IMI is one of the very few Hotel Management Schools still owned and managed by a Swiss family who are actively involved in the school’s operations. Many of the hotel management schools, particularly in the French speaking part of Switzerland, who call themselves Swiss, are in fact run by American corporations or distant investment companies. Only a truly Swiss School can guarantee the high quality standards of a ‘Swiss Made’ brand. We do not pretend to be Swiss, we are Swiss!
There is NO official and recognised ranking of Swiss hotel schools available. There are some “rankings” around, but they have no scientific credibility. In most cases, they are marketing tools sponsored by these US owned, conglomerate schools. Many academics and professionals are amused when they came across “rankings”, conducted on behalf of the owners of two schools, who unsurprisingly put themselves at the top of the list. IMI prefers a more equitable approach to marketing. We are confident in our school and believe that presenting the honest facts about IMI is evidence enough of our integrity and dedication to our students. IMI will stay out of this “ranking” game until there is an official Swiss hotel schools rating system in place. We will seek out only the accreditations demanded by employers and academia, to ensure our students are first when it comes to employability.
We focus on academic and professional development in order to prepare students for the challenges of the real world. All our programmes are intensive to give our students value for the time and money they spend on their education. Students take more subjects, earning more credits in a shorter period of time than in most other Swiss hotel schools. Due to these small class sizes and intensive courses you can complete your degree nearly a whole year earlier than in other institutes without compromising on quality, which means you will have been earning for a full year before you would have graduated from most other schools.
To help our students offset the cost of their education we allow our undergraduates to build to their Bachelors in stages. You are awarded a qualification after every Semester and there are four semesters to completing a Bachelors degree. You go from Certificate to Diploma, then Higher Diploma and finally Bachelors. You can take paid practical training after every semester to help pay for your course or take full time employment and return to the subsequent level when you are ready. This can be in Switzerland or abroad. If you choose to work in Switzerland you will be paid a minimum of 2168 CHF per month as well as gaining invaluable work experience.
Our UK accredited honours degree can be achieved in only two and a half years of intensive study including five months paid practical training. We also offer a Post Graduate Diploma and now have a choice of MBAs, one in International Hospitality Management and one in Swiss Hotel Management. The MBA in IHM includes a Field Consulting Project which allows our students to work with some of the biggest names in industry, from Price Waterhouse Coopers to Mövenpick, depending on your career aspirations. These courses are intensive and targeted towards employability. Our faculty are among the highest qualified of any hotel school with 30 percent holding PhDs and all educated to at least Masters level.
IMI combines the very best of Swiss practical and British academic approaches. We have designed our courses to be the perfect blend of study, experience, quality and fun. Our industry field trips include visits to show business and sporting events, wine tastings, carnivals and music concerts. We are also proud to boast the greatest choice of pathways among Swiss hotel schools. From Higher Diploma to Bachelors, you can choose between eight different specialisations from Hospitality Entrepreneurship to Hotel, Restaurant, Tourism, European Culinary and Event management. Some combination courses are also available. Our visiting faculty are hand-picked from leaders of industry to international academics who will constantly challenge your thinking and stimulate your imagination
IMI is proud never to have accepted government funding, favouring instead our independence, based on academic and industry recognitions. For our students, this means that we are teaching in the way our Swiss founder envisioned, with an emphasis on academic excellence combined with a quality Swiss training in all areas of hospitality. Our Industry Advisory Board, Academic Advisory Board and our partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK, ensure that our courses are of the highest quality and are internationally recognised and respected by academics and employers alike. IMI was the first Swiss school to introduce a Personal Development Programme, which endows our students with the adaptability and professionalism that makes them so attractive to employers.
It is this independence and student focus, which give our graduates the confidence that employers recruiting at IMI often remark on. This and our promise to find Careers for all our graduates have made us unique among hotel schools. Our aim is employability first and last. In the first weeks at IMI, you will meet with our Head of Career Services to start planning your future. All internships and courses are tailored to the individual student to ensure that your aspirations are met. Your strong connection with our Careers Service does not end with graduation. We promise to assist all our alumni in their job search whether for a graduate traineeship or a General Management position.
Quality is taken very seriously at IMI. It is at the heart of all our operations and ultimately leads to excellence in educational programmes. A qualification from IMI is a stamp of quality on any CV and will ensure that you are top of the pile for those first important interviews. Here at IMI we have made it our mission to give great value for money in terms of the education you receive. To this end we have deliberately restricted numbers to ensure that our students enjoy small class sizes, excellent student/ teacher ratios, and a wide and balanced range of nationalities. All our courses are continually reviewed by our Industry Advisory Board and our Academic Advisory Board to ensure that our excellent quality and high standards are maintained.
IMI is working in partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), which dates back over 150 years and offers over a 1,000 courses. It is one of the biggest and most reputable in the UK. MMU has been validating IMI programmes for 16 years, which now extends to courses from the Certificate to Masters in Business Administration (MBA), making IMI the ONLY Swiss Hotel School offering validated courses from Certificate to MBA. The quality of what IMI delivers through this partnership is also regulated by the UK Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA).
