Health Tour

• 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 (winter schools)

• Development of an international mobility offer for the promotion of health tourism at the European Campus Rottal-Inn

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.

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.

To date, the project activities have focused on consolidating, establishing and expanding international partnerships. Following a number of unexpected events, the original project consortium comprising DIT, Budapest Metropolitan University (Hungary), the University of Economics, Prague (Czech Republic) and Kherson State University (Ukraine) was expanded to include Caucasus International University, Tiflis (Georgia), the University of Rijeka (Croatia) and the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (Ukraine).

Two lecturers 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, various bilateral field research projects were carried out:

• Excursion to Tiflis, Georgia
• Conference participation in Opatija, Croatia
• Excursion to Mariánské Lázně together with VSE Prague

To strengthen the partnerships, visits were made to Caucasus International University in Tiflis, Budapest Metropolitan University and the University of Rijeka. To fine-tune the project activities, a virtual kick-off meeting, an in-person coordination meeting in Pfarrkirchen, as well as several online coordination meetings and one in-person meeting each during the Winter Schools in 2023 and 2024 took place.

Lectures by lecturers from the partner universities were an integral part of the curriculum at ECRI during the summer semesters of 2023 and 2024 and will continue to be so in 2025.

• 5 December 2024: Virtual coordination meeting
• Spring 2025: Virtual coordination meeting
• May 2025: Excursion to Mariánské Lázně with students from VSE Prague (approx. 10 ECRI students and 2 lecturers)
• May 2025: Participation in an international conference in Opatija, Croatia (5 students and 2 teachers)
• 6–10 October 2025: Winter School in Bad Birnbach with all partners

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.

Companies in the tourism sector are warmly invited to present themselves at the HealthTour Winter Schools and to outline their requirements for graduates of tourism degree programmes and/or their interests in field research topics. In 2023 and 2024, a careers fair was also held as part of the Winter Schools, at which between 15 and 18 industry partners presented their companies. In addition to conference participants, the fairs were also attended by numerous students from ECRI and Deggendorf University of Applied Sciences.

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.