In cooperation with the Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management of the University of Rijeka, the Regional Development Agency of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County celebrated Europe Day on 9 May 2023 with the thematic event “EU projects – my career choice?”
Srđana Kerčević, senior expert associate for the preparation and implementation of strategic and development documents and programmes of the Regional Development Agency of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, presented professional development opportunities for young people through EU projects, especially in the context of preparing development projects in tourism.
The answer to the question of how EU projects are implemented and how EU projects can help in professional development was given by Nevenka Kos, senior specialist for the preparation and implementation of EU projects from the Regional Development Agency of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, through the presentation of the EU project “Career Garden – building bridges between educational institutions and companies through remote and hybrid practise” (https://www.careergarden.eu/), which will introduce innovative methods for the implementation of practical classes as well as provide new educational content to improve practises in the field of vocational education.
The Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management runs many projects funded by the European Union. The Europe Day celebration was a unique opportunity to learn about the EU projects currently being implemented at the Faculty.
The leader of the HyPro4ST project, prof. Marko Perić, Ph.D., presented the Hybrid Project Management Skills for Sustainable Tourism project, which aims to develop the profession of a “Sustainable and Hybrid Project Manager” for the sustainable tourism sector.
Assoc. prof. Sabina Hodžić, Ph.D., presented the BOLSTER project, funded by the Horizon Europe Programme, which aims to understand how marginalised communities are affected by policies related to the European Green Plan and whether their involvement in decision-making processes increases support for transition plans.
Vice dean prof. Marinela Krstinić Nižić, Ph.D., presented the projects ON-IT and Social Green Deal. The ON-IT project addresses the challenge of online internship, while the Social Green Deal focuses on understanding the current and potential role of relations between industries and social dialogue in managing the processes of greening the local economy.
The projects RCK RECEPT and RECEZA, which are part of the Croatian Network of Regional Centres of Excellence in Tourism and Hospitality, were also presented and the project leader of both projects, prof. Dora Smolčić Jurdana, Ph.D., emphasized the importance of investing in excellence in vocational education and training and lifelong learning for the hospitality and tourism sector.
The event featured a dynamic panel discussion on the challenges and benefits of working on EU project, where students had the opportunity to find out which skills are needed to work on EU projects, as well as a discussion on the challenges of preparing and implementing EU projects and how to use EU funds to improve the quality of the life of the community, but also their own careers. The programme and the discussion were moderated by assistant professor Jelena Đurkin Badurina, Ph.D., Head of EU Projects at the Centre for Projects.