We are so very happy to announce that TourNord is adding yet another exciting partner to our network! A big, warm welcome to the Koszalin University of Technology!
The Koszalin University of Technology (KUT) has several fantastic tourism programs, and already has great experience working with several of our TourNord members. We are certain that KUT will provide unique and valuable insights into how we can drive forward TourNord and its goals on improving tourism education in the Nordics and Baltics!
Koszalin University of Technology. Source: Picasa
Koszalin University of Technology (KUT), is a public technical university located in Koszalin, Poland. At present, it educates over nine thousand students in twenty-eight modern fields of study such as technical, economics, humanities and arts majors.
To its scientific staff, KUT offers the opportunity to work in laboratories equipped with the most up-to-date facilities, thus enabling the carrying out of research in the most advanced areas of scientific endeavour, and for its students it provides lines of study and specialisations which meet the wide-ranging demands of the 21st century, in particular in the spheres of applied science, information technology and communications.
We would like to give a warm welcome to our newest TourNord partner, the University of Gdańsk! We look forward to cooperating on tourism education and research, with particular focus on the Nordics and Baltics!
The University of Gdańsk is a large, multidisciplinary university and is increasingly involved in the tourism and hospitality sector. We are confident that their knowledge and experience will help strengthen the TourNord network! A bit of information about the university can be found below.
The University of Gdańsk
The University of Gdańsk
The University of Gdańsk (UG), located in Gdańsk (a city in northern Poland with over a thousand years of history) is at present the largest university in the Pomeranian region and has indisputable influence on the development of modern Poland, science and higher education. UG has eleven faculties with over 25 thousand students, doctoral students and post-graduates enrolled in such fields of study as Biology, Biotechnology, Chemistry, Oceanography, Quantum Physics, Pedagogy, Psychology, Law, Sociology, Spatial Management and Economic Sciences. The University remains faithful to its original 1970 motto – In mari via tua (The sea is your way), and its’ maritime image is reflected in many fields of study, specialities and research connected with the sea and in particular with the Baltic coast. The University is a valuable research centre devoted to sustainable development with educational programmes and research projects related to this important challenge. University of Gdańsk cooperates closely with the business sector in terms of education and scientific innovation.
We are pleased to announce that an international team from TourNord, working under the direction of Dr. Grzegorz Kwiatkowski, Assistant Professor at the Koszalin University of Technology and Associate Professor at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, will be investigating how to build resilient events and festivals during uncertain times! A very relevant topic considering the severe effects the global pandemic COVID-19 has wrought.
COVID-19 has led to a lockdown of local, regional and even national economies for months at end. Society has faced new (and severe) social and economic challenges, huge losses in experience economies such as the event, tourism and hospitality industries. The International Labour Organization (ILO) predicts that unemployment will rise by 24.7 million people due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ILO further estimates that by the end of 2020, the economic loss due to COVID-19 will tap up to 3.4 trillion dollars.
This situation constitutes to be a great societal challenge which calls for urgent intervention, to save what is left and (re)build a resilient Event & Festival (E&F) sector through action research. The rational for this project, running from February – August 2021, lies in the need for up-to-date knowledge and knowledge-based tailored solutions to build resilient E&F ecosystems in our “new reality”.
The project is to be undertaken by an international group of researchers from: Koszalin University of Technology in Poland (Dr. Grzegorz Kwiatkowski, Dr. Dorota Janiszewska, Dr. Luiza Ossowska, Dr. Dariusz Kloskowski), Business Academy SouthWest in Denmark (Dr. Christian Dragin-Jensen), Linnaeus University in Sweden (Dr. Marianna Strzelecka) and the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (M.L. Vilde Hannevik Lien).
Project lead, Grzegorz Kwiatkowski, is looking forward to the international cooperation and the results the project will bring:
The possibility of implementing this grant is the result of the beneficial international cooperation implemented so far by our department. We will be able to conduct important research on issues that affect us all.
Gregory Kwiatkowski, Ass. Professor, Koszalin University of Technology Associate Professor, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences
Financial support for the project was obtained from the “Intervention Grants” Program of the National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA) in Poland. The purpose of the program implemented is to support international cooperation of research teams in response to sudden, important, unforeseen social, civilization and natural phenomena with global or regionally significant consequences.
We look forward to hear what findings the project will bring, and how we can help bring forward these findings to practitioners, students and researchers alike!
