During a Graduation Ceremony held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, 17 Institute of Tourism Studies lecturers successfully graduated with a Bachelor Degree in International Hospitality Management from Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences in Finland.

Following an agreement between ITS and the mentioned university back in 2015, ITS lecturers will not only achieve a Bachelor Degree but will also continue with a Master's Degree with the same university. All costs are being paid for by the Institute of Tourism Studies, with an investment of over €350,000 for the institute's academic staff.

The lecturers started their Bachelor degree studies at the beginning of 2016. They will now start their Master's Degree in January and finish their studies by the end of 2020, short just a year from the new ITS campus in Smart City. All these advancements were discussed with the Malta Union of Teachers.

ITS CEO Pierre Fenech stated that: "It is not only good that we invest in our infrastructure, but even more important that we invest in our human resources, namely our academic staff. This is the way forward for ITS as we will not only offer a state-of-the-art institute but also top academic staff who will train students to become top reputable workers in the Hospitality Tourism Industry which is consistently growing."

President and CEO of Haaga-Helia University Dr Teemu Kokko said: "On behalf of Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences I'm extremely pleased and happy that today 17 ITS teachers will receive their Bachelor of International Hospitality Management degree certificates. They have been working very hard according to the high Finnish educational standards. There are many other ongoing projects between Haaga-Helia and ITS. The world needs more handshakes like this."

Minister for Tourism, Konrad Mizzi stated: "Investment in the Institute's academic staff is necessary in order to be able to reach government's aim of developing the Institute of Tourism Studies into a world class international educational institution in the field of hospitality and tourism studies. The Institute aims to expand its operations from a locally focused campus that caters for around 700 local students to an international campus."

The minister announced that plans for the Smart City campus will be unveiled in the coming weeks.