The final dissemination seminar of the SUCSESS project was held at University of Johannesburg on Wednesday 13 September. The event gathered together all the project partners to reflect on the outcomes of the project, its challenges, opportunities and new initiatives. The presenters gave a wonderful summary of the many events and encounters during the project. The day was hosted by UJ's Tracy Daniels.
The project manager Eva Holmberg of Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences summarised the main milestones and outputs of the project in her speech. She also reflected on the SUCSESS journey from the Kick-off in Porvoo in February 2020 to the final Dissemination seminar in Johannesburg in September 2023.
The project partners gave their presentations about the outcomes of the project. Professor Berendien Lubbe of University of Pretoria discussed the results of the Gap report.
Professor Antonia Thandi Nzama highlighted the tools and technology in her speech. The technology has been an enabler for both students and staff to connect with the industry.
Professor Diane Abrahams from the University of Johannesburg said in her address that the project has been about cocreating contentwith the Global North and South. The most important outputs have been the technology and the digital handbook.
Professor Jarkko Saarinen from University of Oulu discussed the key competences for sustainability in tourism and hospitality. He reminded that sustainability competences need to be highlighted in mainstream tourism education, too, not just in sustainable tourism courses.
Hannes Engelbrecht from University of Pretoria and Hema Kesa from University of Johannesburg shared their experiences with the employability and XR Labs of their respective univesities.
Before everyone got to visit the lab, Alisha Ali from Sheffield Hallam University gave the closing remarks where she stated that the project has been pushing us to be better.
Finally, it was time for everyone to get immersed in the XR technology of the Lab. UJ's Hema Kesa, Zuyd University's Dai-in Danny Han and Haaga-Helia's Pasi Tuominen presented the XR technology based BOX in the UJ XR Lab. According to them, immersive learning environments can improve the student learning experience. Certainly, the visitors to the lab were impressed by the experience!
The final Dissemination Seminar of the SUCSESS project brought the project partners together for a final gathering. It was good to hear of the many positive encounters and experiences as well as to summarise the project outputs and achievements in a single event. This project has been a success!