PROJECTS

Visitor Monitoring and Management in Protected and Recreational Areas: New Challenges, Novel Solutions for the Anthropocene (VIMAS)

Recreation in the outdoors provides large benefits to individuals and societies, but with increased participation also follows challenges with sustainable management of nature areas. Nature-based recreation has transformed in several ways; besides the increase in volume of visitors, the behaviour of visitors has diversified; visitors partake in a wider set of activities, visit more remote places, take more diversified trips in nature, have different motivations for visitation as well as levels of experience and skills.

New monitoring and management tools honed for the Anthropocene must address the cumulative social and ecological impacts from increased tourism and recreation while striking a balance with ethics, privacy, and equal opportunities.

VIMAS’ primary objective is to develop more efficient governance of nature areas for tourism and recreation, in the best way possible for biodiversity, people’s quality of life and business development. This will be achieved through research about smarter monitoring methods, improved visitor management and more inclusive governance.

VIMAS Strategic objectives are:

• Train the next generation of multidisciplinary scientists that will be equipped with the skills to secure sustainable, knowledge-based visitor management through recruitment of 10 international Doctoral Candidates (DCs) to be assigned to a specific PhD curriculum, to be monitored and supervised in their career development by the multidisciplinary expertise network of the VIMAS consortium.

• Strengthen European geo-digital businesses, public administration, and academia with a cohort of talented, well-connected researchers with the qualities to become leading European professionals in visitor management and planning.

The innovations of VIMAS are to realise potential from new knowledge developed in the intersection between quantitative and qualitative social sciences, ecology, and geo-informatics technology based on inclusive approaches for non-agency stakeholders and citizens.

Implementation period: 01.11.2023.-31.12.2027.

Funding/ programme: Horizon Europe MSCA DN (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Networks)

HESPI role: Project partner

Cooperation partners: NMBU - The Norwegian University of Life Sciences (coordinator), Mid-Sweden University (Sweden), University of Copenhagen (Denmark), University of Eastern Finland (Finland), University of Helsinki (Finland), University of Iceland (Iceland)

Project funding: 2892644 EUR

Project scientific manager (e-mail): Agita Līviņa (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

More information: https://www.nmbu.no/en/research/projects/vimas

Assessment of Resources and Processes for Implementing Circularity and the Green Deal in the Tourism System (CirToS)

The aim of this interdisciplinary research project is to carry out an assessment of circularity opportunities in tourism sector organisations and identify a conceptual assessment of the resources and processes for implementing the Green Deal (GD) conditions, to develop proposals based on the results of the study for introducing circularity and implementing the requirements of the Green Deal at the level of tourism sector and tourism companies in order to promote the competitiveness of the sector in export markets.

Implementation period: 01.01.2024.-31.12.2026.

Project Nr.: lzp-2023/1-0478

Funding/ programme: Fundamental and Applied Research Programme

HESPI role: Project implementer

Cooperation partners: BA School of Business and Finance

Project funding: 300 000 EUR

Project scientific manager (e-mail): Agita Līviņa (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Involved staff: HESPI Lead Researcher Sarmīte Rozentāle, HESPI guest research assistants, PhD students Māra Grīnberga-Šilaua, Gaļina Bukovska, BA research staff Dzintra Atstāja, Didzis Rūtītis

Transformation of Educational Value in Cultural and Economic Growth of Social Community (IzVeTSKKEI)

The aim of the project is to explore the impact of education as a value for the growth of Latvian society in the socio-economic and cultural context, assessing the social return of the population to economic development and achieving a higher quality of life, ensuring a contribution to the productivity of humanitarian capital in the Latvian regional context.

The project aims to study the impact of the value of education in the socio-economic and cultural context of the growth of Latvian society, ensuring a contribution to the productivity of humanitarian capital in the regional context of Latvia.

It is intended to study the value of education from the following aspects:

awareness of the value of education in Latvian society (focus groups - teachers, teachers, social work and cultural professionals, entrepreneurs);
the value of education and culture (education through cultural activities and the contribution of cultural institutions to education);
the value of education and entrepreneurship (impact of education in the business community; potential contribution of entrepreneurs to the development of the education system);
the value of education and IV and social services in building an inclusive society;
research into methodological approaches to human capital social return research and the experience of their implementation in the international context.

Three Latvian regional universities shall cooperate in the course of the study, thereby highlighting the need in the country for polycentric development, by burying the results at international scientific conferences, publications and educational events. The resulting study data will be used to improve the content of the study process in higher education, and recommendations will be developed for policymakers in the regions involved in the study. Research will be presented and explained to the public in order to build a modern-day understanding of education as a value needed for the spiritual and economic growth of society.

