The University of Iceland, Naturpolis and University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) are three SAINT partners collaborating in a new trans-national Erasmus strategic partnership to develop vocational education and training within adventure tourism.

The three-year ‘ADVENT’ project (Adventure Tourism Vocational Education and Training), starting in September, involves eight partners in Iceland, Finland and Scotland, and will focus on developing education and training programmes to strengthen the skill base of young people and adults working in the adventure tourism sector. The partners will work with local SMEs to develop and pilot innovative study modules aimed at practitioners and employees, as well as students. Cross-cultural forums will be created to ensure an alliance that pools resources, expertise and experience from across the trans-national partnership.

In addition, UHI will lead a parallel Erasmus strategic partnership, with Bulgarian, Estonian, Irish and Danish organisations. Named ‘AVIP’ (Adventure Tourism Innovation Partnerships), the two-year collaboration will help SMEs to upskill in marketing and digital technologies. Learners will acquire the technical skills required to implement effective digital marketing, as well as the product innovation skills that are critical to entrepreneurship and businesses growth.