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ContentsINTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................3

Objectives.............................................................................................................................3

Partners................................................................................................................................3

Regions.................................................................................................................................3

SHORTPRESENTATIONOTEACHPARTNER..............................................................................6

NHTV-BredaUniversityofAppliedSciences.......................................................................6

KemptenUniversityofAppliedSciences..............................................................................7

TheMultidimensionalTourismInstitute(MTI)....................................................................8

AllgäuGmbH......................................................................................................................10

TheChamberofCommerceandIndustry(CCI)..................................................................11

Statistics.............................................................................................................................12

BESTPRACTICESANDCHALLENGESININTERNATIONALCO-OPERATIONANDINCO-OPERATIONBETWEENEDUCATIONANDWORKINGLIFE......................................................13

ChamberofCommerceandIndustry-(CCI)......................................................................13

Bestpracticesininternationalco-operationineducation.............................................13

Challengesininternationalco-operationbetweeneducationalinstitutionsandtheindustry..........................................................................................................................13

AllgäuGmbH......................................................................................................................15


Challengesininternationalco-operationbetweeneducationalinstitutionsandtheindustry..........................................................................................................................15

KemptenUniversityofAppliedSciences............................................................................17


Challengesininternationalco-operationineducation..................................................17

Opportunitiesfordevelopment.....................................................................................18

NHTV–BredaUniversityofAppliedSciences....................................................................19



UniversityofLapland.........................................................................................................21

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LaplandTourismCollege....................................................................................................24




LaplandUniversityofAppliedSciences..............................................................................27



SUMMARY..............................................................................................................................28

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INTRODUCTION

Objectives

The Learning Tourism project aims at strengthening the partnerships between education andworking life by involving actors from the tourism industry in research and teaching activities;improving both teaching staff’s and students’ proficiency in ICT technologies, in turn using thesetechnologiesforbetterandeasiercooperationwiththeemploymentsector;andtheacquisitionofpractical entrepreneurial experience through internship placements – both of HEI as well as VETstudents.

Theproject´sactivitiesaredividedintosevendifferentIntellectualOutputs(IOs).Thisreport istheresult of the sixth IO: Creating Innovative and Permanent Methods and Practices forMultidimensional Education Collaboration. The aim of this particular IO is to investigate theparticipating educational organizations’ and the working life partnership’s structure, stakeholdercooperation practices and the utilisation of their operationalmodel. Best practices, challenges aswell as opportunities for development are reported and also preliminary analysis is done in thisreport.Partner’sorganisational structuresandstakeholdercooperationpracticesareanalysedandbestpracticesaredescribed.Itisalsodiscussedhowdifferentoperationalmodelscanbenefitfuturecurriculaandinternationalactivitiesineachorganisationaswellasthepartnerco-operation.

Partners

Theproject’spartnerconsortiumconsistsof7partnersfromFinland,GermanyandtheNetherlands.

• Finland:TheMultidimensionalTourismInstitute(MTI):theLaplandUniversityofAppliedSciences(leadpartner),UniversityofLaplandandtheLaplandTourismCollege

• TheNetherlands:NHTVBredaUniversityofAppliedSciences

• Germany:UniversityofAppliedScienceKempten,ChamberofCommerceSchwabenandAllgäuMarketing,Germany

RegionsLapland

Finland’snorthernmostpart,Lapland,coversatotalareaofnearly9000000km²,oralmostathirdofthetotal landareaofFinland.LaplandisborderedinthewestbySweden, inthenorthbyNorwayand in the east by Russia. The capital of Lapland, Rovaniemi, lies on the Arctic Circle, at theconfluenceofthetwogreatriversofLapland–theKemijokiandOunasjoki–withacentralregionhavingapopulationinexcessof65000.

Industry

Clean nature and abundant natural resources provide a unique, solid foundation for the businesssectorinLapland.Thecornerstonesoftheregion'seconomyaretourism,steelandmetal industry,mining industry, reindeerhusbandryand forestry.Theenergy sector, too,willplayan increasinglyimportantroleintheeconomyinfuture.

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TourisminLapland

ThedirecttourismincomeinLapland(2011)equalled600M€andthedirecttourismemploymentinLapland (2011) was 5.000 fte. The registered overnights in the year 2011 were stated with2.300.000,with40%foreignovernights.

Laplandputsanemphasisonnature-basedtourismandthenatureconservationareasareverylarge.Tourism firms aremainly small ormedium-sizes enterprises in centralization, ski resorts and ruralperiphery.Overall1MillionChristmastouristswerecounted,with400.000visitorsinRovaniemi.TheRussianvisitorsareaccountedforthefastestgrowinggroupoftravellers.

Swabia-ApartofBavaria

Swabia is as the name indicates part of Bavaria. It is one of the seven administrative districts ofBavaria, covering the southwest, bordering Upper Bavaria, Austria, Switzerland and Baden-Württemberg. Swabiastretches fromtheancientmeteoritecraterRies in thenorth to theAlpinefoothills in the south, from the river Lech in the east to the river Iller in thewest. LowmountainrangesandtheAlps,rivervalleysandlargeplains,lakesandwoods–thelandscapeinSwabiaisasbeautifulasdiverse.

Source:CCISwabia

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Industry

Almost1.8millionpeoplearelivinginSwabia,inoneofthebiggercities–Augsburg,Kempten,Neu-UlmandKaufbeuren-orinoneofthemanysmallertownsandvillages.

Economically, Swabia is very successful with a great variety of businesses in highly technicalproductionsectors.Thegrossdomesticproductamountsto58bnEuro.Mostlytherearesmallandmediumenterpriseswhich are characterized by flexibility and innovation performance. 40%of alljobs are in the producing/manufacturing industry.Unemployment rate is low; 640.000 individualsare employed (subject to social insurance contribution). Excellent working conditions and a largerangeofcultureandleisureopportunitiesmakeSwabiaagoodplacetoworkandlive.

TourisminSwabia

Every year 4.4 million tourists from all over the world visit the region. Nearly 4.9 bn Euros ofturnover are generated by the tourism sector. Especially the Allgäu with its famous castleNeuschwansteinandexceptionallandscapeisoneofthetoptourismdestinationsofGermany.

NoordBrabant

NoordBrabantisaregionaround5.000km2 situatedintheSouthoftheNetherlands,approximately100kmfromAmsterdam.

FivelargercitiesintheheartoftheprovinceformthesecondurbannetworkoftheNetherlandscalledBrabantstad:Breda,Eindhoven,Helmond,'s-HertogenboschandTilburg.Withapopulationofalmost2.5millionitcreatesanimportanteconomicinfluenceintheNetherlands.

Industry

NoordBrabandiscalledEurope´sheartforsmartsolutionsforareason.Thestrongindustryandpowersupplysectormakesof16%oftheregionsjobs.Inadditionmanufacturingandcraftingaddsuptoastrongindustry.Withalmlost1.2millionpeopleemployed,unemploymentrateislowandthehighqualityeducationalinstitutionsgenerateyoungandmotivatedtalentsforthejobmarket.

TourisminNoordBrabant

Inthe20thcentury,tourismhasbecomeanimportantsectorforNoordBrabant.Thedeepforestsanditsquietatmospherecombinedwiththecultureinthecitiesattractmoreandmoretouristseveryyear.AnotherbigtouristattractionisthemeparkEftelinginKaatsheuvel,thelargestoftheBenelux.Touristsspendbetween6.5and11.5millionnightsintheregionintheyear2015.

