Professor Wöber at TEFI Conference in Milan

by Stewart
— 12.07.2012

MU president, Prof. Karl Wöber participated at the 6th Tourism Education Futures Initiative (TEFI) Conference from June 27-30, 2012 at the University of Bocconi, Milan Italy. The theme of this year’s conference was "Transformational Leadership for Tourism Education" and which attracted

more than 50 university leaders from all over the world.

TEFI was born in 2007 and seeks to provide vision, knowledge and a framework for tourism education programs to promote global citizenship and optimism for a better world. An important outcome of the TEFI process is a set of five values-based principles that tourism students should embody

upon graduation to become responsible leaders and stewards for the destinations where they work or live. The five value sets are: 1. Ethics, 2. Stewardship, 3. Knowledge, 4. Professionalism and 5. Mutuality, and are portrayed as interlocking value principles because of their

interconnectedness and their permeability.

The core values identified by the TEFI process also served as an inspiration for MODUL University Vienna and its educational values as defined in the University’s Development Plan.

At this year’s conference Professor Wöber contributed with a presentation on MU’s experiences in implementing the TEFI values. Download the presentation. He also participated in a panel discussion on “Facilitating transformational leadership in the neoliberal university” and he outlined the five main challenges universities are facing today:

(1) Deficits of democracy of university procedures

(2) Barriers to information dissemination and access to research findings

(3) Lack of information on the success of their graduates

(4) Faculty rewarding systems that do not meet the expectations of all stakeholders of a university

(5) Department structures that hinder the development of

multidisciplinary research and education.

Please see more information about TEFI and the program of the 6th TEFI meeting.

Author: Stewart