Fostering Eco – Innovative Business Model Development in SMEs in Hospitality Industry Erasmus Project

Project Title

Fostering Eco – Innovative Business Model Development in SMEs in Hospitality Industry

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Enterprise, industry and SMEs (incl. entrepreneurship)

Project Summary

The “Fostering Eco-Innovative Business Model Development in SMEs in the Hospitality industry – EcoMode” project addresses the growing complexity which characterises modern education and training paths and learning systems. The project aims to bridge the gap between the educational offer and training needs related to eco-innovation in the field of entrepreneurship and management, characterised by the lack of shared standards – as also highlighted by the European Commission. This will be done through the promotion of eco-innovative business models as sustainability’s integral part in the hospitality sector and to promote the creation of new jobs. As its main goal, the project tackles the need to identify the skills and competences which managers should possess to manage their business model, focusing in particular on its ecological, sustainable and innovative aspects. For this reason, a professional training course was created, aiming at skills development and raising awareness on the changes that have affected the market in the tourism and hospitality industry in recent years. The 6 project partners are training institutions, universities and stakeholders specialized in training concerning tourism, innovation and eco-sustainability: Training 2000 (Italy), Mugla Sitki Kocman University – MSKU and Ankara Haci Bayram Veli University (Turkey), BIT Management (Austria), Georgian Technical University (Georgia), University of Pannonia (Hungary). The partners worked together to develop innovative, flexible and transferable learning outcomes, designing the creation of learning paths aimed at the development of such skills and at their certification by issuing a badge and a certificate of attendance. Six outputs were created within the EcoMode project. Output 1 consists in the EcoMode Good Practices Collection for Eco-innovation in Hospitality Industry, containing good practices and solutions of eco-innovative companies operating in the tourism industry. The EcoMode Competence Map (output 2), describing the knowledge, skills and competences for a “manager of eco-innovative business models”. The EcoMode Design of Training Modules (output 3), together with the EcoMode Open Educational Resources – OER (output 4) lead to the creation of an online platform containing 8 training modules and case studies in order to develop the professional skills and competences for managers of eco-innovative business models. The EcoMode Training Course Plan for Trainers (output 5) was conceived as a manual and a path to support trainers and professional training organizations to implement the results created within the EcoMode project. Finally, the EcoMode App and Game (output 6) represents an interactive tool containing mini-games linked to the open educational resources and modules created within the project.
The EcoMode project’s target group consists of: trainers and training organizations operating in the tourism and hospitality industry; trainers interested in gaining eco-innovation skills to train managers and staff working in companies in the tourism industry; entrepreneurs and staff working in SMEs in the tourism industry; adults and organizations interested in the project outcomes; training institutions and professional schools; decision-makers, trade associations and public authorities able to bring EcoMode at a systemic level.
Training contents and materials were assessed and finalized through a process of constant improvement, involving 150 participants (managers and trainers working in the tourism and hospitality industry). The evaluation of the developed material was carried out online and face-to-face in three phases; the first evaluation took place through an international learning activity organised in Mugla (Turkey) while the remaining two phases took place in each partners country, online and in presence. After this phase, results were collected and analysed leading to the improvement of the project’s material. In order to disseminate the project’s results, each partner organised at least one multiplier event in their country. All the developed EcoMode products and materials are available on the project’s website: http://eco-mode-project.eu/ and on the EcoMode Fecebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Ecomodeproject/

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 263975 Eur

Project Coordinator

Training 2000 psc & Country: IT

Project Partners

• MUGLA SITKI KOCMAN UNIVERSITY
• GEORGIAN TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY
• PANNON EGYETEM
• ANKARA HACI BAYRAM VELI UNIVERSITESI
• BIT-MANAGEMENT BERATUNG GESMBH