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SHORTPRESENTATIONOTEACHPARTNER

NHTV-BredaUniversityofAppliedSciences

NHTV - Breda University of Applied Sciences is an international higher education institution. It issituatedinthesouthoftheNetherlands,inthecityofBreda,only100kmfrombothAmsterdamandBrussels.Bredaisahistoricalcitywithsome180.000inhabitants.NHTVoffersjobsto672employeesand 7.435 students – 871 international (tourism academy 14,3% international students) arecurrentlyenrolled.NexttoGames&Media,Hotel,Facility,LogisticsandBuiltEnvironmentbachelorandmasterstudentscangainfurtherknowledgeinthefieldofTourism&Leisure.1

FactsandfiguresoftheAcademyforTourism

NHTVwas founded in 1996 and is known as the best large University of Applied Sciences of theNetherlands2015.Theinstitution’smostdistinctivefeatureisinternationalisation.NHTViscertifiedwith theUNWTOTedQualCertification.Furthermore theyhave7.392studentsofwhich2.250areenrolledatAcademyforTourismand200staffmembers.Theaveragenumberofexchangeincomingand outgoing students is 65-70. NHTV has 97 partner institutions worldwide, 23 collaboratinginternationalvisitingprofessorsthreeprofessionalbachelors(BBa),oneacademicbachelor(BSc)andonemasterprogramme(MA).

Theresearchknowledgegroupscanbedividedasfollows:Multifunctional leisurelocations,Centrefor sustainable tourism and transport, Tourism destination management, Imagineering: tourismexperiencesandco-creations,Mediaandentertainment,Cross-culturalunderstanding,Productivityinleisureandhospitality.

Organisationalstructure

CooperationwiththeindustryisofgreatimportanceatalllevelsandwithinallacademiesofNHTV.Theorganizationisorientedtofacilitatethecooperationwiththeindustry.WithintheAcademyforTourismthefollowingdepartments/entitiesareinvolved:

• SAR-TheStrategicAdvisoryBoard

The SAR consists of executives of the tourism, hospitality and leisure industry. They support theboardand themanagementwith strategicdecisions thatarebeing taken.Theyadvise thevariousacademiestoassurethattheeducationweprovidemeetstheneedoftheindustry.Inthiswaywecandeliverhighqualitygraduateswithproperemployabilityskills.

• Placementoffice

Toillustratethis,theacademyfortourismhasaplacementofficewhichemploys5FTE.Theyrecruitplacements and short term and graduation projects (national and international) and match thestudentstothecompanies.

1http://www.nhtv.nl/ENG/about-nhtv.html

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• Accountmanager

RelationmanagementwiththeDutchtourismindustry.Thetasksoftheaccountmanagerarediversandincludeamongothers:informingtheindustryaboutdevelopmentsatNHTV,organizing(jointly)trainingsessionsandevents,attractingfundingforprojects,compiling(external)examcommittees.

• Facilitatingnetworkingofemployees

The personal network of employees is essential for attracting guest lectures, organizing fieldworkactivitiesand including real lifecases in thevariouscourses.Employeesarestimulated todevelopand maintain a network of contacts by for example participation in conferences, congresses,seminars,workshopsetcetera.

• Learningcompany

During the fourth year of their study, a team of 9 students can work for the student companyNewways. Since2005Newwaysorganizesevents, internationalexcursionsand fieldtrips, companyvisitsandMICEactivitiesforstudentsandstaffoftheentireNHTV.RecentlytheystartedtheTravelDesk, an implant of BCD Travel. Students are supervised by a team of lecturers. Besides theperformanceoftheseactivitiestheyalsoworkongraduationassignments.

NHTVispilotinganonlineplatformforstudenttravel.ThisiscalledMiyotravel(Makeityourown).Miyo travel is an online learning company that has been created as an online affiliatewithin theAcademyfortourism.MIYOtravelisaresponsetotheindustry'sdemandandhasbeendevelopedincooperationwithBelvilla,TUINLandGoogle.Twodifferentlabelshavebeencreated:MiyoholidayapartmentsandMiyowintersportholidays.ViathesetwolabelsaretheproductsfromBelvillaandTUI.Infuturetheofferofproductswillbeexpandedwithamongothershotelsandairlinetickets.

Students apply theory in practice and directly train their e-business skills, marketing andcommunicationskillsandwillreceivetrainingandworkshops.

KemptenUniversityofAppliedSciences

Kempten University of Applied Sciences is the only state higher education establishment in theAllgäu,Bavaria. Itcurrentlyoffers21degreeprograms,coveringBusiness&TourismManagement,Social & Health Sciences, Engineering Sciences and Computer Science & Multimedia. Sinceitsestablishment in 1977, the university in the foothills of the Alps has experienced steady andcontinuousgrowth.

Eachyear,over6.500applicantsapply for studies inKemptenandcurrentlyabout5.500 studentsare enrolled. Some 120 full-time professors, 200 associate professors from the industry, and 160scientificandnon-academicstaffmanagethestudyprogramandassistwithstudentlife.

Apracticalapproachtoteachingandlearning,aninternationaloutlookaswellasup-to-datebuildingandtechnologystandardsensureexcellentstudyconditionsandacademictrainingonanexcellentlevel.Allbuildingsaresituatedonthecitycampus.Themoderatesizeoftheuniversitycreatesaverypersonalatmosphere.

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AkeyfeatureofKemptenUniversityofAppliedSciencesisthebroadbasicqualificationsitoffersinthefirsthalfofthebachelordegreeprograms,followingwithin-depthspecializationswithinthefieldofstudyinthesecondhalfoftheprogram.

Awiderangeofpartnershipswithbusinessesprovideanexcellentframeworkforappliedstudy.Theuniversityoffersdualstudycoursesaspartof the‘hochschule-dual’-scheme.Thesecoursesenablestudents to increase the practical part of their studies, or to combine academic studies with avocationaldegree.In2007,theForschungszentrumAllgäu(FZA)–theuniversity´sresearchcentre–wasestablishedtosupport researchactivitiesat theuniversity.Since thenthevolumeof researchhasincreasedconsiderably.Some60personsarepresentlyoccupiedbyvariousresearchprojects.Itshould bementioned though that the technical faculties carry out themajor part of the appliedresearchattheuniversity.

Kemptenstudentshaveapossibilitytoearnpartoftheirdegreeabroadatoneofaround80partneruniversitiesacross theworld.Also international studentsarewell lookedafter inKempten.At thestartofeachsemester the InternationalOfficeorganizesorientationweeks for incomingstudents.These include intensiveGerman language coursesandvarious trips in the region tohelp studentssettlein.AlsotheCultShareCluballowsintensivecontactbetweenGermanandincomingstudents.

The Faculty of Tourism currently offers one seven-semester Bachelor degree (B.A.) program inTourismManagementandathree-semesterconsecutive,full-timeMasterdegreeinInnovationandEntrepreneurship inTourism. Some600 students studyat theFacultyof Tourism inKempten, themajorityofthemisenrolledintheBachelordegreeprogram.TheannualintakefortheBAprogramisabout160andfortheMAamaximumof20students.

Joint projectswith tourism industry partners, lecturers from the tourism industry, guest lectures,casestudies,andexcursionsfornearandfararesomeofthemethodsfor integratingthepracticeandtheoryinthetourismstudies.

Internationalactivityisanessentialpartofthetourismindustryoperations.ThenumberofcoursestaughtinEnglishintheFacultyofTourismisincreasingsteadily.Thefacultysupportsstudentswhointend to either study or have their internship abroad. It alsowelcomes an increasing number ofoverseas incoming students. Both, either incoming or outgoing students also get support by theuniversity´sInternationalOffice.

