A group of Les Roches students recently flexed their creative muscles by participating in the EMCup, an annual competition that pits leading European schools against each other over a series of assignments. This year’s competition, which took place in February in the Dutch city of Maastricht, saw Les Roches beat a host of institutions to reach the top three. Les Roches student and EMCup participant Tom Tabouring tells us more.
It was a great honor and pleasure to represent Les Roches in the tenth edition of the EMCup. The exciting, challenging event would see Les Roches compete against 33 top European hotel management schools.
Impressing the judges
Even though the main competition was held in February 2018, months of pre-preparation were required to complete certain assignments. These included creating awareness on social media, completing the HOTS simulation game (which focused on revenue management), writing a 2,000-word paper, taking creative pictures and creating an introductory video. Everything had to be based on the theme ‘high-tech vs. high touch’, focusing on the challenge of implementing technology in hospitality without losing the human aspect.
The tasks that had to be completed in Maastricht were very diverse. First, we had to conduct a presentation in front of a jury of seven eminent hospitality professionals. We created an idea which we feel will completely change the recruitment process. It will do this by eliminating the very time-consuming job search function by providing the guarantee of a 100% match between employers and job seekers. We were given excellent feedback, being told that the idea has excellent potential and that we should take it further.
Next, we had 40 minutes to find technology used in a different industry that could be implemented in hospitality. We chose the bionic leaf, an artificial leaf that is able to create biofuel with the help of oxygen, sun, water and two types of alcohol. This fuel can be used for diesel engines, heating, cooking and more. We felt this technology would benefit the hospitality industry, as it not only cut significant costs but also helps to protect the environment merely by placing bionic leafs in hotel rooms. Again, feedback was very positive and we secured our spot in the top 16.
Meet Team iAndros:
Reaching the finals
Before heading to the finals, we had to compete in a debate with Sheffield Hallam University. The topic was ‘low-tech hotels will win the day’, for which we had to be in favor for. Even though it was a very close call, we were able to persuade the audience and made it to the last eight.
For our final assignment, we had to further develop the Bionic leaf idea, and create an entire strategy in order to implement it in the hospitality industry. We had to prepare a four-minute pitch, along with a PowerPoint presentation. That was definitely the most stressful and challenging task, but we achieved it through an incredible team effort.
The ceremony, taking place in a church in Rebelle, saw us win First Prize for the HOTS simulation game. Overall, we finished third out of 34, an amazing experience. I would highly recommend anyone with an interest in hospitality to attend this event.
Tom Tabouring is currently studying BBA Global Hospitality Management (with a specialization in Entrepreneurship).
