PROJECT MULTIPLIER EVENT IN RIGA, TURIBA UNIVERSITY
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The second project multiplier event (E1-B2) was held in Turiba University, Riga, Latvia on September 24, 2015. It was titled “Workshop 2 on Smartphone Apps and FrontDesk 2 program”. The aim of the workshop was to present to language teachers from the local area both the project and the materials that had been produced during the first year of the project implementation.
33 participants attended the event: 22 language teachers, seven industry representatives and four participants representing management of education institutions. 17 participants were invited local participants, six were Latvian project team members (also local) who also taught foreign languages at the University and adult education centres of Latvia, ten were project members from other partner institutions.
The multiplier event was prepared jointly by all partners and managed by Turiba University – the host of the third project meeting. The seminar agenda included project presentation, presentation of the needs analysis report, presentation of the curriculum designed, demonstration of the smartphone apps and FrontDesk program and explanation on how they could be used in improving language skills and service in accommodation and catering enterprises. The workshop participants also had a hands-on-experience while trying out the smartphone app on their mobile phones. They agreed that the application would definitely help finding relevant phrases at their daily work. Next, language learning tasks for A2/B1 language competence levels and the created Moodle Learning platform were demonstrated. These courses were especially welcomed by language teachers who said that they would definitely use the course in their language classes as well as suggest their students for improving their language competence. Moreover, they admitted that they would be using the materials designed for improving their language skills in other foreign languages. Finally, the seminar participants had a chance to get the first-hand information about the next course – B2/C1 English language course – that would be created and also piloted during the second year of the project implementation. Official presentations and discussions continued in social atmosphere and the project team got many useful ideas on how to make the created materials more user-friendly and attractive for the industry needs.
More information is available on: http://www.language4hotel.eu/index.php/public-documents
Dr.paed. Ineta Luka
Professor
Manager of Turiba University project team
"KeySkills4EUHotelStaff" Partner meeting in Riga
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The third meeting for the Erasmus+ project „Key Skills for European Union Hotel Staff” (Project No.: 2014-1-HR01-KA2014-007224) was held in Riga, Latvia from the 23-25 September 2015. The project meeting was organised and hosted by Turiba University (Latvia) and the project coordinator, the Tourism and Catering School Dubrovnik (Croatia) and all other project partners - Primrose Publishing (UK), Ekonomska šola Murska Sobota (Slovenia), IPSSA Nino Bergese (Italy), Universitatea Sapientia in Cluj-Napoca (Romania) - participated in the meeting.
The two year project (1st September 2014 – 31st August 2016) is aimed at creating and designing materials in 12 languages (EN, IT, HR, LV, Sl, RO, HU, GE, FR, RU, ES, GR) at the A2/B1 level enabling hotel staff to provide information to groups of guests, make presentations, promote the hotel, enhance international collaboration and manage the hotel more efficiently. The second part of the project will focus on designing 6 in-depth modules for English language learning (B2/C1) – Hotel front office, Catering services, Conferences and business service, Off-site services, Financial management and Hotel management - enhancing students' and employees' English language competence as well as promoting employability skills of young people in the tourism and hospitality sector.
Following a warm welcome address by the project manager from Turiba Dr. Ineta Luka project participants analysed the piloting of the apps and the FrontDesk programme and discussed further steps to be taken to improve them. The online platform designed for hosting the teaching materials and tasks created during the first phase of the project as well as the tasks themselves were analysed and proposals for improvements were put forward.
During the second day of the meeting participants discussed the second phase of the project and agreed upon guidelines for the design of 6 in-depth modules for English language learning (B2/C1). A Stakeholders’ meeting was organised during the afternoon session where representatives of the hotel industry, lecturers and members of professional associations were informed about the progress of the project. The stakeholders were acquainted with the teaching materials, apps and FrontDesk programme designed during the first phase of the project.
A tour to the host institution was conducted and partners had the opportunity to get acquainted with its facilities. The meeting agenda also included a visit to the Art Nouveau Museum and a walk in Art Nouveau quarter of Riga. Project participants were also taken on a tour to Kuldiga, the pearl of Kurzeme, Latvia's western region. They enjoyed a wonderful two hour guided tour of the historical city centre and the famous Ventas Rumba (widest waterfalls in Europe).
For further detailed information regarding the project, its objectives and outcomes please visit the official project webpage at www.language4hotel.eu.
Sundars Vaidesvarans,
Evita Vecvagare
Project team members of Turiba, Latvia
Piloting for restaurant staff at Mea Culpa d.d. restaurant Mezzanave in Dubrovnik
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Piloting for restaurant staff at Mea Culpa d.d. restaurant Mezzanave in Dubrovnik
On 20 August 2015, I prepared dissemination and piloting the project KeySkills4EUHotelStaff at Mea Culpa d.d. restaurant Mezzanave Dubrovnik. Restaurant staff was very friendly and ready to listen despite the fact they were very busy with a lot of work. It is very important to say that is very busy and well-known recently new open restaurant in a very attractive business part of city Dubrovnik. Hope this will help and encourage them to use it in the near future in their work. I mainly focused on the FrontDesk programs and the mobile apps as the presentation was mainly for waiters working there. Therefore, I showed them how the FrontDesk programs work and how to use them on the tablet. I presented the smartphone app with the help of David’s PowerPoint presentation but also on my and Hilarija’s smartphone. All participants of the presentation had been sent the apps and FrontDesk programs to install them on their tablets and mobile devices so that they could start using them.
The evaluation sheet asked for general information and more specific information regarding the presentation. Six participants who worked in the morning shift filled in the evaluation sheet. All of them gained useful information on the project. One found the presentation of the project very useful, whereas four thought it was useful and one quite useful.
Regarding the smartphone app all of them answered they gained useful information. Four of them use Android OS and two of them IoS. Four of them evaluated design of the app very good, one of them excellent and one of them good. Five of them said it was very easy to find the information in the apps they were looking for and one of them easy. If the apps were available on their device two of them would use it very likely and two of them likely and two of them quite likely.
Regarding the usefulness of the apps for their companies, two answered that the apps would be very useful, two answered useful and two quite useful. Five of them would very likely recommend the apps to others and one of them likely. One of them answered the question about knowing any hospitality-based multilingual apps that this was the only one, two said not many and three said very few.
Regarding the FrontDesk programs all of them answered that they gained useful information, four of them use Windows OS and two use Apple.
One of them evaluated the layout and design of the Front Desk programs excellent, four of the very good and one of them good.
If the FrontDesk programs were available on their computers, three of them would use it likely and three of them quite likely.
Regarding the usefulness of the FrontDesk programs for their companies, five answered that they would be very useful and one answered useful. Three of them would very likely recommend the FrontDesk programs to others and three of them likely. Three of them answered they did not know any hospitality-based multilingual software programs and three answered they knew a few.
All waiters were advised to feel free to contact project coordinator Hilarija Lozančić Benić if they have any further questions regarding the apps.
Gordana Vučurović
Project team member of TUSDU, Croatia
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This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.