Since the beginning of 2022, Prof. Dr. Marcus Herntrei has been coordinating the project "Internatinalisation in International Tourism Management/Health Tourism" (HealthTour), which is funded by DAAD's "HAW.International - Modul B". The project runs for four years until the end of 2025 and pursues the overarching goal of advancing DIT's internationalisation, in particular the European Campus Rottal-Inn in Pfarrkirchen:
Within the framework of joint courses and field research projects, cooperation with international partner universities and practice partners is to be tested and improved in order to build on this in the future with joint international degree programmes in the field of (health) tourism (DIT currently offers the following study options in this field: ECRI: Bachelor International Tourism Management, AWW Faculty: Bachelor Tourism Management).
This will result in numerous participation opportunities for students of the tourism degree programmes at DIT and for practice partners from the tourism industry. Furthermore, attempts will be made to extend the cooperation with the international partner universities beyond ECRI to other DIT faculties. To support encounters and echanges, an international summer school on health tourism will be held annually at ECRI in Pfarrkirchen during the project period.
funded by:
project goals and activities
Main goals
- Internationalisation of research and teaching in the field of health tourism
- Expansion and stabilisation of the international network in the field of health tourism
- Internal anchoring of the network including technical further development
- International meetings and exchanges (summer schools)
- Development of an international mobility offer for the promotion of health tourism at the European Campus Rottal-Inn
Activities
To achieve these goals, the following activities are planned:
- In order to carry out joint teaching activities, 2 professors and 5 students from ECRI will visit each of the international partner universities for one week each year, and vice versa, 2 professors and 5 students from each of the international partner universities will visit ECRI and DIT for one week each year
- In order to carry out joint field research projects, 2 professors and 5 students from ECRI visit each of the international partner universities for one week each year, and vice versa, 2 professors and 5 students from each of the international partner universities visit ECRI and DIT for one week each year
- For the implementation of joint courses, 2 professors and 5 students of the AWW faculty visit each of the international partner universities for one week each year, and vice versa, 2 professors and 5 students of the international partner universities visit DIT for one week each year.
- To deepen and expand international encounters and exchanges, an annual international Summer/Winter School is held at ECRI in Pfarrkirchen with students and professors from the partner universities and DIT.
Previous results and activities
The focus of the project activities so far has been the consolidation, development and expansion of the international partnerships. After some unexpected events, the original project consortium of DIT, Budapest Metropolitan University, Hungary, Prague University of Economics, Czech Republic and Kherson State University, Ukraine was expanded to include Caucasus International University Tiflis, Georgia, University of Rijeka, Croatia and National Ivan Franko University Lviv, Ukraine.
2 professors and five students from each of these partner universities took part in the HealthTour Summer School from 10 to 14 October 2022 at ECRI in Pfarrkirchen.
In addition, coordination processes for the implementation of joint field research projects and joint courses with these partner universities have initiated and are currently still ongoing.
To consolidate the partnerships, the Caucasus International University Tbilisi, the Budapest Metropolitan University and the University of Rijeka were visited. To fine-tune the project activities, a virtual kick-off meeting and a coordination meeting took place in Pfarrkirchen.
Lectures by lecturers from the partner universities will be a fixed part of the curriculum at ECRI from the summer semester 2023.
Upcoming activities
- 24 March 2023: Virtual coordination meeting
- 08 – 11 May 2023: Joint teaching event at the Caucasus International University
- 09 -13 October 2023: HealthTour Winter School 2023 at ECRI in Pfarrkirchen: Preliminary Agenda
possibilities to participate
Possibilities to participate for students
All students and teachers of the DIT tourism programmes are invited to participate in international encounters and exchanges with students, professors and business representatives in the context of the HealthTour Summer Schools.
All students and teachers of the DIT tourism study programmes are invited to participate in joint teaching and field research projects with the international partners of the HealthTour project.
Possibilities to participate for partners
Companies from the tourism industry are invited to introduce themselves in the context of the HealthTour Summer School and to express their requirements for tourism graduates and/or their interest in field research topics.
Possibilities to participate for other DIT faculties
The international partner universities of the HealthTour project offer a wide range of study opportunities and are open to any kind of cooperation with DIT. In our project, we offer all interested DIT faculties the opportunity to exchange with and get to know the partner universities.
international partners
Prague University of Economics and Business (VSE)
Caucasus International University (CIU)
University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management (UR)
Kherson State University (KSU)
Budapest Metropolitan University – BMU
Nationale Ivan-Franko-Universität Lviv (NIFU)
European Spas Association (ESPA)
contact
Contact for general enquiries: Dr. Guido Kaufmann
Contact for specific questions regarding health tourism: Anton Leitner