The project „Empowering Open Innovation Tourism Networksˮ, which is financed by the International Visegrad Fund, aims at enhancing the innovation capacity in tourism as a strategic component of competitiveness in order to improve Serbia’s TTDI index, following the European Tourism Agenda 2030, which promotes data-sharing initiatives in tourism, especially those related to innovation.

The project will enable innovation-driven, sustainable tourism development by engaging stakeholders in the tourism ecosystem to share a wide range of innovative tourism practises through an open innovation tourism network that will be formed in Vrnjačka Banja, one of the most visited tourism destinations in Serbia.

Open innovation provides access to external sources of knowledge, skills, ideas and solutions that are beneficial for various tourism businesses, especially entrepreneurs and SMEs that dominate the tourism industry and often lack the resources to capitalize on new opportunities in the very dynamic tourism market. Through an open innovation network, tourism stakeholders gain access to intellectual capital that they lack, such as human, structural and relational capital.

Partners from the V4 countries, which are much better positioned (Poland (27), Czech Republic (33) and Hungary (37)), are invited to support the formation of such a network by sharing the know-how of tourism networks in their countries. The project task is to lead the shift towards the open innovation paradigm by helping stakeholders to open up their boundaries, overcome scepticism and hesitation and build a network based on trust and commitment.

Project Partners:

Faculty of Hotel Management and Tourism in Vrnjačka Banja

Krakow University of Economics

University of Pannonia

Technical University of Liberec

For further project information, please visit:

https://hit-vb.kg.ac.rs/eoitn/ 

Modernization and Harmonization of Tourism study programmes in Serbia 544543-TEMPUS-1-2013

The project aims at improving the quality of tourism study programs through modernization and harmonization of study programmes, on one side, and conducting training courses, on the other. The starting point in achieving these objectives will be the analysis of tourism market needs. Developing a new study programs (or modules) or improving the existing ones will be performed in compliance with the obtained results of the analysis. In addition, when designing new curriculum the best EU practice in tourism higher education field will be taken into account.

Throughout the project duration, it is planned to develop a flexible education system, with precise definition of learning outcomes, competencies of graduate students and modalities of further education. The common basis for Undergraduate studies will be developed. This means that all redesigned undergraduate study programs at partner higher education institutions from Serbia will have in common at least 50% of the subjects (such as Tourism Geography, Introduction to Tourism, Tourism Management, English language). Common basis will be upgraded through subjects and modules that reflect the actual tourism needs of the region where the higher education institution is situated. In this way, the tourism specificities of certain parts of Serbia can be incorporated in the study programs. In addition, the common basis of redesigned undergraduate study programs will facilitate student’s exchange and recognition process within the participating Serbian higher education institutions.

Undergraduate tourism studies should be accredited at each partner higher education institution in Serbia by the end of the second year of the project, and the first generation of students should be enrolled in the third year of the project. Also, at least two postgraduate study programme should be accredited at higher education institutions from Serbia participating in the project.

However, for successful implementation of above mentioned study programs it is necessary to have a competent academic staff. Therеfore, the experts from EU partner institutions will conduct training courses for teachers and teaching associates from Serbia in the following fields:

• contemporary teaching methods,
• distance learning techniques,
• methodology and practical preparation of contemporary teaching material (design of books, practicums etc.),
• education process implementation in practice.

Stakeholders and professional cooperation network which will be established have substantial role in the project. Established cooperation between higher education institutions and tourism enterprises will be continued after the end of the project, which is to be ensured through signed agreements on business and technical cooperation and individual contracts on work based learning, students’ industrial placement, as well as for future training of tourism employees at higher education institutions. In addition, tourism enterprises will be providing information about required skills and knowledge of their personnel that will affect new curricula and modules of study programs and contents of training courses for tourism employees in the future.

For further project information, please visit:
http://mhtsps.vpts.edu.rs/

To find out more on Tempus program activities in Serbia, please visit:
http://www.tempus.ac.rs/