On the 16th and 17th of May 2022, IMT students from the Department of Innovation & Management in Tourism at the FH Salzburg (Salzburg University of Applied Sciences) attended the ISCONTOUR conference in Innsbruck organised by MCI and the University of Applied Sciences Krems. At this annual conference, founded by FH Salzburg Prof. Dr. Roman Egger and Prof. (FH) Mag. Christian Maurer, student graduates present their research in the field of Destination Management, Digital Marketing, Digital Transformation, Consumer Behaviour, Hospitality Management and Sustainable Tourism Management. A great networking opportunity for students and professionals in the beautiful city of Innsbruck which is located directly next to the impressive Nordkette mountain range.
A warm welcome at 2334m altitude!
On Monday morning the Kick-Off social networking part of the ISCONTOUR program started at the Bergbahn station in the city centre. The participants had the additional option to book the morning program in addition to their ISCONTOUR ticket, which took them up the Nordkette mountain range. With a group of about 30 people, the participants ascended to the Hafelekar-Bergstation at 2269m and by foot bridged the last 65 meters to the top of the mountain – the Hafelekarspitze. During the trip, co-organiser Hubert Siller from MCI business school Innsbruck provided the participants with interesting facts about the city and mountain range area.
After the hike, the participants descended again with the Bergbahn and enjoyed a delicious brunch at the Seegrube restaurant with a magnificent view over the city. Around 12:00 the participants returned to the MCI centre in the city where the official ISCONTOUR programme started at 13:00.
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Workshops: let’s co-create!
In the afternoon, two research workshops were organised where students and lecturers could interact and co-create a learning experience. Research skills were trained in the fields of ethnography and visual content-analysis. At the end of the workshop, a buffet was served and the networking drink commenced. This marked the end of a successful first ISCONTOUR day.
Get inspired: Keynotes and Research Papers presentations
The second day of ISCONTOUR was focused on the presentation of research papers sent in by (under-)graduates coming from 10 different universities from all over the world. The topics ranged from Destination Management to Consumer Behaviour and Sustainable Tourism Management to Digital Transformation. In three rounds, spread out over the late morning and late afternoon, all research papers were presented and during the break, there was time to network while enjoying refreshments and lunch at the MCI restaurant. The FH Salzburg students talked to different lecturers and other tourism students and gained new insights which may be relevant to their master’s thesis research.
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Léona, a second-semester IMTe Master’s student said:
“ISCONTOUR is a really nice experience in order to get in touch with the research field in tourism! It is an opportunity to have an overview of current topics in the sector. Highly recommended”
ISCONTOUR 2022 concluded two days full of networking, new insights, delicious gastronomy and scenery at Innsbruck and finally a great group of motivated students. The students especially thank Christian Maurer (IMC Krems) and Hubert Siller (MCI) and all the others involved in the ISCONTOUR 2022 organisation for the great and fruitful event. We look forward to next year, when the students will represent FH Salzburg at the tenth ISCONTOUR edition at the IMC Krems!
