Innovation and Capacity Building in Higher Education for Cultural Management, Hospitality and Sustainable Tourism in European Cultural Routes Erasmus Project

Project Title

Innovation and Capacity Building in Higher Education for Cultural Management, Hospitality and Sustainable Tourism in European Cultural Routes

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 higher education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2015

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Enterprise, industry and SMEs (incl. entrepreneurship); New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Creativity and culture

Project Summary

CULTOUR+ is a Strategic Partnership of universities, local governments, SMEs and NGOs, formed by 9 partners of six European countries (Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Poland and Bulgaria) that following the mainlines of the Higher Education Modernisation Agenda and the knowledge triangle, has done diagnosis on governance and cultural management on cultural routes and sites and offered high quality and innovative tools and courses based in innovation, international mobility and cross-border cooperation to enhance capacity building in higher education curricula. Based on the results of the study “Impact of European Cultural Routes on SMEs’ innovation and competitiveness”, CULTOUR+ has promoted entrepreneurship in Cultural Tourism, fostering Entrepreneurship Education as a basic feature and competence in related curricula, disseminating best practices and fostering projects for creating employment opportunities for graduates in knowledge-intensive jobs in the cultural management and tourism and hospitality sectors. Cultour+ has fostered SME generation, networking, co-working and clustering, it has promoted intercultural dialogue and other transversal skills, specially, creativity, entrepreneurship, cooperation and global awareness.

Based on the European Cultural Route “The Santiago de Compostela Pilgrim Routes”, as a transnational model of inspiration, imitation and transformation, CULTOUR+ has connected expertise in cultural heritage and tourism management to a selected number of significant religious routes and centers´ case studies from the participant countries (Via de la Plata in Spain, Caminho Portugues Interior de Santiago (CPIS) in Portugal, Via Francigena in Italy, St. Paul Footsteps in Greece, Raddom-Czestockowa in Poland, Cross Forest in Bulgaria.
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CULTOUR+ has established links with different levels of authority – local, national and European – financial and governmental institutions, tourist organisations, and other bodies that are fostering future development of the routes and sites. It has also provided insights on and contributed to SMEs’ performance, innovation capacity, and network and cluster development in the partner countries cultural religious routes and sites. Chaves and Sao Pedro do Sul in Portugal, Kiridini in Greece, Alange, El Salugral, Aqua Libera in Spain, Uniejow in Poland have been also case studies and inspiring models of thermal tourism management, another strategic area for most of the participant partners regions and organizations.

General objectives:
1. To reinforce the potential of Cultural Routes for cultural co-operation, sustainable territorial development and social cohesion, with a particular focus on themes of symbolic importance for European unity, history, culture and values and the discovery of less well-known destinations.
2. To strengthen the democratic dimension of cultural exchange and tourism through the involvement of grassroots networks and associations, local and regional authorities, universities and professional organisations.
3. To contribute to the preservation of a diverse heritage through theme-based and alternative tourist itineraries and cultural projects.
4. To give rise to long-term multilateral co-operation projects in priority areas (scientific research; heritage conservation and enhancement; cultural and educational exchanges among young Europeans; contemporary cultural and artistic practices; cultural tourism and sustainable development);

The aim of the project has been to apply entrepreneurship education and coaching and reinforce the triangle knowledge in cultural tourism as a strategic area.
– To stimulate the development of entrepreneurial, creative and innovation skills in related programs and disciplines
– To encourage partnership and cooperation with business as core activity of HEIs and enhance their capacity to engage in start-ups and spin-offs.
– To promote the systematic involvement of higher education institutions in the development of integrated local and regional development plans, routes´ diagnosis and governance and target regional support towards higher education-business cooperation

Besides Cultour+ partnership (shown below) Cultour+ has joint a great network of stakeholders as shown in https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1j6Pde4LK8BMTLezlniB_MvSqijJ7MgE3Xcgn-zdokqE/edit?usp=sharing)..

Cultour+ has developed research and disseminated research results through impact international journals and editorials (Springer, Routledge, IGI), has developed cultural actions (awarded with European recognitions as the EYCH seal, has implemented quality education and training to graduates and undergratuates, has foster and coached entrepreneurship, has promoted and done networking and coworking).

Cultour+ has developed actions and inspired projects with longer-term benefits, generated an enormous amount of academic literature and expert knowledge, empowered entrepreneurs and project plans, fostered international partnerships

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 166626 Eur

Project Coordinator

UNIVERSIDAD DE EXTREMADURA & Country: ES

Project Partners

• VARNA FREE UNIVERSITY
• Câmara Municipal de S. Pedro do Sul
• Radomska Szkola Wyzsza
• UNIVERSIDADE DE TRAS-OS-MONTES E ALTO DOURO
• Time Heritage – Afroditi Kamara & Co
• FUNDACJA INSTYTUT BADAN I INNOWACJI W EDUKACJI
• EUROPEAN GRANTS INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY SRL