Atpresent,elevenfull-timeprofessorsrunthestudyprogramsintheFacultyofTourism,supportedby a large number of lecturers from the tourism industry aswell as language instructors. As thefacultyinitiatesnewdegreeprograms,thereisaneedofevenmoreacademicstaffinthefutureaswell.

TheMultidimensionalTourismInstitute(MTI)TheMTIisaneducationandresearchinstitutebringingtogethertheknow-howatLaplandTourismCollege, the University of Lapland and the University of Applied Sciences. The Institute boasts astudentbodyofover1200 tourismstudentsanda staffof120.The interrelationsof thedifferentinstitutions and their organization and tourism specializations are shown in the following picture.TheMTIissituatedinRovaniemi,FinishLapland.Itissurroundedbyanoutstandingenvironmentfor

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tourism studies, research, and development. It offers a unique organizational structure whereresearch results can be implemented quickly through development work. In addition shortenedstudycyclesarepossible.

The MTI is a unique community of knowledge combining tourism education in all dimensions,academicresearchandcustomer-orientedservicesandinnovativedevelopment.

The institutionoffers different studyprogramswith individual learningobjectives. State-of-the-arttourismexpertiseandthemostextensivesupplyoftourismeducationnationwidemaketheMTIavery suitable institution for tourism studies. The MTI combines cross-selectable and common

studies,the lectures includevisiting lectures,projectstudies incontactwithworking lifeaswellasthe latest information used in studies. Its vision is to be the leading expert of tourism and thehospitalityindustryattheArcticregion.

LaplandTourismCollegeoffersvocationaleducationintourisminLapland,fromtheperspectiveoftourismbusiness.ThebranchesoftheTourismCollegeareinRovaniemi(Toripuistikko),Kittilä(Levi-Institute),KolariandKemijärvi.InLaplandTourismCollegeyouhavetheopportunitytointernationalstudying, forexamplegoingabroadforaworking lifeperiod,asanexchangestudentoraspartofdifferentprojects.TheTourismCollegehaspartnershipcontractswithforeignschools,forexampleinAustriaandIceland.Duetopartnershipdeals,alsoforeignstudentscancometoLaplandTourismCollege as exchange students. International projects help develop the planning and execution ofeducation, guidance and teaching methods in cooperation with other education providers and

Source:MTILapland

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companiesbothnationallyandinternationally.Inadditiontoteachers,alsootherprofessionalstaffoftheschoolparticipatesinon-goinginternationaldevelopmentprojects.

AllgäuGmbH

The Allgäu GmbH is the regional association for location and tourism in the region Allgäu. ThecompanyitselftakescareofthetourismandsitemanagementAllgäuandtakeoverthemarketingforalldepartmentsandmanagementofthebrandAllgäu.Theaimisfurthermoretoachieveclosecooperationwithotheractors,leadersandcooperationpartners.TheAllgäuisalandscapeandpartof Upper Swabia region in Germany, which extends over the southern part of the Bavarianadministrative region of Swabia, the extreme south-eastern Baden-Württemberg aswell as somebelonging to Austria border areas. It is known in the present, especially as a holiday region andbrand.Theregionhasdefinedtwoleadingstrategiesfordestinationandlocationfortheyear2020:TheAllgäuastheleadingalpineembossedHealthandWellnessDestinationGermanyandincontextwiththelocationtheregionastheleadinglivingandworkingspaceandattractiveindustriallocation.

Projectsinworklife/educationsector

TheAllgäuGmbHiscooperationpartnerandinitiatoroffourprojectsintheworklifeandeducationsector.Theseprojectsareeditedby the regionalmanagementof theAllgäuGmbH incooperationwithpartnersoftheworkingoreducationalsector.(www.standort.allgaeu.de)

• BestemployerbrandAllgäu

A total of 18 companies so far could be distinguished as "Best Employer" in the Allgäu. Thesecompanies were evaluated on key workplace issues such as leadership, cooperation, workingenvironment,professionaldevelopmentandreconciliationofworkandfamilythroughanemployeesurvey.

• EducationalportalAllgäu–Platformforadvancedandcontinuingeducation

The education portal Allgäu is your guide for education and counselling. Designed as a tool forprofessionals-recoveryandassuranceyouwillfindnumerousoffersforthequalificationandtrainingofadults.About200educationalinstitutionscurrentlyofferapproximately12.000courses.

• Allgäuprofessionoffensive-Allgäu-wideprojectdaysforstudents

Themotto this year: "Craft - The future in yourownhands". Theseprojectdays takeplace indomestictradecompanies,vocationalschoolsandvocationaltrainingandtechnologycentres.

• Studyinthealps

Marketingcampaigntoemphasizeinadditiontothegoodconditionsforstudyandcareerathletic&alpinesideoftheAllgäu.Studystarterintechnologyandcomputersciencearetemptyouwithsupersnowseasontickets.

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TheChamberofCommerceandIndustry(CCI)

ServiceforSwabia

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry is responsible for the whole administrative district ofSwabia.

TheSwabiaCCIisinposition12outof80GermanChambersofIndustryandinposition3outoftheBavarianCCIs.Thereare330employeesintheCCI, includingthesubsidiarycompany.TheSwabianCCI academy is Germans biggest CCI academy for further education. There are 128.000membercompaniesfromindustry,commerceandservicessectorsintheCCISwabia.

The idea of the independent administration of the industry is the basis for the Chamber ofCommerceandIndustry.Membercompaniesareallregionalbusinesseswiththeexceptionofpurecraftbusinesses,farmsandprofessionalswhoaren’tregisteredinthecommercialregisterandthereisalegalrequirementforthismembership.

TheChamberofCommerceandIndustry isbuiltontwopillars.Ononehandthereisthehonoraryoffice.Theyareentrepreneurselectedbythemembercompanies.Theydecideonthebudgetandalsoontheamountofthemembershipfee.Inadditiontothehonoraryofficemanyentrepreneursare involved in steeringcommittees, forexample for tourism.On theotherhand there is the full-timeofficewiththeirsalariedemployees.Thehonoraryofficedefinestherelevantactivitiesandthefull-timeofficeputstheseprojectsintopractice.

TasksoftheChamberofCommerceandIndustry

Firstof all, theChamberofCommerceand Industryhas to represent the interestsof the regionalindustry.

Furthermore,theCCI´staskisto:

▪ Promote commercewhilst taking into consideration the commercial interests of individualbranchesofindustryorofsinglefirms,withaneyetomaintainingequilibrium

▪ Protectfaircompetition

▪ OfferthemembersoftheCCIcomprehensiveserviceandsupport/consulting

▪ Appointandattestofficialexperts

▪ Dotheexamandgivepermissiontoallnecessarycommercialactivities

▪ Observeandpromotetradingandcommercialtraining

▪ Issueallcertificationsneededtodoeconomictransactions

AndoneofthemostimportanttasksoftheCCIistomonitorandadministrateallvocationaltrainingactivities. The CCI supports and advises apprentices and employeeswith all questions relating toeducationandtraining.

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For German companies, education and training are among themost important sources of skilledemployees. That is the reason why dual vocational education and training (VET), as it exists inGermany,drawsmoreandmoreattention.

