplan Ugurlu gave classes at the level of the international quality standards of education that will allow to improve training of students and implementation of programs of professional development for experts of hotel business and teachers of institutes of NCFU. Administration, teachers and students of School of the Caucasian hospitality of Institute of service, tourism and design (branch) of NCFU in Pyatigorsk express gratitude to Kaplan Ugurlu for effective cooperation.

The start of the second distant stage of the program of the international cooperation is given.