Yuliya Kolomoyets and Hannes Antonschmidt join the Department of Tourism and Service Management

As part of MU’s PhD program Doctorate in Business and Socioeconomic Sciences, PhD candidates spend four years studying and researching for their thesis, as well as teaching in the Bachelor program. This fall we have two new faces in the program, Yuliya Kolomoyets and Hannes Antonschmidt, who both hold the position of Researcher and Lecturer in the Department of Tourism and Service Management.

Yuliya hails originally from a small border town of Uzhhorod in the Western Ukraine, where she obtained a Bachelor and Master in Tourism from Uzhhorod National University. Simply studying was never enough for her, so she have actively participated in the organization of various student events, worked part-time as an interpreter (Ukrainian, Russian, and English), as a receptionist, and each summer explored the world by undertaking internships in various fields around the globe.

She’s tried working in hospitality in the US, volunteered in India, participated in a developmental project in Croatia, and attended several summer schools around Europe. After graduation, she worked for nearly two years as a department assistant at the Faculty of International Relations at Transcarpathian State University (Ukraine), where she also assisted in teaching the course “Tourism Regional Studies”.

Most recently she graduated from the European Master in Tourism Management and obtained the Master of Science in Tourism Management. The program is held jointly held by three universities: University of Southern Denmark (Denmark), University of Ljubljana (Slovenia) and University of Girona (Spain) and designed in a way that each semester the students study in a different country. Apart from the designated universities, she spent her last semester in Budapest (Hungary) as a social media marketing intern at lifestyle guide WeLoveBudapest.com, and writing part-time about that great city for travel start-up CityShare.

‘’Therefore travelling, exploring new cultures and languages became a part of the exciting routine of my life that I, indeed, adore!’’ she says.

Her academic interests lie in particular in thematic tourism, digital storytelling, e-Tourism and interactive marketing, with her Master thesis focusing on gamification and its effect on tourist experiences.

Yuliya is optimistic about both her PhD studies and teaching duties in the bachelor programs, ‘’as a Researcher and Lecturer at the Department of Tourism and Service Management of MODUL University I’m looking forward to continue with the academic research, and what’s even more, meeting the students and exploring the fascinating field of tourism together!’’

Hannes was born and raised in a village in Lower Saxony (Germany). For his studies he went to Potsdam where he acquired a Bachelor degree in Business Studies (Minor Politics and Administration). His enthusiasm for numbers, football and Britain led to his decision to pursue a Master degree in Management Accounting from the University of Abertay Dundee (Scotland).

After work experience in the automobile industry at Daimler, Hannes worked as a consultant for the tourism and leisure sector in Berlin. Through his project work he discovered research interests he now wants to dig deeper into for his PhD. These research interests revolve around the connections between sustainability, finance and accounting in the tourism sector. Furthermore, he will assist the department of tourism and service management through lecturing and with consulting projects.

"I am very much looking forward to a fruitful academic exchange both with students and my new colleagues at MODUL University!" he says.

In his free time he takes trips to nature and to the countryside. Besides that he is always looking for opportunities to enjoy a football game whether in the stadium or on the pitch.

Welcome Yuliya and Hannes!