From left, Syaz and Gerry testing the visualiser in a seminar room; one of the rooms where the bootcamps will be held; and the auditorium where the conference track will staged

So we’ve done our site inspection of the SMU Admin Building where we will be holding our first ever WITNext Summercampand have to tell you, we are real excited about this event.

The venue is perfect for what we’ve put together – a main conference track which will take place in the Mochtar Riady Auditorium (love the purple chairs). Then we have up to 12 Bootcamps that will be held in four breakout rooms that come with superb facilities.

As it’s our first such event, it’s been a lot of experimentation in planning the content and structuring the programme – and I am sure the experimentation will continue on-site.

But finally, we’ve pulled the programme together and there’s something in it for everyone.

We are targeting these core audiences.

1. Students and graduates

Our programme will help you to one, know yourself with life skills workshops by our coaches, two, get to know the industry with various bootcamps that will focus on job skills that are in demand, for example, hospitality, online travel, revenue management and social media and three, find the right career match by giving you opportunities to ask questions and network with industry professionals.

2. Entrepreneurs, budding & start-ups

WIT, as a brand, has always championed entrepreneurship and innovation and we’ve brought in successful travel start-ups from around the world to inspire and share their lessons with you.

Kei Shibata of Venture Republic, Japan and Stephan Ekbergh of TravelStart, South Africa will talk about their stories in building up a successful online travel business. We have a bootcamp in which Ross Veitch, CEO of Wego, a Singapore-based travel search website will give tips to budding entrepreneurs and investor Yen-Lu Chow will talk about what you need to do to raise funding.

Brands such as AirAsia Expedia and MakeMyTrip, India, will talk about what they’re doing to attract talent and what kind of people they’re looking for.

And for those want to understand the workings of travel, we have Travel 101 bootcamps being run by Abacus International.

3. Young tourism professionals

If you’ve been working in the industry for a few years and are wondering what could be a next step for you and what the future holds, then the WITNext Summercamp is also for you. It will open your eyes to the possibilities of the industry as trends change and how you can grow your career within it. The networking sessions will also enable you to meet the right people who can offer you good advice at critical moments in your career.

4. Industry mentors

If you’ve been working in the industry for a long time and are looking for a way to give back, this is also the event for you. We are looking for those who wish to be mentors to join our event and network and coach young talent. After all, none of us would be where we are if someone hadn’t taken the time and interest to mentor us.

Check out the programme here.

Attendance is free – we want to make this as accessible to everyone as possible. Making this possible are all our sponsors who believe that you need to invest in tomorrow’s talent to build a sustainable tourism industry.

Book your place with [email protected]