Academic exchange and interdisciplinary perspectives: PhD students’ colloquium at Schliersee

The first day of the seminar was devoted to the presentation and discussion of ongoing PhD projects. The contributions were organised into three thematic sessions: tourism, leadership and transformation research. Through short presentations followed by feedback, participants had the opportunity to present their research approaches, reflect on methodological issues and gain valuable insights from the discussion with the academic staff and their colleagues.

In the field of tourism research, the latest developments and challenges facing tourism destinations were examined. Discussions ranged from new ways of working and travelling, through the importance of local networks and communities, to issues of governance in destinations. The session on leadership research focused on how organisations and leadership systems can cope with increasing complexity and the dynamics of change. The focus was on topics such as resilience, transformational capacity, value-based leadership and new demands on governance models in the age of digital technologies. The contributions in the field of transformation research focused on social and regional processes of change. Among other things, discussions centred on approaches to measuring quality of life, strengthening social cohesion and the role of real-world laboratories. A presentation by a PhD student from the partner university, Matej Bel University, rounded off the programme.

The second day of the event initially focused on the transfer of knowledge between academia and practice. The hosts, Regionalentwicklung Oberland and CoworkationAlps e.V., provided insights into current developments, challenges and future prospects for regional planning.

The colloquium concluded, for the first time, with round-table discussions, which were designed as interactive discussion formats. In working groups, key topics within the research fields were explored in depth and experiences were exchanged. These open discussion formats facilitated an intensive dialogue across disciplinary boundaries and provided an opportunity to critically examine and refine research within a safe space.