Statistics

To evaluate the development of the educational partners during the project the number of bothincomingandoutgoingstudents(workingortheoreticalexchange)shouldbereviewed.Thereviewshouldbeextendedat the fewest for theperiod2013-2016/2017.Asummaryofstatistics (below)canbefulfilledbyeachpartner.Tableincl.thenumberofincomingandoutgoingstudents,andthenumberofthestudentstakeninperyear.

Partner Incoming OutgoingTot.intakenstudents

KemptenUniversityofAppliesSciences2,3,4(allfaculties)

2013/14 52 2013/14 219 2013/14 15882014/15 72 2014/15 228 2014/15 20172015/16 94 2015/16 183 2015/16 16682016/17 n.a. 2016/17 n.a. 2016/17 n.a.

BredaUniversityofAppliedSciences

2013/14 n.a. 2013/14 n.a. 2013/14 n.a.2014/15 n.a. 2014/15 n.a. 2014/15 n.a.2015/16 n.a. 2015/16 n.a. 2015/16 n.a.2016/17 n.a. 2016/17 n.a. 2016/17 n.a.

LaplandTourismCollege(*incl.Vocationaluppersecondaryqualification,furthervocationalqualificationandspecialistvocationalqualification)

2013/14 2013/14 186* 2013/14 2132014/15 2014/15 422* 2014/15 2112015/16 2015/16 524* 2015/16 172

2016/17 2016/17 n.a. 2016/17 n.a.

LaplandUniversityofAppliedSciences(SchoolofTourism)

2013 14 2013 40 2013 16062014 17 2014 42 2014 16932015 14 2015 44 2015 16902016 19 2016 34 2016 1735

UniversityofLapland(Tourismresearchstudies)

2013/14 12 2013/14 14 2013/14 252014/15 17 2014/15 8 2014/15 252015/16 16 2015/16 5 2015/16 252016/17 14 2016/17 8 2016/17 25

2UAS Kempten, Jahresbericht Wintersemester 2013/2014 und Sommersemester 2014 3 Ibid., Jahresbericht Wintersemester 2014/2015 und Sommersemester 2015 4Ibid., Jahresbericht Wintersemester 2015/2016 und Sommersemester 2016

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BEST PRACTICES AND CHALLENGES IN INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION AND IN CO-OPERATIONBETWEENEDUCATIONANDWORKINGLIFE

ChamberofCommerceandIndustry-(CCI)

Bestpracticesininternationalco-operationineducation

• “DieServicehelden”

Two years ago the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) started a project to raise theattractivenessofthetourismsector,especially inthe leisure industry.Theyfoundedaclubfortheapprenticescalled“DieServicehelden”.

ItconcernsaboutaclubwhereallapprenticesfromtheBavarianSwabregionwhichareworkinginthe leisure industryare included. This clubwas founded toappreciate theaccomplishmentof theapprentices.Thereisabonusclubcardwitha lotofbenefitsfortheapprenticessponsoredbythecompanies providing apprenticeship. The brand “Die Servicehelden” wants to support the youngadultsintheleisureindustry.

• “Schooltwinning”

Another successful project cooperation is the school twinning. The CCI matches companies andregionalschoolsandsupportstheircooperation.Thecompanysponsorsschoolactivitiesandgetthechancetoinformyoungpeopleabouttheprovidedapprenticeprofessions.

Challengesininternationalco-operationbetweeneducationalinstitutionsandtheindustry

Training programs are increasingly oriented to work integrated learning (WIL) so that during thecourse of study, as much practical experience as possible can be acquired and training coursecontentscanalsobealignedtotherequirementsofcompaniesinrespectoffutureskilledpersonnel.InteractionoffurthereducationandbusinessisoneofthecorethemesoftheErasmus+Programme.However, inordertoexpandtheWILProgrammes,theprovidersoftrainingcoursesneednotonlyappropriatefinancing,butalsoneedpartnersfromthebusinesscommunity.

Globalization takes place not only in trading relationships but also in such important fields aseducation.Theexchangesandthecollaborationofeducationalinstitutionsbeyondnationalbordershas been common practice for quite some time. Educational institutions and companies worktogethertoagreaterorlesserextent,dependingonthevocationaltrainingsystem.

Undertheseaspectstheinteractionofeducationalinstitutionsandthebusinesscommunitywithitseconomicorganisationsmakesgoodsense,asputintopracticebeyondnationalbordersthroughtheLeToproject.Nevertheless,thisconstellationalsobringsanumberofchallengeswithit.

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Motivatingcompaniestoparticipationinprojects

Itprovestobequiteachallengetomotivatecompaniestomakepracticalplacementsandvocationaltrainingavailableortotakepartinprojectsintraining-relatedfields.Companiesthenonlydecidetotakepart ifadirectbenefit for theircompanycanbegenerated.This isandremains theway thatcommercialenterprisesthinkandwork.

Cooperationprojectswhichaimatparticipationofacompanyshouldconsiderthequestionofwhatdirect benefits the company would have from such a project and should then take these intoaccountinthecontentoftheproject.

It definitely makes sense when approaching companies to incorporate chambers, businessdevelopmentagenciesandassociationsatthesametimewithdueclarificationoftheirrole.Servicesand tasks to be performed for project partners outside the training segment must be definedbeforehand.Otherwisethereisadangerthatitwillnotbediscovereduntiltheprojectsareputintopractice that the contents to be worked on do not provide enough possibilities to integrate allprojectpartnersaccordingly.

Diversevocationaltrainingsystemsmakeimplementationmoredifficult

The diverse vocational training systems of different countries and the various structures in therepresentationofinterestsoftheeconomycanalsopresentchallengestocollaboration.

Forexample, in theareaofvocational trainingon thegroundsof schooleducation inonecountryandofthedualvocationaltrainingsysteminGermany,nostructurecanbeworkedoutwhichleadsto an exchange of trainees. A company ismuchmore likely tomake a placement available for atrainee if on a reciprocal basis the company’s own trainee would be able to gain experience bymeansofastayinathecountryoftherespectiveprojectpartner.

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AllgäuGmbH


TheAllgäuGmbHiscooperationpartnerandinitiatoroffourprojectsintheworklifeandeducationsector. The regional management of the Allgäu GmbH in cooperation edits these projects withpartnersoftheworkingoreducationalsector.(www.standort.allgaeu.de)

• BestemployerbrandAllgäu

A total of 18 companies so far could be distinguished as "Best Employer" in the Allgäu. Thesecompanies were evaluated on key workplace issues such as leadership, cooperation, workingenvironment,professionaldevelopmentandreconciliationofworkandfamilythroughanemployeesurvey.

• EducationalportalAllgäu–Platformforadvancedandcontinuingeducation

The education portal Allgäu is your guide for education and counselling. Designed as a tool forprofessionals-recoveryandassuranceyouwillfindnumerousoffersforthequalificationandtrainingofadults.About200educationalinstitutionscurrentlyofferapproximately12.000courses.

• Allgäuprofessionoffensive-Allgäu-wideprojectdaysforstudents

The motto this year: "Craft - The future in your own hands". These project days take place indomestictradecompanies,vocationalschoolsandvocationaltrainingandtechnologycentres.

• StudyintheAlps

Marketingcampaigntoemphasizeinadditiontothegoodconditionsforstudyandcareerathletic&alpinesideoftheAllgäu.Studystarterintechnologyandcomputersciencearetemptyouwithsupersnowseasontickets.

