NETOUR, a network towards TDC by enhancing the quality of the education delivered at Russian Universities.

• Lidia Andrades ^[1] ; Frederic Dimanche ^[2] ; Soraya Morales Carretero ^[1]
  1. [1] Universidad de Extremadura

     Universidad de Extremadura

     Badajoz, España

     
  2. [2] Ryerson University

     Ryerson University

     Canadá

     
• Localización: ICETIC: Innovative and Creative Education and Technology International Conference / Ramón Sanguino Galván (aut.), Ascensión Barroso Martínez (aut.), 2017, ISBN 978-84-16989-78-2, pág. 442
• Idioma: inglés
• Enlaces
  • Texto Completo Libro
• Resumen

  • Russia is one of the fastest growing tourism markets (+8% growth in 2011) with many resources that are yet untapped. This paper presents NETOUR, a project of European and Russian universities that aims at boosting Russia’s competitiveness as a tourism destination. The purpose of this project, funded by the European Commission through a TEMPUS grant, is to propose a model for cooperation between universities and the main stakeholders in the tourism sector, in order to favour its sustainable development. Following a situation analysis of tourism in Russia, both from a supply and demand side, the researchers conduct an analysis of the gaps that exist between what Russian universities propose in tourism management education and what tourism professionals expect from higher education training and the competences they need to succeed. The results lead to university curriculum revisions on the one hand, and continuing education proposals on the other hand. The pillars that support NETOUR are: (1) Knowledge transference between Universities and society: facilitating the adoption of innovations by tourism firms, as well as reinforcing students’ employability; (2) Lifelong learning: identifying tourism professionals' knowledge, updating needs, and proposing specialized training according to their requests; (3) Open dialogue between the various stakeholders in the sector (i.e., policy makers, entrepreneurs, local population, alumni, students, professors, professional associations, etc.); (4) Design of new tourism management curricula according to the real educational needs of the sector. This ambitious three-year project should yield benefits for all tourism sector stakeholders and lead to improving the competitiveness of Russia as a tourism destination.