Project period: 2020 - 2023

Funding source: Fundamental and applied research programme, Latvia

Project lead: Liepaja University

Project partners: Rezekne Academy of Technologies, Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences

ViA peroject team: Maira Leščevica, Aigars Andersons, Vija Melbārde, Santa Lemša, Līga Zariņa

Total budget: 300000.00 EUR

Erasmus+ programme KA1 “Higher education student and staff mobility between Programme and Partner Countries”

Goal of the project: Increase international mobility of students and staff as well as international cooperation with partner countries

Number: 2023-1-LV01-KA171-HED-000127100 (-LV)

The target group: Students and staff at Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences and its partner institutions

The leading partner: Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences

All project partners:

Albania - UNIVERSETI SHKODRES LUIGJ GURAKUQI
Albania - UNIVERSITETI ALEKSANDER MOISIU DURRES
Albania - UNIVERSITETI FAN S NOLI KORCE
Bosnia and Herzegovina - JAVNA USTANOVA UNIVERZITET U ZENICI UNIVERSITAS STUDIORUM ZENICAENSIS
Kosovo - UNIVERSITETI NDERKOMBETAR PER BIZNES DHE TEKNOLOGJI UBT SHPK
Montenegro - UNIVERZITET DONJA GORICA PODGORICA
Armenia - BRUSOV STATE UNIVERSITY
Georgia - IVANE JAVAKHISHVILI TBILISI STATE UNIVERSITY
Georgia - SHOTA RUSTAVELI STATE UNIVERSITY
Georgia - THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
Republic of Moldova - Technical University of Moldova
Ukraine - BOHDAN KHMELNYTSKYY NATIONAL UNIVERSITY AT CHERKASY
Ukraine - CHERNIHIV NATIONAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
Ukraine - Cherkasy state business-college
Ukraine - National University "Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic"
India - Dr. YSR National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality Management
India - PONDICHERRY UNIVERSITY
Kazakhstan - KOKSHETAU ABAI MYRZAKHMETOV UNIVERSITY
Chile - UNIVERSIDAD ANDRES BELLO

Project implementation period: 01.08.2023. – 31.07.2026.

Main activities: Student and staff exchange

Study directions: Business administration, information technologies, communication and journalism, political sciences, tourism

Total budget: EUR 413 545,00 (EUR 345175,00EU; EUR 68370 Latvian national co-financing)

Project funding: EU funding, Latvian national co-financing Erasmus+ Charter: https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/resources-and-tools/erasmus-charter-for-higher-education Information for partners: https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/resources/documents/erasmus-international-credit-mobility_en

The selection process of students takes place at SENDING university based on following criteria - academic performance and achievements, adequacy of exchange study content to the study programme, already used abroad study and internship opportunities (preference is given to students who have not participated in Erasmus+ exchange), study semester, motivation, english or particular national language skills, involvement in various professional activities and projects, other criteria of the partner university.

Student selection has to be documented (including criteria used), after the selection partner university provides an official protocol in order to participate in the particular Erasmus+ KA 171 project. After the selection, university nominates the selected student and only final chosen student has to apply at ViA university for studies (fill in the online application), not all potential candidates.

The selection process of staff takes place at the HOST university (Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences)

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Contacts:
Project manager at Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences: Mārīte Balaņuka
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Phone: +371 22042022

Erasmus+ programme KA1 “Higher education student and staff mobility within programme countries”

Goal of the project: Increase international mobility of students and staff as well as international cooperation within programme countries

Project number: 2023-1-LV01-KA131-HED-000118278 (-LV)

The target group: Students and staff at Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences and its partner institutions in programme countries

The leading partner: Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences

Project implementation period: 01.06.2023. – 31.07.2025.

Main activities: Student and staff exchange

Study directions: Business administration, information technologies, engineering, communication and journalism, tourism

Total budget: EUR 246627,00 (EUR 204060,00 EU; EUR 42567,00 Latvian national co-financing)

Project funding: EU funding, Latvian national co-financing

Erasmus Charter for Higher Education 2021 - 2027: https://va.lv/sites/default/files/ECHE%202021-2027.pdf

The selection process of students takes place at Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences based on following criteria - academic performance and achievements, adequacy of exchange study content to the study programme, already used abroad study and internship opportunities (preference is given to students who have not participated in Erasmus+ exchange), study semester, motivation, English or particular national language skills, involvement in various professional activities and projects.

The selection process of staff takes place at Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences.

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