Challengesininternationalco-operationbetweeneducationalinstitutionsandtheindustry

Thecooperationbetweenscienceandeconomysector is regardedasanessentialelement for thestrengthening the innovative and economic power of the enterprises in theAllgäu.However, it isknownthattheknowledgetransfer,particularlyregardingcooperationwithsmallandmedium-sizedenterprises(SMEs), isaratherdifficult issue.Forexample,therearespecialacquisitorswhichhavethe taskof initiatingcooperativeventureswithbusinessenterprises,butwhichare far frombeingusedtothesameextentbytheeconomyaswasoriginallypresentedattheir institution.Intheco-operation between business and science in the educational field, cultures are encounteredwhichhaveverydifferentgoalsandmotivationpositionsandwhichlookateachotherwithamoreorlessgreatskepticism.Argumentstothisareoftenexchanged,andtherearemanystudiesonthis.Thereis a special feature for international cooperation in the field of education in tourism (hotels andleisuresector).Nearlyhalfofthecompanieshaveexperiencesincooperatingwithuniversities,andabout75%areinterestedincooperating.5Thefocusisonstudentprojectssuchas internshipsanddissertationsandtheemploymentofstudents.Inrelationtointernationalcooperation,whichhave

5HTWBerlin(2010).Hemmnisstudie2010,Berlin:SenatsverwaltungfürWirtschaft,TechnologieundFrauen,Berlin

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beenexperiencedbyonlyonethird.Duetotheshortdurationofstayof internsandthefactorofuncertain language skillsonly40%are interested ina cooperation.Thepurpose in concernof theLeToprojectistounderstandtheneedsandinparticularthereservationsofcompaniesintheregionAllgäuinabetterway.Themaininhibitionfactorsforknowledgetransferarehighlightedinthenextsection.

Transparencyfactorandcontactform

ItwasfoundthattheprogramwebsiteisgenerallytransparentandeasilyaccessibleontheInternetand other PR media. On the other hand, the interests of the customer (economy) are ratherunknown. The issue of transparency is a major concern, in particular for companies withoutcooperativeexperience.Thismeansthatthecompanyfindsthebestcontactpersonforhisspecificproblemassoonaspossible.FortheLeToprojecttheIHKSchwabenandAllgäuGmbHtakeoverthefunction as contact person and acquisitors. For the further structure it is necessary to persist thestructuresandprovidetransparentexchangeinformationonthewebsite.

Timinganddurationofinternship

Themain obstacles to cooperation between companies and universities are the time constraints.The lack of satisfaction with this is also reflected in the reproach of the lack of entrepreneurialthinking.Companiesaremainlyinterestedtoprovideaninternshipwithadurationof3till6month.Itshouldbeconsideredwhetherthedurationoftheinternshipcouldbeadaptedtothesedesires.

LanguageSkills

Otherobstacles are theuncertain language skills. Companieshave stated thatbasic knowledgeoftheGermanlanguagemustbepresent inareaswithdirectcustomercontact. Intherealizationforthe LeToprojectwe learned, that the knowledgeofGermandefine the fieldof application in thetourismsector.Inthebeginningweshouldquerytherequiredlanguageskillsandmatchtheskillstoofferedinternships.Thereforetheuseofamatchingplatformshouldbeconsidered.

Motivation

The basic prerequisite for cooperation between universities and enterprises is that there is awillingnessonbothsides:Andofcourse,theremustbeanissueinwhichthecompanycanpresentacontributionfromtheuniversity.Ifthecompanyhasnofinancialortimeresources,bothaspectsarehighlighted as themainobstacles facedby companies. It also can lead to confusion if there is nocompetentcontactpersononeitherside,thecompanyand/ortheuniversity.Cooperationisnotanendinitself,butmustbringadvantagesforbothpartners.LeToprojectpartnershavetodefineclearbenefits forcompanies if theyparticipate in the field.Extendingthepartnership toexchangeskillscouldbealong-termandsustainableadvantage.

TheLeToprojectshows-andthisrealizationisnotnew-thatpersonal,sustainablecontactbetweencompaniesanduniversities isofparamount importancefortheestablishmentand implementationof cooperative structures. If this contact is ensured,many of the obstacle factors considered aresuperfluous, lack of transparency, duration internships, lack of confidence in professionalcompetence.Measuresdesignedtobuildpersonalcontactsshouldthereforebeencouraged.

17

KemptenUniversityofAppliedSciences


The collaboration between the Lapland University of Applied Sciences (Former UAS Rovaniemi),DEHOGA-Bavaria (German Association of Hotels, Restaurants and Cafés), Swabian Chamber ofCommerceandAllgäuGmbH,isanexampleofasuccessfulandinnovativenewwaytojoinforcesoftheeducationalsectorwiththetourismindustry.Since2012,tourismstudentsoftheUASLaplandare assisted by the German partners to find a company for their internship in the Allgäu-Region.Local collaboration partners also provide assistance during the internships. After the internship,students have a possibility to stay in the region and continue their tourism studies at the UASKempten. The next step will be to organize internships in Lapland for the students of the UASKemptenaswell.

Anotherbestpracticeexampleofthecooperationbetweentheeducationalandthebusinesssectorisaprojectcarriedoutin2013incooperationwithaBritishluxury-brandcarmanufacturerandtheTourismFacultyof theKemptenUniversityofAppliedSciences.The studentsworkedonaprojectduringonesemester.Theluxury-brandcarmanufacturerassignedthestudentstofindnewwaystoincreasetheretentionandtheloyaltyofitscustomers.Asdelightingcustomersnotonlymakesthemsatisfied,butalsotendstomakecustomersloyal,providingthemunforgettableexperiencesseemedtobeanappropriateapproachtoattainthegoalsetbythecompany.Duringthecourseoflectures,therelevantissuesandtheorieswereintroducedtostudents.Thislaidafoundationforthepracticalwork,whereteamscreatedprograms,whichthenwerepresentedforthecooperationpartner

Havingarealbusinesspartnerinthiskindofprojectencouragedandmotivatedthestudentstoworkveryhard,stayfocusedthroughthewholesemester,andalwaystogivetheirbest.

Studentsmust find their internshipcompanies themselves.An internship isobligatoryat themostuniversityofappliedsciences inGermany,as it iscrucial togainpracticalexperience.For this, thestudentsknowaboutthisthemomenttheystarttheirstudies.Itcostseffortandinitiativetofindthecompany on their own, but as it is no different than to the working life after graduation, this isbelievedthebestwaytopreparethestudentsfortherealworld.ThissystemisbasedonGermaneducationalcultureandthehighdegreeofpopularityofinternshipsingeneral.

Challengesininternationalco-operationineducation

Thisunderstandingoftheterm`internship´inothercountriesisnotascommonasinGermany.Butan examination of adaption for single educational institutions may be possible and might be apositiveoutcomeoftheLeToproject.

Toorganize internships inLaplandforstudentsof theUASKemptenwillbeachallengebecause itwill be hard tomatch the need for an 18-week internship period with the needs of the tourismindustryinLapland.TourisminregionslikeLaplandishighlyseasonal,andthehighseasonintourismisnotnecessarilyeasilycompatiblewiththeacademiccalendaroftheuniversity.

Moreover, theuniversity is stillworkinghardon their internationalisation strategy.To foster, thatmore and more students are motivated and decide for an internship or a theoretical semester

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abroadmorefirsthandexperiencereportsareneeded.TheInternationalOfficeworksintensivelyoninformingstudents,butformanystudentsastayabroadmeansagreatorganisationalandfinancialeffort.Thisseemsonereasonwhymanystudentsrecoilfrominternationalexperienceduringtheireducationallife.

