Global Leaders Experience: Sustainable Tourism for Global Students

Sustainable Tourism for Global Students

About the Programme 

11.4 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals aims to strengthen efforts to safeguard and protect the world’s cultural and natural heritage. One major hurdle facing these efforts right now is overtourism. 

In this Global Leaders Experience, Immersive Trails offers students the opportunity to study the problem of overtourism in-depth and come up with practical solutions for dealing with this crisis in different parts of the world. 

You will work with a global cohort online over a period of four working weeks. The cohort will be broken up into groups containing students from Exeter University’s Exeter and Cornwall campuses and from Kolkota, India to explore solutions to overtourism from a global perspective. 

Tentative schedule 

For the first two weeks (15th January- 29th January) you will have the opportunity to attend masterclasses and specialist lectures breaking down the theme of tourism, it's benefits and problems, overtourism along with examples from various countries (see sample schedule below) :

  • Jan 15 - Introduction
    Jan 16 - What is tourism? What are the benefits and problems of tourism?
    Jan 17 - Masterclass on Mass/Overtourism
    Jan 20 - Masterclass: Cornwall example
    Jan 21 - How to do local and sustainable tourism with a community focus
    Jan 22 - Masterclass: Indian example
    Jan 23 - Masterclass: Darjeeling example
    Jan 24 - Masterclass: Exeter example
    Jan 27 - Masterclass: Spain example
    Jan 29 - Groups present their chosen case study

You will then work collaboratively across global and interdisciplinary teams to produce a case study where you choose a place that is suffering from overtourism and create a case study in which you suggest solutions that involve sustainability, slow tourism, and involving the local communities. The programme will conclude with presentations and discussions on your projects between February 13th and 14th.

When will the programme Take place?    

The programme will be 4 weeks long starting on the 15th January 2025.

This Global Leaders Programme will be hosted virtually by Immersive Trails. Please make sure that you have a working webcam, headphone and microphone.  

About Immersive Trails 

Immersive Trails is a social enterprise in Kolkata, India, that is dedicated to creating greater awareness of the city's heritage for locals and visitors alike by curating immersive experiences based on in-depth academic research. It was founded in 2017 by Tathagata Neogi, an Exeter PhD in Archaeology, and his wife Chelsea McGill, who has a background in Linguistic Anthropology. Immersive Trails team of experts offers experiences as varied as walking tours, family history trails, and community-focused capacity building workshops. 

Eligibility Criteria 

  • Open to undergraduate and taught postgraduate international students and home undergraduates that meet the Widening Participation criteria.
  • Not currently on a placement year or study abroad. 

Cost 

There is no programme fee for successful applicants to this programme.   

How do I apply? 

The applications for this programme are now closed. If you have any further questions, please feel free to email the team at global-leaders@exeter.ac.uk

Further information 

If you have any further questions, please feel free to email the team at global-leaders@exeter.ac.uk