The Business Administration department has hosted the Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) for tourism business students from 29th September until the 17th of October 2022. The aim of the programme was to introduce students to use geographic information systems (GIS) for the delivery of tourism resources. The programme included virtual as well as on campus activities.
During the training, students created a static maps of tourist routes in ArcGIS Pro programme and prepared the presentation of routes in ArcGIS online StoryMap application format. The topic of presentations was the use of GIS for the delivery of tourism resources in specific regions of Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland.
During the programme the students experienced the touristic side of Lithuania. The practical part of the BIP included hands-on tours in the Castle Museum in Klaipeda, the Cold War Museum in the Žemaitija National Park, and a trip to the Amber Museum in Palanga.
There was a total number of 29 students from KVK and our partner institutions such as Liepaja University, Latvia, ISMA, Latvia Old Polish University, Poland, Life Science University in Lublin, Poland, Akademia Bialska Nauk Stosowanych im. Jana Pawła II, Poland. After successful presentations and attendance, the students were awarded 3 ECTS, along with a certificate.
Jurgita Kasparienė, the Head of the Business Administration department describes the experience of organizing BIP: “We organized BIP for the first time by ourselves, so we didn’t have much practical experience on it. But we knew the goal and the end result of the project, and we had prepared the curriculum in the spring semester so there was no stress. Once the program started, there was intensive work between participants and organizers. The most important thing is a clear program and a desired result, communication between teachers and Erasmus students.
Jurgita stresses that BIP is extremely useful because it’s an opportunity to have new competences, get to know the business environment, technologies, new cultures, and establish relations with students from other countries.
A big thank you to all our partners and the participants of this BIP Programme!