Master in Tourism part 1

Seminar about integrated cases in the tourism practice

15 ECTS
From the last week of September until the last week of January

This seminar counts for 15 credits according to the European credit system. This fits a ¼ work load of a full academic year. For this seminar, students choose a case topic.

Topics for the project are announced in advance via the internet and amplified on aplenary session. The list of topics changes every year, some of them are suggested by academics in the field, others by sectorprofessionals. Each topic implies a research question in tourism from an economic/company perspective, from a policy/institutional perspective or both. A group of maximum 6 students elaborate a topic, issue or problem working all the way through a research set-up, elaboration of a theoretical framework and an empirical analysis with desktop research and fieldwork.

The seminar is conducted by a didactical team of minimum 3 lecturers; they coach and help the students to optimise their analysis and results. Beyond contacts between the didactical team and the students within the group, three plenary sessions offer opportunities to present the project in different stages to peers and other staff members, to get into discussion and to defend the project. At the same time, one gets informed about the other projects (their content, methodology, timing, problems and opportunities).

Since this seminar project is elaborated in a group, the student is trained in teamwork, learns to listen and appreciate the ideas of fellow students and learns to formulate and defend his/her own approach. This seminar fits within the KU Leuven wide concept of Guided Independent Learning. The evaluation is based on:

- the report of the project;
- the presentations during the plenary sessions and active discussion;
- peer assessment.