Pune sees launch of fourth United Education Institutes (UEI) global institute

Company Brief

Pune, January 15, 2008

UEI Global, the education initiative of Berggruen Education Pvt. Ltd has launched its fourth institute at Pune. The institute, which will offer provisional admission to a Bachelor's Degree in Catering Science and Hospitality Management as well as other fast track hospitality courses, will commence training from the 11th of February 2008. The Institute is aiming to enrol 60 students by March 2008.

The Institute will be centrally located at Ramwadi Naka, near Bishop School. Students, who will be selected on the basis of verbal aptitude tests as well

as personal interviews, will also be offered scholarships on the basis of merit.

Ashish Kesharwani, Head of Hospitality for UEI Global said, " Pune is very important to our success since it continues to be the student's hub of India. Also, the strong presence of the automobile industry and the burgeoning growth of the IT sector have led to the city becoming a key business destination in the country. Pune now has a booming hospitality sector and therefore a large manpower requirement as well. Through our fast-track courses, we aim to fulfil this requirement and also provide quality hospitality education to local students.

Students who are aiming toward working in the hospitality industry abroad will also greatly benefit from these courses as they are internationally developed programmes and extremely global in nature."

UEI Global offers courses for a period of 1 year each, leading to a three-year degree including a Foundation Certificate in International Hospitality Management, Grand Certificate in International Hospitality Management & Certificate in Food Production. The course fee is Rs. 85,000 and upwards. While the Institute's focus will remain on one year courses leading to a degree pathway, it also offers various job-oriented short-term specialized courses in Bartending, Rooms Division and Service Operations.

The Institute recently tied up with the highly reputed Bharathiar University, Coimbatore for accreditation of its programmes in India. With this association UEI Global becomes the first and only institute in India offering lateral entry to the diploma holders in the second year of the B.Sc. in Catering Science and Hospitality Management from Bharathiar University. The potential and prospects for students enrolled at UEI Global is already being proved with 15 students out of first batch of 30 being successfully placed for internships at a luxury property in the Middle East. The Institute is also forming several strategic alliances with hotels around the country and abroad so as to ensure that students enter the industry as soon as they have completed the course.

The course content and curriculum has been developed under the supervision of and validated by The Hotelschool The Hague, The Netherlands.. The curriculum at Hotelschool, The Hague, is internationally renowned for its innovative concept of "Entrepreneurial Learning" and since August, 2002, The Hotelschool, The Hague, The Netherlands has been a 'Member of the Leading Hotel Schools of the World' (LHSW).

The Faculty too will consist of hospitality instructors trained by The Hotelschool, The Hague, The Netherlands and will be complimented by instructors from a number of adjunct faculties from industry and academies including project planning, finance, marketing and business development. The institute will be equipped with world-class infrastructure which includes brand new labs - with a state-of-the-art kitchen, a training restaurant, air-conditioned and Wi-Fi enabled classrooms.

UEI Global launched its first two Institutes at Rohini, West Delhi and Noida earlier this year and launched the third Institute in Trivandrum in December, 2007. By March 2008, UEI Global will open nine more institutes in Agra, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Lucknow, Jaipur and Bangalore. The company is aiming to scale up to 50 academies by 2010.

The group also recently announced its intent to launch a hospitality and tourism training institute in Jaipur by March 2008 in association with SMS Investments and Hotelschool, The Hague, The Netherlands.

For further information please contact:

Priyanka Vieira

Tel: +091 9820737751

Email: pvieira@corvoshandwick.co.in