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| AN ANALYSIS OF MICE CURRICULUMS IN THE UK AND THE US & THEIR IMPLICATIONS |
| YANG Yan |
| School of Tourism & Research Institute of Human Geography, Xi'an International Studies University, Xi'an 710128, China |
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Abstract MICE economy is one of the fastest-growing global industry sectors today. According to recent Chinese Government sources, China MICE Industry contributes a total of about 248,000 million RMB in 2011. The sector provides nearly 19 million jobs in the Chinese economy. The current size and expected growth potential of MICE industry indicates that there is a growing demand globally for skilled employees who are able to fulfill the tasks of planning, operating and managing MICE activities. But Chinese MICE education is confronting some major problems. For the most, the training objectives are obscure in many MICE colleges and universities. Secondly, the distributions of MICE education institutions and training centers are not balanced between developed cities and developing cities. Thirdly, the roaring increase of MICE institutions result in more assistant talents trained in the field than the core talents required. Last but not least, the curriculums offered in many colleges and universities are neither closely associated with the market development nor reasonably designed in terms of basic courses and core courses. The MICE educations in the US and the UK have experienced three decades of development. They have many successful experiences and cases in MICE education. This paper intends to analyze the current problems of Chinese MICE education based on in-depth reviews of the curriculums of George Washington University and Leeds Metropolitan University. The paper also puts forward several proposals from the perspectives of cultivation objective, curriculum designing, teaching modes and methods, and cultivation of comprehensive competences of high quality talents. The improved curriculum should incorporate a range of field trips, guest speakers and case studies that highlight the practical application of the theoretical concepts covered in classes. It can prepare graduates for employment in a wide range of public and private organizations in MICE management and related industries.
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Received: 02 July 2012
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2012, Vol. 27 
