This Short Advanced Programme (SAP) is integrated into the RUN-EU Students Week, hosted by Polytechnic University of Cávado and Ave (IPCA) and jointly coordinated with the Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest (TUS). During the week, students will work in international teams to address real-world challenges through innovative, practical activities. On Friday, participants are also invited to take part in the RUN-EU General Assembly, joining the wider RUN-EU community in transforming our regions together.
This SAP, developed for students within the RUN European University network, offers an interdisciplinary exploration of the intersections between tourism, hospitality, well-being, and sports. Designed to address emerging societal needs and industry trends, the programme will equip the participants with the knowledge and tools to integrate health-enhancing experiences, wellness, and nutrition into tourism and hospitality services. It will also focus on the branding potential of sports and cultural events and the evolving human capital demands within these sectors.
Delivered by expert faculty from the Higher School of Hotel and Tourism Management of IPCA and the Higher School of Sport, Well-being, and Biomedical Systems of IPCA, this SAP combines academic rigor with hands-on learning through interactive lectures, real-world case studies, and collaborative design challenges. Students will develop practical outputs such as a wellness-oriented tourism product, a nutritionally balanced service for active travellers, a destination branding event concept, and a competency model for professionals in tourism and sports.
By developing skills in innovation, strategic service design, cross-sector collaboration, and regional engagement, the programme prepares students for the evolving labour market. It supports career paths in tourism development, destination marketing, event management, wellness consultancy, and human resource planning. Those fields require increasingly demanding integrated, health-conscious, and customer-centric approaches.
6th of October 2025 to 10th of October 2025
English
To be defined by each Home Institution.
The SAP is open to students and researchers interested in nutrition, well-being, and performance within hospitality and sports event management. No advanced technical experience is required—only a strong willingness to learn, collaborate, critically engage, and participate in a hands-on, client-centered learning process focused on enhancing health and overall event quality.
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By the end of this Short Advanced Programme, students will be able to:
Tourism and hospitality services are designed, strategically integrating principles of health promotion, wellness, and nutrition. They will develop innovative, customer-centric service concepts using design thinking approaches and will understand how to create destination branding strategies that leverage the power of sports and cultural events. Participants will be equipped to analyse current and emerging human capital needs within the tourism, hospitality, health, and sports sectors, and develop relevant competency models for future professionals.
Through interdisciplinary collaboration, they will enhance their ability to work effectively across sectors to address real-world challenges. The programme will also enable them to apply theoretical knowledge to practice by producing tangible outputs such as service proposals, branding concepts, and strategic frameworks.
Finally, students will strengthen their professional communication skills, allowing them to clearly present project outcomes and strategic recommendations to diverse audiences in both oral and written formats.
The candidates will be selected according to the motivation. Priority will be given to students who are developing research at a master’s or PhD level and to students involved in ongoing projects developed by research units of the hosted institutions. A minimum of 30 students will be selected for this programme.
Product label: SAP-TOURSPWB-01