In serving Saint Francis University's mission of a university of applied sciences (UAS), Rita Tong Liu School of Business and Hospitality Management (SBHM) continues to foster Industry-University Partnership.
Aimed at promoting applied learning, driving innovation in hospitality technology, and enhancing students' career readiness, SBHM entered into a partnership with Golden News Enterprises Limited (Golden News), a provider of comprehensive technology solutions for the hospitality and service industries. The two parties signed a memorandum of understanding on 1 June 2026.
Golden News and SBHM jointly developed Virtus, a hotel AI Concierge that goes beyond traditional automation. Virtus supports frontline staff, facilitates personalised and culturally aware interactions with guests, and enables hotels to enhance service delivery through intelligent, scalable, and reliable technology.
Under the industry-university partnership, Golden News and SBHM will develop other initiatives in applied research and experiential learning to strengthen the integration of industry practice into education and reinforce SFU's role as a UAS.