Online international study trip to Florence
The student group had originally planned its international study trip to Florence, Italy. The trip was switched to an online option as Plan B because of the pandemic situation and the travel restrictions. The various interactive items on the agenda and the15 presentations were intended to give students insights into the international work environments of their study program. Leading companies from Austria, Germany, and Italy were brought on board for the trip, which provided an exciting, diversified mix.
Sports
Alexander Jung from the sports marketing agency SPORTFIVE used his presentation to give the students an understanding of sports rights marketing for international brands such as Borussia Dortmund, European soccer championships, and Olympic games. Brauerei Stiegl, as a sponsor of the Austrian Soccer Association, gave insights into the topic of sports sponsoring. The discussions with professional athletes such as Laura Schöffeger, Adam Kappacher, or Fabio Wibmer were a special highlight for all of the students.
Art & culture
In the area of art & culture, Frank Bürkle, Tour Manager and Head of Production, spoke of his experiences with organizing international musical tours (such as West Side Story). Kunsthilfe Salzburg gave information on the topic of cultural promotion and provided insights into its activities in this area.
Events
The presentation of our Sports, Culture & Event Management graduate Michael Struber, BA, was another highlight of the digital international study trip. He was able to offer us interesting insights into the planning and implementation of the Electric Love Festival from his work at Revolution Event GmbH. He emphatically demonstrated to the students again why good crisis management is important and how a good event can be a success in spite of any difficulties that occur. Kitzbühel Tourismus and Messezentrum Wien also not only told about their experiences in the event business but also reported about the effects of the current situation.
Tourism & management
In line with this, Dr. Stolba from Österreich Werbung described the effects of the pandemic situation on the tourist industry. She also pointed out interesting options for the future that gave rise to a lively discussion. Many of the things discussed were also found in the presentations of the other institutions such as the presentation by the Management Center Innsbruck that focused on sustainable tourism. This included examples from Montafon Tourismus presented on the topic of brand management or the presentation of Tourismusverband Florenz that not only gave travel information about what had been the actual destination, but it also reported about the problems of over tourism. In the area of management, Workshop Wattens, the Tirol start-up center, also gave a presentation about itself and about how it provides resourceful assistance in the start-up phase.
Interactive programs
To balance out the many hours in front of mobile devices, there was also a broad selection of interactive programs, including yoga sessions, digital museum visits, film festivals, and our Italian evening. “La serata italiana” was organized by two students as the finale of the week and was a fun way to conclude the eventful week by cooking, drinking, and playing together with an Italian flair.
“Even if a digital international study trip is not the same as exploring new places and cultures together, the digital form not only gave the students valuable industry insights, but it especially offered them the opportunity to have direct interaction with the presenters and to make important contacts for their professional future,” said Director of Studies Asc. University of Applied Sciences Professor Mag. Monika Kohlhofer.