I am currently in Brazil on a tour to enhance the profile of Bournemouth University and the School of Services Managament among the tourism and hospitality academic community. This trip involves a series of guest lectures, meetings with ‘study abroad’ agents and the British council, attendance of the Community-based Tourism conference in Niteroi (RJ) and a number of media appearances.
The School of Services Management offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the field of Events, Food, Hospitality, Leisure, Retail, Sport and Tourism and is one of the UK's leading institutions for the study in these areas. Our Tourism Masters Programme is the largest of its kind in the UK, attracting students from around 40 nationalities. However, at the moment we do not attract many students from Brazil, perhaps because we have done little promotional work here. According to the most recent numbers, there are around 10.000 students graduating in a tourism-related degree in Brazil every year. In addition, as the Brazilian economy becomes more international, good command of English is a pre-requirement to get a job, notably with multinationals. The internationalization also requires cross-cultural skills and the international feature of our Masters provide an excellent opportunity to develop these skills. It is also a fact that a much stronger Real (the Brazilian currency) has led to the halving of our fees in Brazilian currency terms when compared to 4 years ago. All these facts suggest that there is an opportunity to attract Brazilian students to our Masters.
The first two guest lectures took place on Wednesday (7th) at São Paulo University (East Campus). At the East Campus they have both day and evening courses and hence my host, Professor Karina Solha, asked me to talk to both groups of students. The first presentation focused on the future of a Marathon as perceived by its stakeholders. This presentation is based on Jenna le Couillard’s undergraduate dissertation that I supervised. The second presentation focused on the Gastronomic Experience of European Tourists in Portugal. This presentation is based on a series of conference presentations and journal articles undertaken with Professor Antónia Correia (Algarve University) and Carlos Ferreira da Costa (Aveiro University).
Both presentations were very well received and students asked many interesting (and some challenging) questions. In this campus they also have a hotel management degree where students learn and practice cooking skills. The chef who runs the practice kitchens prepared a surprise – Portuguese cabbage soup (or Caldo Verde), which we ate in between the presentations. It was delicious and very Portuguese. There was even Portuguese red wine to drink! (I had one small glass only… there was still one presentation to go!)
The 'caldo verde' soup when finished
Enjoying the 'Caldo Verde' in good company
With Chef José Roberto and Prof. Karina Solha after the second presentation at USPThe next day I delivered a guest lecture to students and academics from Anhembi Morumbi University. The presentation was about the future of a marathon as perceived by its stakeholders. The turnout was really impressive, with more than 70 people attending. The university did a press release announcing the presentation, with one of the key São Paulo state newspapers publishing it in their event calendar section (see below). The presentation was followed by lunch at the University premises. The lunch was prepared and served by hospitality management students. The three course meal was delicious and I had countless classes of pineapple and mint freshly squeezed juice – it was to die for! By the way, the presentation was about the Future of a Marathon as perceived by its stakeholders.
Lunch at Anhembi Morumbi UiniversityOn Friday 9th, I did a 30 min TV interview with Wanderley Nogueira for the portal terra.com.br and Joven Pan Radio Station from São Paulo, arranged by the Anhembi Morumbi University Public Relations office. I had never done a TV interview like this, but it was a quite interesting experience. It was very pleasant to talk to Wanderley about the topical area of the organization and legacy of mega-events. Brazil will host the two largest mega-events – The world Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016 – and not surprisingly Brazilians and actively debating how to capitalize on the opportunity posed by the events. I will post the link as soon as it is available.
With the Journalist Wanderley Nogueira
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