The University of La Laguna (Spain) recently hosted a STARS EU meeting aimed at exploring potential pilot projects of common interest in the tourism sector and advancing the definition of the Interregional Tourism Living Lab, a future living lab focused on interregional tourism.

The workshop brought together researchers and specialists at the Vice-Rectorate for Internationalisation and Cooperation, home to STARS EU, from the Cracow University of Technology (Poland), the Polytechnic University of Bragança (Portugal) and the University of La Laguna. The meeting sought to identify interregional challenges and opportunities, define possible areas for joint work and establish the next steps in the development of this Living Lab.

The initiative follows the partners’ agreement to explore an interregional Living Lab focused on tourism. In the specific case of ULL, the meeting provided an opportunity to contribute to and complement the Circular Tourism Pilot, developed within the Circular Economy Living Lab promoted by the University of La Laguna, which will become operational shortly.

According to the STARS EU coordinator at ULL, José Sigut, “this international meeting represents an important boost for our university’s Circular Economy Living Lab (CELL). Interaction with experts from Kraków and Bragança directly enriches our own Circular Tourism Pilot and provides a global perspective while complementing the transversal areas in which we are already working, such as ecotourism and cultural heritage as a tourism resource.”

Specialised expertise

The programme, developed over two days of work, brought together professionals involved in different areas of research, innovation and education related to tourism and its surrounding fields. ULL was represented by specialists from the Tourism Chair, the ReinvenTUR research group, the Agrotourism and Wine Tourism Chair, and the Interdisciplinary Research Group on Agrotourism (GIIA), among others.

Cracow University of Technology contributed expertise in architecture, fine arts, smart cities, urban and regional design, mechanical engineering, and environmental and energy engineering, as well as tourism related to spas and rural environments, one of the region’s strongest areas of focus. The Polytechnic University of Bragança, meanwhile, presented the areas of work developed through its School of Tourism and its Research Center in Tourism, contributing specialised knowledge in the tourism sector, particularly in the fields of nature tourism and thermal tourism.

Potential pilot projects

According to Sigut, this diversity of expertise will make it possible to explore potential links between research, education and innovation, as well as identify areas where collaboration between the different regions could translate into “concrete pilot projects”.

The programme began on 28 September with a visit to the bioclimatic houses of the Institute of Technology and Renewable Energies (ITER). This was followed in the afternoon by presentations from the participating universities on their research groups, projects and areas of specialisation related to tourism.

Following the presentations, the second day concluded with a joint session aimed at identifying interregional challenges and opportunities, potential pilot activities, and the partners and external stakeholders who could participate in them.

Potential areas of work include ecotourism and cultural heritage as a tourism resource, as already mentioned, as well as sustainable tourism, gastronomic tourism, and specific segments such as medical tourism and wellness tourism, alongside other transversal areas related to the sector.

Once all the proposals presented have been analysed, those with the greatest potential for collaboration can be identified, possible responsibilities defined and the next steps for the Interregional Tourism Living Lab established.

Through this collaboration, STARS EU continues to connect the specialised knowledge of its universities with the challenges and opportunities of their regions, creating new spaces for research, innovation, education and sustainable regional development, one of its main objectives.

The first edition of the BIP FutureLab Camp ended just a few days ago with the presentation of a range of concrete solutions in the fields of urban development, infrastructure, identity and promotion for the city of Zakliczyn (Poland). The closing event was attended by 26 students from the Cracow University of Technology (Poland), Bragança Polytechnic University (Portugal), Marie et Louis Pasteur University (France) and Hanze University of Applied Sciences (the Netherlands) — members of STARS EU — as well as about a dozen academics and another European institutions.

The diversity of specialisms — architecture, computer science, management and art history — has been one of the key assets of this Blended Intensive Programme (BIP), which started in the first quarter of 2025 (in person) and continued until June (online).

Using posters and panels, the students (in person and online) presented three specific urban concepts for Zakliczyn that promote local development and boost the expansion of tourism in the area, which is home to resources such as the Dunajec River, Zakliczyn Market Square, examples of sacral architecture, the ruins of Melsztyn Castle and the Krzysztof Penderecki European Music Centre in Lusławice.

Students’ proposals

Some of the suggestions put forward by the students highlight ideas for the pedestrian bridge, with visualisations and physical models, the design of a new website and possible internet infrastructure solutions intended for tourists visiting Zakliczyn. Alongside these contributions, the marketing plan designed for the municipality, a key result of this BIP, is a very important document: a total of 130 pages encapsulating exhaustive analysis and original ideas to showcase the potential of this charming city.

The concepts proposed by the students received praise from the Mayor of Zakliczyn, Dawid Chrobak. “The collaboration between Zakliczyn and Cracow University of Technology began with the idea of designing a pedestrian and bicycle bridge over the Dunajec River, connecting the castle ruins in Melsztyn to Zakliczyn. That was the starting point. However, the students developed extensive, professional marketing and urban planning documents that go far beyond the initial goal of enhancing the tourism potential of Zakliczyn and nearby towns. We plan to present the results — i.e., the concepts of the bridge and public spaces — to the local council and community,” said Mayor Chrobak.

Evaluation by the authorities

At the event, which took place in the Faculty of Architecture, the “high quality” of the work carried out by the architecture students of CUT, as well as their fellow students from the partner universities, was highlighted. The students worked on urban solutions aimed at uncovering the identity of a small but beautiful town with a rich past, outstanding cultural heritage and a strong musical tradition, particularly in the context of the Krzysztof Penderecki European Music Centre.

The architectural task consisted of designing a bridge to connect Zakliczyn with Melsztyn Castle. The students from the University of Bragança developed marketing strategies, with spatio-temporal solutions based on a city game, explained the academic supervisor, Dr hab. inż. arch. Kinga Racoń-Leja, Prof. PK.

The Mayor of Zakliczyn stated that the suggested proposals will be implemented in the city and stressed “the enormous professionalism” of the students’ work, who, as supervisors involved in developing these concepts, will present their results to the authorities and the local community in the coming months.

For her part, the Vice-Rector, Dr hab. inż. Katarzyna Bizon, expressed her satisfaction with the result shown by the groups of students in their final presentations, filled with great creativity, and with the successful conclusion of an international collaboration project such as FutureLab.

An innovative pedagogical model

FutureLab Camp is not the first of the international educational projects in which students from CUT’s Faculty of Architecture are involved, within the framework of STARS EU. As part of the Thematic Interest Group (TIG) Living Spaces, these workshops have been underway regularly since last year, thereby boosting the internationalisation of the education process.

“This kind of project is filled with pedagogical value, but it also poses a challenge, both for the students and for the professors, as it requires considerable effort, collaboration in other languages and with groups from different cultures, and the ability to provide solutions that are relevant to external stakeholders,” stressed Dr inż. arch. Ernestyna Szpakowska-Loranc. The expert also explained that this edition presented an even greater challenge, as the work was carried out in interdisciplinary groups.

Future editions: France and Portugal

The agreements reached in STARS EU guarantee the continuity of this Blended Intensive Programme. The next meetings will take place in France in 2026 and in Portugal in 2027. “We have been working for months alongside our partners on the framework for the next edition, based on the experiences of Kraków and Zakliczyn, where we have demonstrated that working in interdisciplinary and international groups is effective and brings tangible benefits to all involved,” said Adam Sadło, leader of Task 2.5 in STARS EU.

*The student selection process of the next edition will begin  in June 2025 at all STARS EU universities.