Lastbutnotleast,thementoringandsupportbytheuniversityislesstransparentbeforeandduringan internship abroad.Knowledgeabout intercultural competences is impartedat theuniversity invarious lectures. But depending on the country a student decides for international exchange, itsculturemightormightnothavebeenacomponentofthelecturersinput.Alsothereislittlesupportinfindinganinternshipabroad.AWorkPlacementofficelikeinBredaisduetoshortageonstaffnotpossible.ThereforthestudentshavetobemotivatedtotakeonthechallengetofindaninternshipabroadratherthaninGermany.

Opportunitiesfordevelopment

InternationalprojectslikeLeTohavepotentialtoplacestudentsinoneofthepartnerinstitutionsforaninternship,ifs/heisinterestedinresearchactivitiesaslaterprofession.Asanexampleonecouldthinkofprojectstofindsolutionsforseasonalityissuesinacertainregion.

During the LeTo project the German team found, thatmore reporting from returning students isneeded to foster motivation and information for an internship abroad. For this a Moodle page”PraktiGuide”was developed andwill be launched during the project time atUAS Kempten. ThispageallowsstudentsofUASKemptentoexchangeexperiencetheyhavemadeduringaninternship,withthecompany,thecolleagues,thementors,thecountryandtheculture.

Moreover,duringtheproject,NHTVBredawasidentifiedasrolemodel inmentoring.Eventhoughthiscouldalsobeexplainedbythehighernumberofstaffavailableinrelationtostudents,Breda´sMentoring schemeaccountsasagreat input for futurementoringactivities inKemptenandpartsaretriedtobeimplementedduringKempten´sMentoringsessionsbeforeandaftertheinternship.Students are also more activated to use mentoring during the internship if they have problemsduringtheStudentJourney.

The Student Journey was developed during the LeTo-project and played an important role ininvestigating a student´s path before, during and after an internship, his need formotvation andinformationaswellasmentoring.

Abb. 1: Student Journey (Quelle: Prof. Dr. Seppälä-Esser & Heinz, 2016)

International Internship – The Student Journey

© Hochschule Kempten – University of Applied Sciences, Prof. Dr. Raija Seppälä-Esser3

BeforetheInternship DuringtheInternship AftertheInternship

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NHTV–BredaUniversityofAppliedSciences


• Cooperationinpractice

Studentscanconductresearchorperformactivitiesforcompaniesinvariousways.Thecommitmentandinvolvementofbusinessescreatesabondwhichleadstowin-winsituationsforthecompaniesandtheNHTVstudentsandinstitute.

• Placements(studentsandemployees)

A compulsory internship for 20-weeks. Students work on daily activities within the company andhaveadditionalschoolandcompanyassignments.

BredaUAScontactthecompanyatthebeginningoftheinternshipandatthehalfoftheinternship,ifit’sdomesticinternshiptheyvisitthecompany,incaseofinternationalinternshiptheycall.Thereisastrongtrianglebetweenstudent,universityandcompany.

• Thesis

Students cangraduateonanassignmentgivenbya commissioner (company/NGO/government).Sometimesaninternshipmakespartofthegraduationprocess.

• Excursionsandfieldtrip

Ineachstudyprogrammeexcursionsandfieldworkareorganized.Thesearecompulsoryandalwaysincludecompanyvisits.ITMCforexampleorganizes4weeksoffieldworktovariousdestinationsinAsia. Studentsmake a research plan in advance, collect data during the trip and then afterwardsanalyse&reporttheresultsoftheirstudy.

• Seminars

Inthefourthyearstudentscancompiletheirownstudyprogramfroma listavariouscoursesandseminars.Seminarslastoneweekandsomeofthesearegivenbyexpertsfromthefield.

• Optional/freeelectives

Free electives can be fulfilled by performing smaller assignment. Free electives are ECTS that thestudents can earn by working on industry related projects/assignments. Students workindependentlyontheseassignments.

• Inthevariouscourses

Inmost coursesguest lecturesare invited to talkabout theirorganization, thechallengesand thedevelopments inthe industry.Oftentheseperformancesare followedupbyanassignmentthat isincorporatedinthecourse.Studentsworkontheseassignmentsduringthelengthofthecourse.

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• Timeconsuming:

Tocometoaclearlydefinedresearchtopicorplacementassignmentthatisofmutualinterest.

• Expectationsandqualitycontrol:

Studentsarenotyetprofessionals.However,youwanttohavehighqualityoutput.Itisessentialtoproperlycommunicatetheskillsandabilityofthestudents.Someassignmentsthatareembeddedincoursesaresupervisedandsteeredbythelecturer.Theycanhavesomeinfluenceonthequality.

• Supervision:

Duringaplacementstudentsneedtobeabletolearnfromtheteamofpeoplewhoareworkinginthe company. Companies and organisations often underestimate the importance and timeconsumptionofinternalsupervision.

• Planningandtiming:

The curriculum of student is not flexible. The periods for courses, places and thesis processes isfixed.Thisdoesnotalwaysmatchwiththeurgencyofthetopicforthecommissioner.

• Scopeoftheassignment:

Some assignments are too elaborate to be included as an assignment in a course, some are tootheoreticalforaplacementortoopracticalforathesis.Eachassignment/researchrequestneedstobeassessedandlinkedtomostapplicable.

• Differentinterests:

The industry is mostly interested in the outcomes of the study. For NHTV the background, themethodology and the process are as important. This can result in confusing situations for thestudents.

21

UniversityofLapland


Internshipisanewstudymodule,andthereisnoextensiveexperienceyet.Forthatreasonweareunable tomake statementsonbestpracticesnow.Thecurriculum forMaster’s studies in tourismresearchhasbeenrenewedafewyearsago.Theaimoftheinternshipistostrengthenthestudent’sprofessional identity and to give readiness to work as a tourism specialist in demanding tasks intourism field. In a nutshell internship’s objective is to enhance students’ knowledge and developskillsaboutandinworkinglife.

Challengesininternationalco-operationineducation• ThecurriculumforMaster’sStudiesintourismisrecentlyrenewed;consequently,tourism

studentsarestillunknownresourceforthetourismindustry

• Theobjectivesandrequirementsofinternshipcanbechallengingfromthebusinessperspective

• Thebenefitsoftheinternshipforthecompaniesareunclear,findingenoughsuitable

workinglifepartnersischallenging

• ItseemstobeunclearforcompanieswhotocontactintheUniversity,morecommunicationwithtourismenterprisesisneeded

In the increasingly global world, skills in cultural and social competence are highly required forprofessionals in service sector. Actually an internship and especially an international one has asignificant role in developing key personal, professional, cultural and social competencycharacteristics of the students. After graduating students might have unrealistic expectations ofworkinglife.Internshipisagoodwaytobreaktheseunrealisticexpectationsandgainunderstandingofworkinglifeandgenericemployabilityskills.Internshipalsoplaysanimportantroleinthestudentlifewhilechoosingthefuturecareerpath,ontheotherhand,internshipalsohelpsorganizationstobecomeacquaintedwithfutureprofessionals.

Thisreportisbasedoncasestudies,includingwrittenreportsandthesetsofconversationswiththeinterns and relates the challenges of completing an international internship in the placementorganizationandperformingthedailytasksintheworkingcommunity.

