Opportunities for teaching cooperation, student and staff exchanges, as well as the organisation of courses in tourism and gastronomy – these were some of the topics discussed during a visit by the staff of Vincent Pol University to The Polytechnic of Guarda and Seia in Portugal.
A VPU delegation visited The Polytechnic of Guarda and Seia in Portugal from 20-23 May. Our lecturers had the opportunity to see the universities, the campus and discuss opportunities for wide-ranging collaboration with staff.
The VPU delegation consisted of Dr Małgorzata Gorzel, Professor at VPU, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences and Head of the Department of Beauty Science, Denys Miroshnikov, Head of the Recruitment Office and Rector’s Plenipotentiary for the Eastern Partnership, Katarzyna Misztal, Spanish language teacher, Magdalena Futa from the Dean’s Office of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Izabela Gauda from the Dean’s Office of the Faculty of Health Sciences and Adrian Piotrowski from the VPU Promotion Office.
Our representatives met with the university’s vice-president Manuel Antonio Brites Salgado, the director of the School of Tourism and Hospitality Jose Alexandre dos Santos Vaz Martins, and professor Ricardo Guerra.
Each of the parties presented their university – the offer of education, as well as educational values and prospects for cooperation.
‘The visit to the polytechnic brings with it great opportunities for cooperation between the universities, especially with regard to the Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management. There is the possibility of didactic cooperation, i.e. exchanging students or academic teachers between the universities, as well as organising short courses in tourism or gastronomy,’ says Dr Małgorzata Gorzel, Professor at VPU.
During the visit, which lasted several days, staff from both universities also discussed scientific cooperation and projects. The VPU delegation invited the Portuguese professors to feed into the scientific council of our journal Archives of Tourism, Hospitality and Sport Science, and invitations were given to the autumn conference ‘Modern Trends in the HoReCA Industry’, which is organised by VPU.
The trip was organised as part of the Erasmus+ programme.