Supervision Topics
I am happy to supervise postgraduate students (Masters and PhD) on the topics that are aligned with my main research areas. Feel free to explore some of the latest research topics on experience design that would benefit from future research.
My advice to you
- Select a topic that you are curious about and care about. You will dedicate 1 full year to your master thesis, so make sure you select a topic that keeps you motivated!
- Select a topic that is somehow aligned with your future career and life aspirations, whatever that may be. Writing a master thesis gives you 1 year of time to become an expert in a specific area. This is a great opportunity, choose wisely!
If there is any topic that you would like to write about, not listed here, let’s talk and I may agree to supervise you or will help you by recommending you a suitable colleague.
Have you found a topic area?
Then feel free to get in touch with me: Email Me Here
Send me a short idea outline (use rapid prototyping) 🙂
- Area (area / topic you are interested in. You can name more than one)
- Thesis working title
- Research question (formulate any question that you are curious about, in your own words)
- Method (any method you like / prefer, or would like to use, or if no idea at this point, just state that)
- Anticipated outcome (think about the end-goal, what do you want to achieve with your thesis, what outcome do you expect)
- Anything else you are curious about / interested in in relation to your thesis. Any additional thoughts, ideas or questions you have.
| Research Area 1 – Experience Design & Transformation Design |
– How can businesses guide transformative experiences? – Chief Transformation Officer: What skills are needed? – Experiences, awe and the overview effect – What are employees skills and competences to guide transformative experiences? – Transformation age: What is the future of transformative travel experiences – Transformative experiences in outdoor, sports, mountaineering, adventure contexts – Transformative experiences in tourism and travel contexts – Transformative experiences in altered states of consciousness and psychedelic contexts– Value co-creation and value co-destruction in transformative experiences – Transformative experiences in festivals such as Burning Man– Transformative experiences in the events and meetings industry – Post-event transformation and integration: How can the transformation be sustained long-term– Transformation repeaters: Why do people go through the same transformative experiences multiple times? – Transformative experiences and their effect on life wellbeing – Transformative experiences in the education context: Education as transformation – Space design: How to design transformative experience spaces, third space and liminality – Time design: How to design transformative vehicles of time-well-invested?– Education in the age of the transformation economy: Learning journeys of the future – The social nature of transformative experiences: Designing for individual and collective transformations – Experiences and communitas and rituals– Measuring transformative experiences: Developing a scale – Transformative experiences, psychology and existential authenticity – Personas of transformation: Mapping the customer of transformative experiences– Transformative experiences and the Hero’s Journey – Transformative experiences, mindfulness and spiritual experiences – Transformative experiences and social impact and community – Transformative experiences and personal growth – Transformation, personal Development, and Maslow’s plateau experiences – Service design and transformation: Developing tools to guide transformation design – Transformative experiences and storytelling and narratives – Memorable vs transformative experiences: Mapping the customer journey of transformation |
| Experiences and Digital Transformation & Technology Enhanced Tourist Experiences |
| – Multisensory Virtual Reality Experiences – Multisensory Soundscape Experiences – Experiences and connecting or disconnecting in travel – Work-life-travel integration: Digital technology facilitating new travel – Work-life-travel integration: What is the work space of the future? – Work-life-travel integration: What is the hotel room for leisure and work of the future? – Hyperconnected tourists: Re-defining work-life balance in the digital age – Digital wellbeing – Individualisation and personalisation of hospitality experiences – Gamification of experiences through digital technology – Serendipity of travel experiences through digital technology – Value co-creation through real-time connection. The experience of the now – Memorable experiences supported through social media: Images, videos, narratives |
