Developing Degree Programme in Tourism in Tampere University of Applied Sciences : Stakeholders' Perspective
Aalto, Ulla; Ala-Hallila, Elina (2011)
Aalto, Ulla
Ala-Hallila, Elina
Tampereen ammattikorkeakoulu
2011
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 1.0 Suomi
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201105137812
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201105137812
Tiivistelmä
This thesis examines the development possibilities of the Degree Programme in Tourism (DPT) in Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK) from the different stakeholders’ perspective. The focus development area is the curriculum of the study programme which is under renewal and will be established in 2013. The aim of the thesis is to produce concrete development ideas from the experiences and opinions of the internal and external stakeholders of TAMK. The internal stakeholders are represented by the students of the DPT, and the external stakeholders are the representatives of the local labour market. The possible cooperation between the stakeholders is investigated in order to bring working life closer to the students and studies and to benefit the local businesses. Primary data was collected from the internal stakeholders with group theme interviews and from the external stakeholders with a semi-structured questionnaire, as well as with a semi-structured élite interview. Secondary data included existing data such as scientific literature, statistics, notes, the Internet, researches and other available publications. In the thesis process, the theories of competencies and qualifications were used as well as the Learning by Developing model of Laurea University of Applied Sciences discovered by benchmarking.
The collected and analyzed data revealed the target areas of development. According to the internal stakeholders the improvements should be targeted to the working life relation of the studies; to the quality of education and the course contents; to the guidance received; and to the more practical approach in studies. All these would prepare the students better for the future working life. The external stakeholders stressed that the practical know-how and multidisciplinary skills are the requirements of the working life, and that the attention should be paid to the requirements imposed by the tourism industry trends in the Tampere Region in the DPT studies.
The results indicate that mutually beneficial changes to the curriculum and cooperation between the stakeholders can be made, in which case the studies would prepare the students with competencies to meet the qualifications of the working life. According to the writers’ of the thesis the working life relation in the studies should be emphasized more and it would also be one area for further research.
The collected and analyzed data revealed the target areas of development. According to the internal stakeholders the improvements should be targeted to the working life relation of the studies; to the quality of education and the course contents; to the guidance received; and to the more practical approach in studies. All these would prepare the students better for the future working life. The external stakeholders stressed that the practical know-how and multidisciplinary skills are the requirements of the working life, and that the attention should be paid to the requirements imposed by the tourism industry trends in the Tampere Region in the DPT studies.
The results indicate that mutually beneficial changes to the curriculum and cooperation between the stakeholders can be made, in which case the studies would prepare the students with competencies to meet the qualifications of the working life. According to the writers’ of the thesis the working life relation in the studies should be emphasized more and it would also be one area for further research.