Duetodifferencesinculture,waysofworking,expectationsandmotivesinternshipsarenotalwayseasytoexecute.Asitsbestsaninternshipallowslearnerstoquicklycontextualizethestudycontentwithin the socio-culturaland functionalenvironment.However,during their internship the internscanexperienceanxietyofnotfittinginwithinworkingcommunityornotfulfillingownexpectations.Agroupofpeoplewhoshareaworkalsoshareshabits,traditionsandacommonhistory.Initiallyanewmembermayobserveandperformsimpertasksandbywatchingandlearninginaprogressivesocialization process would successively get the member into the feeling of belonging to thecommunity.Inthispapersomeofthechallengesrelatedtotheinternshipcasescompletedabroadby the students of Tourism Research Studies of the University of Lapland are highlighted. As a

22

solutiontothechallengesemergedinthesecasescanbeusedthedevelopmentofthepartnershipbetweentheacademiaandtheindustry.Thecasesareanonymousbytherequestoftheinterns.

The interns come into the working partnership with their own expectations and needs. Someelements less flexible, instead,will become from the policy guidelines. The interns have to agreeaboutthetasksandresponsibilitieswiththeemployerbeforethebeginningofthe internship.Thisdoesnot,however,alwaysensurethatthetasksareinlinewhatagreedbeforehandorthattheywillnotchangeduringtheinternship.

Inthesecasesthe internscarriedoutbothdailyroutinesandparticulartaskswhichweregivenbythe placement supervisors. The supervisors were mainly motivating, understandable but alsodemanding.Theyunderstoodpersonalexpectationsoftheinternsandsomehowconditionsfortheinternship, which also led to some new ideas emerging during the internship. However, theinitiativesgivenbytheinternswerenotalwaysacceptedasneeded,asaresulttheinternsfeltsomedisappointment. Through independent work the interns achieved more confidence in decisionmakingandgoalsetting.Unfortunately, thetheoreticalknowledgeacquiredduringtheuniversity’scourses did not always help interns to manage tasks in the working place. Especially in suchsituations, the supervisor's understandable attitude and the open communality of the workingcommunityplayanimportantrole.

Unfortunately the interns had to keep their side pretty much so that the job description of theinternshipremainedasitshouldbe.Byusingthepersonaldirectnessandstraightforwardspeakinggreatermisunderstandingswere avoid. However, all interns do not have the courage to tell theirownopinions-especiallyifaninternisyoung,hasjustalittleornotatallpriorworkexperience.Itseems to be unclear for many organizations what actually internship includes. Sometimes quitemonotonic tasks and not at all responsible missions were given to the interns. However, theorganizations' understanding of the content of the internship could be developed by the bettercooperationbetweentheacademiaandindustry.

Theattitudesofthesuperiorsandcolleaguetotheinternsweresometimesdifferentfromwhatthestudentshadpreviouslyexperienced.Thismayberelatedtotheseparticularcasesorcultureoftheorganizations and hencewill not be generalized. Equally, the openness and behavior of theworkcommunity canplay adecisive role in the student's total experience.AsBillet (2009) states theremust be a total willingness to share knowledge and provide guidance by the staff of theorganization.

According to interns themarriage between university andworking life should be developed as itwouldbenefitwidelytheauthorsinvolvedininternshipprocess.Thestudentsneedtobesupportedinfosteringofworking lifeskillsthroughoutthestudies.Eventhoughthe internshipmodule inthetourismresearchstudiesattheUniversityofLaplandisamandatorycourse,thestudentsneedtobeencouragedtofacetheinternshipmoduleandworkinglife.


These study cases highlighted that deeper understanding of the needs of the partners andmoreclearcontentofthestudymodulecouldhelptodevelopthecommunicationandachievekeygoalsof each author. According to the interns “right” people in terms of their ability, attitude and

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personalityshouldbeengagedininternshipprocess.Appreciation,understandingandcommitmenttowards interns are essential to enhance the interns’ ability familiarize themselves during theinternshipandorientatethemselvesintheworkinglifeafterthestudy.Therecanbesomechallengeswhenfinishingahigherdegreeandenteringwork life (Gellerstedt&. Johansson&Winman2015).Thebiggestchallengecouldbetheabilitytoputthe learnedtheory intopractice.Manygraduatesmight have unrealistic expectations of work life and idealistic picture of reality. According to theinterns theuniversitycouldease thecontrolover thecontentof the internship studymoduleandworkinnewwaystomaintaintheinstitutestandards.

The knowledge and skills which students get studying at the university aremore theoretical andbroaderratherthosetheyneeded inthe internshipplacement.However, internsemphasized,thatduring the internship period such skills as task and time management, flexibility, fast andindependent learning, organization and communication skills were developed. In additionunderstandingforthecomplexityofthesituationsandmatterswasachieved;theredefinitelycanbeseveral “right” solutions to one problem.More understanding for working life and especially forservice sectorwas gained during these internships. Alsomore respect for running a business andunderstanding of having a real passion forwhat is needed to be able to strive and succeedweregained.

Aftertheinternshipperiod,internsfeltthemselvesmoreflexibleandunderstandingofthebusiness.Theytoldtobealsoabletostandupforthemselvesandconfrontthecolleaguesorthesuperiorincaseofaproblemordifficult situation.The interns learnthowtodealwithproblemsanddifficultsituations in an appropriate manner, in addition to that, the interns considered themselves veryluckyastheywereabletoworkwithandlearnfrompeoplefromdifferentculturalandeducationalbackgrounds.

Internship isan independentprocess fromthepointofviewof students; studentsare themselvesresponsibleforacquiringaplacementandpreparingacontractwithasupervisor.Studentsseemtohave the same kind of the attitudewith the internship process as with the other courses at theUniversity.Ifthechallengesariseduringtheprocesstheinternsseektoresolvethemindependently.Dueto theworkingexperiencegainedbefore the internshipstudentssaid tobemore flexibleandskilled in practice. However, there were some moments when the interns realized to have anunrealisticpictureofcertainissuesandthebusinessenvironment.

In some situations the organizations did not understand how student knowledge and especiallyinternationalstudyingexperiencecouldcontributeinitsdailyoperationsornewprojectsactivities.The internship programs could be one element to minimize the gap between the university(theoreticalknowledge)andindustry(practicalwork).Inthese,asinthepreviousreportsrelatedtointernshipprocess(IO3andIO7),mentoringdidnotemergesignificantly.Accordingtotheinterns,itisgoodtoshareexperiencesofinternshipsamongstudents,butmentoringdoesnothavetoplayaspecificroleintheinternshippractices.

REFERENCES

Billet,S.(2009).Realisingtheeducationalworthofintegratingworkexperiencesinhighereducation.34(7),827–843.

Gellerstedt,M.,Johansson,K&Winman,T.(2015).Work-IntegratedLearning–aMarriageBetweenAcademiaandWorkingLife.Systemics,CyberneticsandInformatics,13(6),38–46.

24

LaplandTourismCollege


Documentsandprocessesonthejoblearningprocess

• Longexperiencewithmanypartners

• Basictasksandguidancequiteeasyeverywhere

• Internshippracticesarewellprocessed

Students have experienced the international internships as good sources for new knowledge andvery positive experiences. According to our students, thematerial packagewehave gatheredhasbeen good, in one folder there all all templates that the students takes with him/her andinternationalcontactpersonhasbeenreadingthemthroughwiththestudent.Inadditionwehavebeensendinginfo-emailstothedestinationcountrycontactperson.

WithGermanpartnerswemakeamaterialpackageandtrainingforworkingplacetutors–itmakesallthestakeholdersrolealoteasier.

Ourcompanydatabasehelpsfindingtheinternshipplacement.Infoeventsthatwehavebeengivingtogroupshavebeenseenasgood–discussionandaskingquestionsismoreopen.

