De implementatie van de European Accessibility Act (EAA) brengt grote veranderingen met zich mee voo...

These are dynamic times, characterised by widely differing opinions about and movements around internationalisation. Creating a themed Uncover issue at this time could be seen as choosing the right moment to take a breath of fresh air amidst the storm. With the current turbulence, taking stock of where we actually are, where we have come from and where we are going is a meaningful process. For BUas and ALE, it is clear that internationalisation has been in their very fibres from the beginning and that the added value of intercultural classroom settings is something to be nurtured sustainably.

In this article we will look back on the InnovaT project and highlight some of the key insights and lessons learned during the process, accumulating into an outlook on how to design higher education that is well equipped for the future. The InnovaT project was an initiative aimed at enhancing innovation in teaching and learning approaches, fostering modernisation in Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) in Chile and Peru. This project was co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.

BUas is participating in a European Erasmus+ programme to design the sports venue of the future. This collaborative initiative involves partners from three countries - the Netherlands, Portugal, and Turkey - working collectively to innovate and validate sustainable sports facilities. There is a growing emphasis on how new sports centres in neighbourhoods and rural areas contribute to inclusion, social cohesion, mutual respect, and sportsmanship. Highlighting these aspects is crucial for fostering a sense of community through sports engagement. Sports is a powerful tool to unite people as it is accessible to many people of all ages and sports venues are places where people come together. Therefore, it could enhance social cohesion and inclusion.

BUas has joined the KreativEU University Alliance (Knowledge & Creativity European University), a decision that is going to shape our strategy for the coming decade. European Universities Alliances (EUAs) are collaborative networks of higher education institutes across Europe. They are established under the European Universities Initiative (EUI), which is part of the broader Erasmus+ 2021-2027 programme. The EUI aims to foster strategic partnerships among universities to enhance education, research, and innovation. By doing so, it seeks to improve the quality and international competitiveness of the European higher education sector. The initiative also emphasises community engagement and societal impact, positioning European Universities as models of best practices in these areas. Overall, the EUAs are designed to drive cooperation, enhance the global competitiveness of European education and research, and contribute to the innovation potential within Europe. The European Commission supports the creation of these alliances by providing financial backing, to form 60 EUAs involving over 500 institutes by mid-2024, of which 50 EUAs are already financed. The final call for Erasmus+ funding, which was published in autumn 2023, represented the last opportunity for institutes like BUas to join an EUA.

Leisure & Events Management students at BUas can opt for the ‘Urban Life & Placemaking’ (ULP) track. ULP uses events and leisure activities to help students develop and enrich cities, making them liveable and loveable. It encourages student participation in city event design and social interventions. ULP has an international perspective, learning from examples abroad and exposing students to the experiences of people with very different backgrounds. As part of ULP, students spend a semester (30 ECTS credits) in a European city with a small group of peers. This part is known as ‘Living in the City’ (LITC).

For several years, Breda University of Applied Sciences (BUas) has been involved in the development of an international master's programme in the field of attractions and theme parks management. Together with Universitat Rovira I Virgili (URV) in Spain as a steadfast partner, efforts have been underway for several years now to establish such a programme, with quite some milestones having been reached already. While several other partners have both joined and departed along the way, the entire process has brought forth many valuable and precious outcomes going beyond the development of a master’s programme alone. In that sense, the development process of this master’s programme is a textbook example of how international academic cooperation can lead to genuine mutual value creation.

In this article we will explore how the insights generated and lessons learned from the STEPup project enhance and nurture a strategy towards future collaborative processes and social entrepreneurship of a new level within higher educational institutes (HEIs).

A few years ago, VIVES University of Applied Sciences in Kortrijk, Belgium, took the initiative to start a collaboration with different universities from all over Europe. The Events for Business specialisation from Academy for Leisure & Events teamed up with them. It all started with a conference by VIVES in which lecturers at universities of Lapland, Germany, Finland, Scotland, Belgium and the Netherlands participated. This article tells the story of the start, the driving forces and the future of this wonderful experience: hiccups, success factors, but above all, becoming a team of international teachers who facilitate the exceptional intercultural learning process of students and lecturers from participating universities.

Camping De Kleine Wolf in Nederland is uitgeroepen tot ANWB Camping van het Jaar. Camping44 in Italië werd de Europese winnaar. Deze campings zijn gekozen door 11.000 kampeerders.

Europa-Park zet grote stappen met de uitbreiding van zijn populaire Camp Resort. Het bestaande gebied wordt getransformeerd tot een indrukwekkende westernstad, genaamd Silver Lake City. T

Op de prestigieuze internationale landbouwbeurs Grüne Woche in Berlijn heeft Nederland vandaag het innovatieplein ‘Land of Future Food’ geopend. Onder het motto ‘Farming the Future’ presenteert ons land de nieuwste ontwikkelingen op het gebied van duurzame landbouw en streekproducten.

Spanje heeft in aantallen toeristen en bestedingen het beste jaar achter de rug. Het aantal toeristen groeide naar zo’n 94 miljoen (+10%) en de uitgaven kwamen uit op 126 miljard euro. Dat is 16% meer dan een jaar eerder. Maar het toerismemodel gaat wel veranderen. Dat maakte minister van Industrie en Toerisme, Jordi Hereu Boher bekend.

Bezoekers van DierenPark Amersfoort hebben het afgelopen jaar een indrukwekkende bijdrage geleverd aan natuurbehoud wereldwijd. Mede dankzij een grootschalige flessenactie is er een recordbedrag van 159.000 euro opgehaald voor het DierenPark Amersfoort Wildlife Fund.

MarinaParken heeft Camping de Eenhoorn in Schardam overgenomen en gaat deze verder exploiteren onder de naam MarinaPark Bad Markermeer. Deze locatie aan het Markermeer wordt daarmee het zesde vakantiepark in de portfolio van MarinaParken.

De Vakantiebeurs heeft dit jaar ruim 71.000 bezoekers getrokken en 6.300 reisprofessionals bezochten de Travel Trade Days in de Utrechtse Jaarbeurs. In Amsterdam wis de Horecava 67.000 professionals te trekken.

Visit Friensland is aanwezig op de grootste watersportbeurs ter wereld waar exposanten en bezoekers de nieuwste trends en innovaties delen en ontdekken.

Bezoekers van recreatieplatform Parkvakanties heeft gestemd. Landal GreenParks en Resort Hof van Saksen kregen de meeste prijzen.