| Experience and Value Co-Creation |
– Innovation through co-creation: Co-creating meaningful customer experiences – Customer to customer (C2C) co-creation in tourism and hospitality– Customer to local (C2L) co-creation and local & authentic experiences – Stakeholder co-creation of experience ecosystems |
| eTourism and Smart Tourism |
| – Smart tourism destination, smart ecosystems and smart travel experiences – Experience co-creation in smart tourism destinations – Social Media, Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and Wearable Devices – Robots and human experiences in tourism– Digital technology and human experiences of the future |
| Research Methods |
| – Mixed methods (Qualitative and quantitative) – Qualitative research (In-depth interviews, case studies, focus groups, ethnography) – Netnography and online content analysis – Future methods – Experience Sampling Method |
Student Testimonials
| Testimonials |
“Since the beginning of my studies, I knew that Barbara is the best supervisor for my master thesis. Her motivation and work attitude are one of a kind and her innovative mindset is really valuable. Barbara guided me through the whole process by making me think about situations from differ.” (FH Salzburg, IMT Master Student, 2019) “Dr. Barbara Neuhofer is a diligent, caring, and life-changing Professor. She creates transformative experiences for students that guide them to personal and professional development, not only through her teaching methods, but in her kind and helpful character. As a professor and mentor, Dr. Neuhofer goes above and beyond to strive for her students’ success. She is inclusive and creative in her teaching methods in order to allow for each students to have his or her own personal experience in her class. Dr. Barbara Neuhofer changes the lives of the students she teaches, she and will continue to do so in the future.” (FH Salzburg, IMT Master Student, 2019) ” Dr. Barbara Neuhofer is a diligent, caring, and life-changing Professor. She creates transformative experiences for students that guide them to personal and professional development, not only through her teaching methods, but in her kind and helpful character. As a professor and mentor, Dr. Neuhofer goes above and beyond to strive for her students’ success. She is inclusive and creative in her teaching methods in order to allow for each students to have his or her own personal experience in her class. Dr. Barbara Neuhofer changes the lives of the students she teaches, she and will continue to do so in the future. ” (FH Salzburg, IMT 2017 Student) “Since the beginning of my studies, I knew that Barbara is the best supervisor for my master thesis. Her motivation and work attitude are one of a kind and her innovative mindset is really valuable. Barbara guided me through the whole process by making me think about situations from different perspectives.” (FH Salzburg, IMT 2017 Student) “Having Barbara as my master thesis supervisor was one of the best choices I have made so far. She is extremely helpful and she guided me through the whole process with clear instructions and ideas. She motivated me when I was lost and helped me to find the path again. During her supervision she achieved that I became more interested in my topic than I was in the beginning. Working on my own, but with her being behind my back let me to accomplish my master studies on time and with a great result. Thank you very much Barbara!” (FH Salzburg, IMT 2016 Student) |
Current & Completed Supervision
A list of currently on-going and successfully completed supervision can be found below.
PhD Thesis Examination
Francisco Femenia, University of Alicante, Spain: “Smart Tourism Destinations: Incorporating A Demand Approach To Improve Destinations Management‘ (2019)
PhD Transfer Viva Voce Examiner Nguyen Thi Thao Quynh ‘Understanding Emotional Intelligence among hotel employees during interactions with co-workers and customers in Vietnam’ (2016)
PhD Internal Pre-Viva Examination Paco Femenia, University of Alicante ‘Tourist Experiences And Smart Technologies Within Smart Tourism Destinations: The Tourist Perspective’
PhD Supervision
- PhD Project Visit Host and Supervisor for Katerina Volchek, Hong Kong Polytechnic University ‘Value Maximisation For Personalised Information Service In Tourism‘, at Salzburg University of Applied Sciences research visit (Apr-Aug 2019)
- PhD Supervision Paco Femenia, University of Alicante ‘Tourist Experiences And Smart Technologies Within Smart Tourism Destinations: The Tourist Perspective’, at Salzburg University of Applied Sciences research visit (Feb-May 2017)
