Adrien Rebord - How hospitality can lead to a career in international development

A door into international development

One of the huge benefits of a hospitality degree is the doors it can open. The difficult part is finding out what doors exist. “I didn't know it was possible to graduate from a hospitality school and work in international development,” says Adrien Rebord. But a couple of years after graduation, while working for a hospitality consultancy, Adrien “realized the potential of tourism and hospitality for development.” He adds: “It's really a job creator sector. It's also very inclusive. Tourism is the first export in more than half of the least developed countries. It has, internationally, a huge interest for development.” Looking to explore this link further, he decided to take an executive master’s in international development, something which not only consolidated his existing skills, but also future-proofed his career.

An executive master’s is aimed at working professionals. Why did you choose this type of course? 

I was already working for three years in this consultancy, and I didn't want to stop everything. I didn't want to go into full-time study again for personal financial reasons. It appeared to me that an executive master’s was the best way to validate some of the experiences I had. I graduated from this master’s in 2014. When I was looking for a concrete job after some field experience in 2018, one of the key success factors for Helvetas recruiting me was this academic degree that really validated all the field experience and professional knowledge I had.

How did you manage to juggle work with study?

The course was specifically designed for working professionals, so it was really adapted to the work environment. But of course, I had to negotiate with my employer. Some work reduction on a percentage, also being able to travel for some modules during two months. I was fortunate to have a very empowering employer. 

As part of the course you spent time in Kazakhstan. What was that like?

It was a wonderful experience. I was the only Swiss, and the 11 other students were from Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan. The real value of an executive master’s is the other working professionals, because you learn a lot from your peers. They were not only from different countries, but most of them were really experienced, and they were working in a completely different field from me. I was more on the economic and vocational training thematic area, and they were working on gender, on social inclusion, on access to justice, also humanitarian field. This is what was really rich in terms of program content.

As part of the master’s you had to do a professional thesis related to your current work. What did you choose?

My company was working for a private investor in Palestine, in the West Bank, who wanted to open five five-star hotels. They’d already opened one and had in the pipeline four others for which we needed to do a business plan and find a location and build everything. The main challenge was finding the right human resources. We had the idea that instead of having five five-star hotels, one of the five could be a three-star training hotel, meaning that all the staff would be students learning [via] a hotel school model. My thesis was on how these three-star hotels can work well only run by students and some supervisors who are experienced teachers. The feasibility study was on building this model that later we replicated in Bhutan, in India, in Nepal through different NGOs. After the three years of consultancy, my first field experience was in Bhutan, opening one of these hotel school training hotels.

What advice would you give to EHL students wanting to follow you into international development?

The first advice I would give is that a master’s is not only for directly after the bachelor’s, it can be done later on, and sometimes it can be even more valuable later on. Because after the bachelor’s, you don't necessarily know 100% which way you want to go and what you want to do. If you make this decision after 3, 4, 10 years, that is maybe a more informed decision. Then, [in terms of] development cooperation, I would say that field experience is the most important. After working three years in Lausanne, I did four years abroad. I really built an understanding of local context. I really had these concrete day-to-day challenges. That is a must. If you want to work later in positions in Switzerland or anywhere, you need to have this field experience.

What's your biggest wish for your career going forward?

I still have a lot to achieve, but my biggest wish is to continue my work as I am doing now, to have the chance to continue with such interesting projects, and diversity of countries. 

Check out the full list of student profiles and their diverse career paths.