Connecting Research, Teaching And The Student Experience In Innovative Ways Through Participation At Major Sports Events

Abstract

This paper showcases on the contribution of Cesar Ritz Colleges (CR) at supporting the organization and running of support services at a major international sports event and the Swiss National Hospitality House in the Athens and Torino Olympics.  Through the description of how CR managed to connect the knowledge developed by their students in the classroom with the catering of the House of Switzerland during the Olympic Games in Athens and Torino and then by elaborating on how the experience obtained through this exercise was reincorporated in their teachings. This article draws on the possibilities that academic institutions can optimize their curriculum in order to produce a more complete and comprehensive pedagogical experience, that is significantly in-line with the needs of the industry.