Cork student wins gold at prestigious European awards 

CORK student Katie Burke won a gold medal for Team Ireland at the annual European Association of Hotel & Tourism Schools (AEHT) competition in Italy.

The Gurranabraher native, who is studying for a Bachelor of Business in Tourism Management, captured a gold medal in Tourism Destination Management.

The Head of the Department of Tourism & Hospitality (MTU) and AEHT National Representative for Ireland, Dr Noel Murray was full of praise for the Cork student. 

“It is a great achievement from Katie. We are delighted. 

"She was paired with students from Sweden and the Netherlands. They had to do a presentation and they performed unbelievably well. The judge said they did an exceptional job in their task,” he said.

Katie was joined on the Irish team by Jayne O'Sullivan from Ballymacoda, who also attends MTU and is studying for a Bachelor of Business in Culinary Arts. Jayne competed in the Pastry competition.

What does 🥇 look like 👀 what a night for team Ireland 🇮🇪 ☘️ with @MTU_ie student & Cork native Katie Burke winning gold for 🇮🇪 in Tourism Destination Management pic.twitter.com/295Jn7hMWU

— Noel Murray (@noelgmurray) October 21, 2022

Dr Murray said participating in competitions such as the European Association of Hotel & Tourism Schools (AEHT), which attracts the best students from hotel and tourism schools across Europe, gives students ‘great confidence’. 

“It gives students great confidence. It gives them the ability to meet new people and work with them over a very short period and then deliver a project at the end of it. We had four Irish students in total and we are absolutely delighted to bring home one medal. 

"It is amazing. All the students performed well. They will have learned so much from the experience."

“Getting the medal is the icing on the cake but the actual involvement in the competition is what it is all about. It is fantastic when you bring home a medal. For us to win one medal with four students is a phenomenal achievement,” he added.

“Katie is destined for great things,” said Dr Murray. 

“It is fantastic for her as she put in a massive amount of work in the lead-up to this. 

"A lot of lecturers have helped in terms of prepping her and giving her the best possible support." 

"I love the phrase that it takes a village to raise a child and certainly in this case all the lecturers who deliver on the programme have supported her journey. It is lovely to get that recognition in an international competition,” he said.

This year’s conference was held in the Italian city of Senigallia and it provided an opportunity for a rich exchange of socio-cultural knowledge, teaching materials, and professional knowledge and skills, as well as for the promotion of hotel and tourism training in Europe.

Ten competitions took place during this year’s conference - in the areas of pastry, culinary arts, decathlon, restaurant service, wine service, cocktail, barista, front office, tourism destination, and hospitality management.

The programme also included meetings of the Presidium, the Executive Board, and the General Assembly, as well as a series of competitions, which enable students to compete with each other in a variety of disciplines.