Co-develop new curricula on tourism and transport to promote an inclusive, sustainable and digital higher education.
Context
The European tourism and transport sectors are facing increasingly complex environmental, social and economic challenges linked to climate change, digitalisation and the evolving skills required by the labour market. Transport is one of the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions in Europe, while tourism, a key sector for the economy and employment, generates a significant environmental impact in terms of mobility, resource consumption and waste production. In this context, the transition towards more sustainable models requires professionals able to integrate sector-specific expertise with green, digital and transversal skills. However, higher education pathways in tourism and transport often struggle to adapt to these changes, creating skills gaps and limiting graduates’ employability, particularly for those coming from more vulnerable backgrounds. FutureMinds was created to respond to this need by rethinking tourism and transport education through more inclusive, participatory and future-oriented learning approaches, capable of reflecting real sector challenges and contributing to their sustainable transformation.
Objectives
- To analyse labour market needs and educational gaps in the tourism and transport sectors, involving students, educators and professionals to ensure curricula respond to real social and employment challenges.
- To co-design innovative and future-oriented higher education curricula in tourism and transport together with Communities of Practice, understood as groups of students, teachers and professionals who contribute to defining curricula and learning objectives from their different perspectives.
- To develop six accessible and digital learning pathways based on the co-designed curricula, using innovative and interactive learning approaches.
- To support the adoption of new educational content and approaches through training activities for students and educators, strengthening cooperation between European universities and stakeholders in the relevant sectors.
Activities
- Implementation of an online ThinkLab to analyse skills needs and the main challenges in the tourism and transport sectors.
- Activation of local Communities of Practice (4) to collaboratively define learning objectives, competences and the structure of the new curricula.
- Development of six online learning courses (MOOCs) on sustainable tourism and transport topics, translating the co-designed curricula into accessible and interactive learning content.
- Organisation of international training schools and training activities for students and educators to teach the new curricula and apply the newly developed digital tools.
Resources
- Analysis of existing academic programmes in the tourism and transport sectors, including the identification of current best practices.
- Six new MOOCs focusing on tourism and transport, sustainability, climate neutrality, digital transformation and community participation.
Impact
- Strengthened green and digital skills in the tourism and transport sectors through the development of six online courses, involving at least 200 higher education students during the project.
- Improved accessibility of higher education thanks to digital and inclusive learning pathways capable of reaching students from diverse socio-economic and geographical backgrounds.
- Stronger collaboration between universities and the labour market through the activation of four Communities of Practice involving students, educators and professionals in curriculum co-design.
- Increased awareness of sustainability challenges in tourism and transport through training schools and learning activities, engaging at least 120 participants overall.
Partners
- University of the Aegean (Greece, coordinator)
- MobyX (Cyprus)
- Sustainability InnoCenter (Sweden)
- VUB – Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)
- CESIE ETS (Italy)