Recognizingskillsandknowledgeinvocationallevelworkswell.Commonpartsofdegree(language,mathematics,socialetc.schooltopics)haveusuallybeenalreadygathered(andmarkedtheEQVETscored) when student departs to the international training period, in practice just before he/shehavegraduated


• Newpartner,newworkingmodelsandco-operation

• Languageskills

• As the students performing the internship are really young, aged 15 to 16 it can bechallenging to manage their everyday lives abroad. In fact underaged students are notpermitted to go abroad on our system, student should be at least 18 – and most ofinternship students are, because they students start their studies at age of 15-16 andgraduateatageof18.Internshipswillbecarriedoutattheendofthestudies.

ThemaingoalofLearningTourism(LeTo)projectfromtheperspectiveofvocationaleducationandtrainingwastodevelopaninternationalstudentmobilityprocessintheAllgäuregioninGermanyincooperation with the local Chamber of Commerce. On Lapland Tourism College's existinginternational networks, there is usually a local college involved. Such local colleges act as aninterpreterof theFinnishvocational training forcompanies.TheGermandualmodelofeducationforcedus todeveloptheco-operationwithoutaneducational institution. Inadevelopmentof themobility process is emphasized an administrative perspective, since a fluent and high-quality of

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mobility process requires agreements and common understanding of the activities of the partnercountriesandtheorganizationoftrainingmodels,aswellasthehostcountry'slaborpractices.ThedevelopmentofthesepracticeswasourmainpurposetojoinLearningTourismproject.

• it is essential to plan international mobility a distinct time in advance (when makingpersonalizedcurriculum)whenitispossibletotailore.gcomplementarylanguagestudiesforthestudentstoprepareinternationalinternshipperiod

• templatestobeeasiertofindinourpremises(internationalinfoplatform?Optimawouldbegoodplacetogatherinformation)

• personal support for the student to be available; person who knows the process and

supportsalsopracticalarrangements (accommodation, flightsetc., findingaccommodationandinternshipplacecanbemanytimeschallenging)

• make the training before departure more clear and concise (familiarizing the destinationcountry and the contents (etc), in our case this could be developed in the level of themunicipalfederation)

• Maketeachersfamiliarizethemselvessystematicallytothemobilityprocess,templatesandown role (teachers role is to support students learningprocess and tohelpmentor in theworkingplace,eg.clarifyassessmentcriteriaandmakesurethatthestudentcangettothetasksthatarepartofthedegree)

• Applyingdigitalmethodsinthestudentsdistancetutoring;atthemomenetweusemainlye-mailbutitwouldbeimportanttofindthatkindofcontactingchannelthatworksbothwiththe student and thementor in the working place. At themoment the instantmessagingtoolsworkwellwiththestudentbutthechallengeistostayincommunicationwiththetutorintheworkingplace

• Supportingandtrainingthetutorintheworkingplace:whatisthepurposeofthedifferent

templates, how to give feedback and guidance, and opening up the assessment processàlevelof tutoringandtoomajorvariations in”understanding”theaimsoftheassessmentandmakingtheassessmentitself


• Goodbasicworkbeforearrangingstudentmobility/buildingco-operation!gettingfamiliarwith companies and understanding the industry,mapping the possibilities to gain skill forfinnish VET students. Preparatory work should be done by persons who look widely theindustry and have Decision-making powers. Teacher look possibilities of only by hisperspective

• coachingthecompaniesinadvance(VETsysteminFinland,eachpartiesroles,assessment,guiding,keepingincontactetc.)isveryimportanttoguaranteethequalityofmobility

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• databankofinterestedcompanies(coached)

• Language skills are limitedwith customer service students (waitress and receptionists), soconcentratingmobilityoncook-students inGermany isnecessary. InGermanythere isnotsuch an activities in tourism industry that our students could gain skill for our vocationalunits(f.e.guidingservices,productization):Activitiesincompaniesisnotsupportingstudiesandstudentshaveseldomenoughlanguageskillstocustomerservices.

• pre-mobility work needs still more developing in Finland: clarify the process, coaching

teachers,informationbank(formsetc.)isneeded

• co-operation with teacher exchange is worth of developing in the future (makes moreinterestforbothsides)

• long term partnerships guarantee best possible tackling of the challenges in international

internships,e.gdifferentormismatchinglanguagerequirements

• process of company – educational organization cooperation must be clear and it mustrespectforinstancethesecrecyissuesofthecompany,aswellasconfidentialdataissuesoftheeducationalorganization

• itisimportantthattheeducationalorganizationmanagementiscommittedtotheinternship

developmentactivitiesanditnominatesthecorrespondingpersonneltothestaff,sincethismakes it possible to take into consideration and react properly to the changingcircumstancesoftheeducationalpractice(s)

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LaplandUniversityofAppliedSciences


• InternshipinUASiswellprocessed,thishelpsbothincomingandoutgoingstudents

• Widedatabaseinusewhereallinformationaboutallstakeholdersissaved

• LongpartnershipwithtourismenterprisesinLapland

• CooperationwithAllgäu–Regionsince2012,appropriatewaysofcollaborationseemtobeestablished


• In order to be fluent, dialogue and co-operation requires familiarity and trust betweenindividuals-smoothlygoingpracticesandtoolsarenotenough

• Changesinstaffcanbechallengingincooperation

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SUMMARY

Inthisreportbestpracticesandchallengesofinternationalinternshipandotherstudentmobilityofpartnersarepresentedaswell as jointanddifferentpracticesofpartners in international studentmobilityaredefined.Thereporthasbeenpreparedonthebasisofpartners’materialsandpartners’commentsexpressedonmeetings.

For the partners, internationalization is deemed a cross sectional task, which affects all areas ofteaching in educational institutions. In the same way internationalization is part of everydayoperations in Allgäu GmbH and Swabia CCI. Both in Allgäu-Region and Lapland tourism is a veryimportant economic factor. At present globalization and demographic changes pose significantchallenges for the tourism sector in both regions. In addition to that, both regions have theirstrengthsandweaknesses,whichshouldbetakenintoaccountwhendevelopingservices.Students,whohavecarriedout their internshipabroad, inaddition to learning,couldactasdevelopers.Forthe regionsand local tourismenterprises students’ intercultural experienceswill providea fruitfuloutsidersperspectivewhichwouldbehelpfulwhennewandbettertourismservicesaredesigned.

Inmanyareaswheretourismisveryseasonalfieldstudentsareseenashighlyvaluedemployees.Ontheotherhand,due to lackof thehuman resources it canbe challenging formany companies totakestudentsforinternship.Duringtheinternshipstudentsneedguidanceandregularfeedback.Inadditiontothat,inbusinesstherecanbeignoranceofstudents'skillsandknowledge.Byinformingtourism enterprises about requirements and benefits of internship we could reduce the gapbetweeninternshipandbusinessandfurthermore,getsuitablestudentsandsuitablecompaniestomatch each others. In the future it would be helpful to share experience about interns betweencompaniesaswell.

Educational institutions offer excellent study conditions incl. a practical approach to teaching andlearning and use of high quality technological tools in international environment. On this basis isgoodtodevelopacommonpathforthefurtherdevelopmentofinternship.

This investigation report has been completed by the project coordinator. A report should bereviewedas a summaryof the issues appeared so far. This investigation canbe supplementedbypartners (e.g. numbers of both incoming andoutgoing students, p. 12 andnaturally also in otherrespects)andfurtherprocessedinnexttransnationalmeetingscheduledforearly2016.