Girona, Spain, 22nd December 2021 – On Friday, December 17th, with a brand new set of officers and members, the PATA University of Girona EMTM Student Chapter organized its first-ever event for this academic year, Mastering the Art of Communicating: Merry Network and a Happy New You! The first of its kind, the event was conceptualized to give workshops to students to address some challenges and issues related to communicating and networking – two skills that will be vital as they navigate making contacts for their thesis work and for when they join the workforce later on. Two esteemed keynote speakers were invited to lead the workshops. Peter Lewin, the student chapter president welcomed the guests and delivered the opening remarks.

Jaume Marin, a tourism and destination marketing expert and a lecturer at the Faculty of Tourism of the University of Girona who is passionate about innovation and value creation through memorable experiences, handled the first workshop working on four networking challenges previously identified by members as key issues they faced: the networking process itself, knowing who to network with, having the confidence in one’s self, and learning and preparing for the labour market. It was very interactive, with attendees divided into four groups. Each group had to identify their strengths and weaknesses, and their goals relating to one of the four challenges. After everyone had gone through all four challenges, the groups had to think of action plans on bridging the gap between where they currently are and where they want to go, with Marin encouraging everyone to be creative in their solutions.

Aletheia Tan, PATA Youth Ambassador, facilitated the next workshop on community building. It touched on issues that need to be addressed in stirring the communities that the participants identify with. After that process, the groups were made to think of actionable items and categorized those into short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals. The groups presented their impressive ideas and made them commit to achieving those. Tan ended the session stating that the youth have the power to create change just as they are.

Shima Ahmadi, the student chapter’s adviser, popped open some bottles of cava to celebrate the success of the event and led the holiday cheers and greetings. Everybody was in high spirits at the end. It truly was a merry network and a happy new them.

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About PATA University of Girona EMTM Student Chapter

The focus of our chapter is the connection between academia and practice. Through the process of knowledge sharing and networking, we hope to create an impact in the tourism industry. We aim to investigate strategies and practices that students can follow so that their research could bring added value to the tourism industry (companies, DMOs, travellers, communities) as well as to themselves. Our objective is to connect public and private organizations for the sustainable development of the travel and tourism industry.

Learn more about PATA University of Girona EMTM Student Chapter

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PATA-UdG EMTM: Merry Network and a Happy New You!