How do you go about welcoming Donald Trump’s secretary of education, Betsy DeVos, or the Panamanian president, Juan Carlos Varela?

When you are offered the chance to showcase your school or college to an MP, government minister or even a president, you want to seize the opportunity with both hands.

But how can you make the best of these golden opportunities? And how can you even get the chance in the first place?

Westminster Kingsway College has been fortunate to have had two such visits recently. In May, we hosted a visit by Juan Carlos Varela, the president of Panama, and ministers from his government, and in June, Donald Trump’s secretary of education, Betsy DeVos, visited us - the only UK college that she saw during her European tour.

Both visits came about for a number of reasons and required a lot of planning to be a success, so we thought it would be helpful to share our experiences.

Who you know as well as what you know

Over the years, we have hosted dozens of student exchange trips and visits by delegations of educators from Asia, Europe and the Americas, and our good relationships with UK civil servants paved the way for both visits.

Westminster Kingsway is part of a consortium working with the Panamanian government and the UK Department for International Trade, advising Panama’s government on a new vocational institute being built in Panama City.

The president views the institute as a key part of his legacy to his country and he wanted to see for himself the culinary and hospitality facilities and expertise that will be helping to underpin his new facility.

Meanwhile, in the US, Donald Trump’s Department of Education wants to make apprenticeships more common and available in more fields to more people. What better place to come than the UK to see how things could be done?

Don’t be political

I’m sure there are some Panamanians who aren’t fans of their president, and many Americans have plenty to say about secretary DeVos. In short, no one is universally popular and you could decide to not welcome politicians with whom you disagree into your college.

That’s your choice, but we saw these visits as unique opportunities to show these powerful educational policymakers the way we do things and the opportunities we offer students. Both were genuinely impressed with what they saw and with the students whom they spoke to, and if their experience changes just one thing about their practice in their own countries, then it has been worth it.

Have something (and someone) great to show them

For both visits, Westminster Kingsway’s culinary, culinary arts, hospitality and business campus in Victoria, central London, was the logical choice. It fitted into both VIPs’ itineraries and made it easy for UK government officials to be there, too. And Victoria’s high reputation and standing in the industry made it a must-see venue for both politicians.

It’s essential that important visitors get to meet your principal and senior team. But - and no disrespect to our amazing staff - just like in your college, our students are our best advocates and our biggest assets. So make sure your VIP gets to meet them, too. Find a group of students with interesting stories and achievements, and who are happy to share them.

The president of Panama was a great hand-shaker, and walked around introducing himself to as many students as he could find. And secretary DeVos was very engaging and friendly, too. In fact, she showed a willingness to get her hands dirty - literally - getting stuck into our bakery and chocolate-making demonstrations in a way that most UK politicians would have shied away from.

Like Senor Varela, secretary DeVos also took considerable time to speak to students about their experiences.

One was third-year culinary arts diploma student Miranda May. She said it was a privilege to meet secretary DeVos. She added: “I showed her how to make our delicious chocolates and I and other students spoke over lunch about our personal views of college and how it has benefited us.

“For me, attending Westminster Kingsway College has been perfect for learning key skills to become a pastry chef, and has prepared me for what it is like in the industry. Secretary DeVos was also interested in hearing about the other benefits and amazing opportunities available - for example, this year I had the incredible opportunity of spending five weeks at The Ritz, which has honed my skills even more.”

Expect security - lots of it - and the entourage

Presidents and secretaries of education, like their UK counterparts, all come with their own security, so you need to keep tabs on everyone. Secretary DeVos was accompanied by no fewer than four US marshals, plus members of the Metropolitan Police’s royalty and specialist protection squad, who are also present whenever a foreign dignitary is in the country.

Secretary DeVos also had a retinue of staff from the US Embassy in London and the Department of Education in Washington DC with her. Most of them were either taking photos, firing off tweets or speaking into their phones or earpieces.

Any security detail worth its salt will want to visit the venue some time before the official visit, to recce the area, check the exits and get an idea of existing security arrangements. So you’ll need to host that, too.

Enjoy it (or try to)

Get the pictures up on your website and social media - as long as your VIP’s people have OK’d this first - and brief the press.

It’s exhausting and very stressful, but when all’s done, the last tweet has been sent, the last hand shaken and the happy VIP and their entourage has left for their next engagement, you can all relax and reflect in the warm glow of a job well done.

Gary Hunter is vice-principal for hospitality and adult learning at Westminster Kingsway College