What it means is that students studying these courses at IMI will receive two certificates: one from IMI (Switzerland) and another one from MMU (UK) with full international recognition. Students, thus, have the opportunity of studying courses that comply with the fair and transparent quality mechanisms of the UK Higher Education system, while enjoying the advantage of a Swiss Hotel School with its strong emphasis on professional and industrially relevant training and standards. Moreover students at IMI benefit from a low staff to student ratio with full access to Faculty and Visiting Professors.
IMI possesses an impressive range of academic and industry accreditation, as well as prestigious Swiss and International memberships. It is important to understand what they mean for studies at IMI. They are a guarantee of quality in all aspects: academic studies, career support and other student services, which are approved by Swiss and International authorities and professional associations. They also increase students’ career potential.
The purpose of this Register is to certify high standards of educational services and thereby demonstrate the integrity and credibility of the registered private schools to the public, to authorities and to students. In addition, the Register aims to protect Switzerland's reputation as a centre for high quality educational activity as well as to safeguard the reputation of its private educational institutions. It helps students and parents to determine whether a particular educational institution is reputable and worthy of their confidence.
Swiss Federation of Private Schools. The 260 schools and colleges belonging to SFPS s provide a personalised service with regard to students’ educational goals. The members of the federation, including IMI, support and encourage innovation, and are recognized nationally and internationally as the leading private schools in Switzerland.
Accredits over 990 schools, institutes and academies throughout Switzerland. It is the leading quality label in Switzerland for higher education. The Swiss Conference of the Cantonal Educating Directors recommends that the cantons check "the quality of the providers in the education sector in all of Switzerland based on the same criteria and make national subsidies dependent on a proof of quality (eduQua)". IMI is certified by EduQua for all its programmes, thereby underpinning the delivery of academic programmes in line with Swiss quality standards.
Swiss Tourism's quality label is supported by all major Swiss tourism associations to enhance and safeguard the quality of service in Switzerland. The top level of QQQ means that IMI has successfully implemented a comprehensive and internationally recognised Quality Management System into its strategy, structure and daily operations. There are all together ONLY 3 Hotel Management Schools which have been accredited with this label of superior quality.
IMI is official member of Schweiz Tourismus (Swiss Tourism). Swiss Tourism is the national marketing and sales organization for Switzerland, insuring the quality of hospitality services provided.
IMI is an active member of the Luzern Tourism Board and is working to promote Luzern as a student city. This membership helps IMI to engage with Luzern and to be part of the local information system, and this can yield opportunities for students.
British Accreditation Council accreditation is regarded by students, agents and governments throughout the world as a very reliable guide to educational quality within the private sector. For example, institutions accredited by BAC are recognized as qualifying to enrol visa students by UK Government's Home Office. With over 25 years of experience, BAC inspectors with their extensive knowledge of the educational sector provide invaluable advice to accredited institutions like IMI.
International Organization for Standardization. ISO is the world's largest developer and publisher of international standards. Standards make a major and positive contribution to our lives and support the development of desirable qualities such as efficiency, reliability and environmental awareness. IMI was one of the first Swiss Colleges to meet ISO's exacting standards of 9001:2000 and showing that its commitment to continual improvement in quality. ISO insures IMI industry partners that its programmes are delivered in line with hospitality sector requirements and industry standard, which increases employability of IMI students. "IMI is organized and managed efficiently to meet the needs of its first set of customers, the students, as well as its second set, the future employers of the students". Adrian Burkhardt, Lead Auditor, ISO - SQS
Association Européenne des Ecoles d'Hôtellerie et de Tourisme (European Association of Hotel and Tourism Schools). The AEHT is a membership organization devoted to promoting a European perspective among hotel and tourism schools. The AEHT fosters closer links between schools and businesses, and encourages exchanges of students and staff between colleges. The AEHT supports the pooling of teaching methods, materials, knowledge and skills, and organizes events to bring together its membership. It provides a useful cordon of networks and knowledge that benefits students studying in schools such as IMI.
Is an international professional body for managers and aspiring managers working and studying in the hospitality, leisure and tourism industry promoting quality standards and education spans more than 100 countries. IMI is a subscriber to the Institute of Hospitality's Education Membership Scheme (EMS), which allows our hospitality, events and tourism students the opportunity to register for student membership with the Institute a low charge for the duration of their courses. From students to Fellows, the Institute continues to support members' professional development throughout their careers, wherever they are in the world. The Institute provides access to e-books and journals, as well as its catalogue. Students are encouraged to join to help shape the future of the Institute and to keep up to date with the hospitality sector.
Pacific Asia Travel Association is a membership organization that acts as a catalyst for the development of sustainable growth, value and quality in travel and tourism. IMI is located in Europe, but its membership in this leading travel association demonstrates its full engagement with this important region. Membership of PATA enables IMI to keep up with innovations in quality emerging Asian markets, and shows its ongoing commitment to students and employers from this region. IMI recognizes that many of its students from Asia Pacific, as well as increasing numbers of its students from Europe and elsewhere, will be working in this region.