- PhD Thesis Supervision Natalia Torres ‘Modelling the Meal Experience in a la Carte Restaurants’ Bournemouth University (2015 – 2016)
- PhD Supervisor Training. Completed. Bournemouth University (2015)
Masters Supervision
 | Completion | Name and Dissertation Title |
| 2020 | Melina Scholl & Jasmin Hopf Multisensory VR experiences for destination marketing | |
| 2019 | Filippo Vicentini Airbnb and stakeholder value co-creation in hospitality | |
| 2019 | David Riedl CXO Chief Experience Officer as a job of the future | |
| 2019 | Jennifer Wohlgamuth An ethnoconsumerist service design in retail | |
| 2019 | Bianca Magnus Future of AI for customer experiences in events | |
| 2019 | Lukas Grundner Future of AI in destinations | |
| 2018 | Le Danh Dat
Online Marketing in Vietnam |
| | 2018 | Jingming Tinh Minh Tran
Chinese cruise industry |
| | 2018 | Hanh Nguyen
Factors Affecting Band Equity of Online Travel Booking Service in Ho Chi Minh City |
| | 2018 | Julia Angerer
Digital detox as new travel experience: customer’s motivations for onsite (dis)connection – Case study of Austrian tourism offers |
| 2019 | Katherine Guevara
Sharing economy experiences |
| 2019 | Giulia Wälter
The role of influencers in tourism marketing |
| 2019 | Erminio Laudani
An eye-tracking study of cognition load in tourism marketing | |
| 2019 | Ashelle McFee
How do responsible travellers use their mobile in the destination they travelled to? | |
| 2019 | Sean Ralph
Millenials: A risk management analysis to optimize the customer experience |
| 2019 | Sonia Rostagnol Sharing economy and tourist profiles |
| 2019 | Thuy Linh To
Gamification in events experiences |
| | 2017 | Daniella Sallai
Development of an experience design implication model in the context of Hungarian spas |
| 2019 | Emina Velic
Tourist experiences and customer loyalty |
| | 2017 | Sabine Sarlay
Collaborating and connecting: Sharing economy as a game changer in the aviation sector? Commercial air travelers’ willingness to pay premium for luxury services in tourism |
| | 2017 | Akwasi Boadi
Gamification as a tool to enrich the experience of visitors at dark tourism destination: a case study at Elmina Castle (Ghana) |
| | 2017 | Volha Famina
Creation of a Boutique hotel concept authentic to its location |
| 2019 | Sandra Metz
Asian travellers in Hospitality |
| | 2017 | Jennifer Relota
SoCoMo and the tourist experience : The influence of SoCoMo on the tourist experience using the example of Snapchat |
| 2018 | Niloufar Rouzbeh
The influence of virtual reality on social presence |
| 2018 | Abdul Karim El-Najar
Artificial intelligence in tourism: The future of travel experiences |
| | 2017 | Mamadou Faye
Smart Tourism Destinations: What salient smart components of Amsterdam city impact on the in-situ experiences of the tourists? The Case Of Amsterdam City |
| | 2016 | Vipapavee Sucanthapruek
An enhanced consumer experience through technological innovation: a study of JW Marriott Hotel in Bangkok |
| | 2016 | Saruda Kokiatsakul
Human Resources Practices and Front Office Department: A case study of Holiday Inn Bangkok Hotel |
| | 2016 | Germano Formisano
Impact of smartphones on digital natives during their leisure time and holidays |
| | 2016 | Abbie-Gayle Johnson
Airbnb: Connecting tourists with local experiences |
| | 2016 | Jeannette Camilleri
Experience Co-Creation and Co-Destruction in the Sharing Economy |
| | 2016 | Peter (Yao-Yen) Tu
The effect of co-creation on customer willingness to pay |
| | 2016 | Adelola Makinde
Social media as a tool for service recovery in hospitality. A case study of Budget Hotels in Southampton, UK. |
| | 2016 | Bhushan Raut
The role of technology as a facilitator of quality service provision in Luxury Hotels and Upscale Hotels |
| 2016 | Roberta Belotti
Work related pressures of the Reception Department and their effect on Service Quality – A case Study |
| 2016 | Pira Arunrat
How social media influences Thai travelers when they decide to travel in Thailand |
| 2016 | Mantanaporn Satianpattanakul
Impact and use of technology for tourism and hospitality services and experiences |
| 2016 | Eleftherios Varkaris
The influence of Social Media on the hotel decision-making process |
| | 2015 | Anna Mattsson
Co-created customer experience and sense of community in Bed & Breakfasts |
| | 2015 | Ya-Wen Huang
An exploratory study of the service quality in the Taiwanese restaurant and the relative impact of service quality on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty |
| | 2015 | Pareena Saengfai
An investigation of factors that can attract and hinder foreigners to travel to Thailand |
| | 2015 | Ozal Turan
An investigation into the usage of guest facing hotel technologies and their possible effects at upscale hotels in Istanbul |
