INNOVATUR – Target Groups
Primary target group: the academic staff members of higher education institutions involved in the teaching activities in the field of tourism.
Needs of the primary target group (academic staff members):
- Modernization of their teaching approaches, including new methodologies and tools that can be effectively used in the e-learning environment as well.
- Inclusion of increasingly relevant topics in the educational curricula oriented to undergraduate students in the field of tourism.
- A more proactive contribution of universities in the improvement of the tourism sector through capacity building.
Expected benefits for the academic staff of both universities:
The academic staff to be involved by both universities will be benefited from this interdisciplinary knowledge-sharing and cooperation towards the modernization of their educational curricula oriented to undergraduate students in the field of sustainable and smart tourism and also towards the modernization of their role in the capacity building of future professionals in the tourism sector.
It is expected that after the conclusion of the project the academic staff of both universities will gain:
- Valuable insights regarding innovative teaching approaches and methods that can contribute to improvement of the learning outcomes of their undergraduate students in this field.
- A good understanding of the increasingly relevant topics in this field that are not being addressed in their current undergraduate curricula but can be considered in the future with the support of the educational materials (textbook and book of case studies) to be jointly elaborated.
- A better understanding of the importance and contribution that higher education institutions have in the improvement of the tourism sector in various aspects through a thorough acknowledgement of the needs and expectations of other relevant stakeholders in this sector that will drive a change in their educational curricula, research activities and application of their research.
Secondary target group: undergraduate students and representatives of external stakeholder groups (tourism associations, entrepreneurs and private companies in the tourism sector, tourism development planners working for public agencies, etc.).
Needs of the secondary target group (undergraduate students): a better understanding and acquisition of skills to better tackle increasingly important challenges of the tourism sectors that can incur in major risks for its development such as climate change, pandemics and competition from smart technologies applied to tourism destinations.
Expected benefits for the undergraduate students:
It is expected that undergraduate students of both universities will be benefited in the future from the extension of the scope of the knowledge and skills provided to them by preparing to address increasingly relevant issues of the tourism sector through a more holistic and humanistic approach with the support of the textbook and book of cases and also through newly introduced teaching approaches that will enhance their learning outcomes.
Needs of the secondary target group (external stakeholders): a regular channel for communication and sharing of expertise with the higher education institutions to share their main concerns regarding the increasingly relevant risk factors of the tourism sector that will contribute to a better alignment between the learning outcomes of new graduates and the real needs of the labor market in the tourism sector and also to the solution of various problems in the sector through a joint academic-entrepreneurial cooperation.
Expected benefits for the external stakeholder groups:
These stakeholders will also be encouraged and motivated to develop a regular cooperation with the higher education institutions in their region with the support of a framework for cooperation for education and tourism development that will be developed as part of the last intellectual output proposed in this project.