Orlando, Florida, May 2012—The American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (EI) has signed a Global Academic Partner (GAP) agreement with the Ural International Institute for Tourism (UIIT) in Yekaterinburg, Russia.  The school will offer its students EI’s 12-course Hospitality Management Diploma, using both English and Russian versions of EI’s textbooks.

“Students at UIIT will not only be able to earn their EI certificate but also directly apply what they learn to the Russian hotel industry, helping the country further increase its guest service standards and tourism competitiveness,” stated Olga Pirogova, rector of UIIT.

The Ural International Institute for Tourism, established in 2004, is one-of-a-kind institution of the Ural region, engaged in professional training in the sphere of tourism, hotels and hospitality business. It is located in Yekaterinburg, the third-largest city in Russia, with a population of 1.5 million people. The city is the administrative, cultural, scientific and educational center of the Ural federal district. Yekaterinburg is included on the list of eight cities that will turn into football capitals of the world for approximately one month in 2018.  It is also included on the list of where EXPO 2020 could be held.

“UIIT is strategically located in the middle of the Eurasian continent, and can cater not only to students from central Russia where EI had no presence previously, but also to students from both Europe and Asia alike. We are certain they will become a center of excellence in the region by adopting and providing our curriculum and credentials,” said Robert L. Steele III, CHA, EI’s president and COO.
 
UIIT students have the opportunity to develop key competencies in hospitality, due to the school’s practical training, both in Russia and abroad. The UIIT training system is close to the best foreign tourist universities. More than 300 tourism enterprises of the Russian Federation (tour operators and travel agencies), and hotel companies, including such well known international brand names as Hyatt and Sandals, are among UIIT’s partners.

The school’s students have the opportunity to have traineeships (from one month up to 12 months) in such countries as: Turkey, Egypt, Greece, Malta, Cyprus, Spain, Italy, Hungary, New Zealand, the UK, the USA, Bulgaria, Morocco, Tunisia, France, Germany, UAE, and Jamaica.

UIIT is the third GAP school in the Russian Federation.  The others are Sochi State University for Tourism and Recreation in Sochi, and Far Eastern National University in Vladivostok.  For information on EI’s Global Academic Partner (GAP) program, visit www.ahlei.org/GAP, e-mail [email protected], or call 407-999-8100.
 
About the Educational Institute
Established in 1953 as a nonprofit educational foundation of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the Educational Institute’s mission is to continue being the preferred provider to the lodging industry, hospitality schools, and related hospitality industries by developing and providing quality resources to train, educate, and certify hospitality professionals worldwide.  For more information about the Educational Institute training resources and professional certification, visit http://www.ahlei.org