Dean of UEF International Institute joined a tourism and hospitality project in The Gambia, Africa
OCTOBER 7 to OCTOBER 13, Prof. Dr. Eric Jose Olmedo Panal - Dean, UEF International Institute and Director of the UEF Center of Innovation, Transdisciplinary Research and Consultancy, participated directly in an international project in the field of tourism and hospitality in the Republic of Gambia, Africa. UEF’s participation in these collaborative projects helps accumulate experience from an international environment and contributes to the University's goal of ensuring quality education.
The international project that Prof. Dr. Eric Jose Olmedo Panal participated in is titled “Gambia Tourism and Hospitality Institute (GTHI) Capacity Needs Assessment, and Curriculum Needs Assessment and Development,” which focuses on evaluating the capacity needs, curriculum requirements, and development of GTHI.
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UEF representatives participated in the project as consultants, evaluators, and developers, with the main objective of identifying areas for improvement in GTHI's curriculum, human resources, and training facilities to meet the rapidly changing demands of the tourism and hospitality industry.
The expert team for this project consists of four domestic and international members, with Prof. Dr. Eric Jose Olmedo Panal serving as the team leader. He oversees tasks such as assessing training needs, provision, and competency gaps; preparing the redevelopment plan for GTHI; validating evaluation findings and recommendations; and developing the curriculum.
In phase 1 of the project, the objectives include presenting and validating key findings in the first draft of the report; conducting and facilitating a curriculum evaluation workshop with the National Accreditation and Quality Assurance Authority of The Gambia (NAQAA) and industry stakeholders; discussing and planning the process and methods for validating D2 (Curriculum Development).
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The workshops in this phase were also organized at different levels with the themes 'Curriculum Revision' and 'New Curriculum.
It is known that the Gambia Tourism and Hospitality Institute (GTHI) is an educational institution specializing in providing training courses in tourism and hospitality management in The Gambia. GTHI was established with the goal of improving the quality of human resources for the tourism sector, a key economic area of The Gambia. The institute offers professional training programs in fields such as hotel management, restaurant management, travel services, and other tourism-related services.
With practical experience gained from participating in the international project, UEF representatives can contribute to enhancing the curriculum of the tourism and hospitality sectors in particular, as well as to the quality assurance process at UEF in general, and to the university's sustainable development goals.
