Postgraduate taught 

Tourism & Heritage (Dumfries campus) MSc

Leadership for Sustainability and Innovation in Tourism DUMF5162

  • Academic Session: 2024-25
  • School: School of Social and Environmental Sustainability
  • Credits: 20
  • Level: Level 5 (SCQF level 11)
  • Typically Offered: Semester 2
  • Available to Visiting Students: Yes
  • Collaborative Online International Learning: No

Short Description

This course will introduce the concepts of sustainability, agility and innovation as practical tools for leaders in tourism providing students with a set of leadership and teamworking skills that have a clear practical application. The course will help to develop leaders with an agile mindset, drive sustainability, innovation and entrepreneurship in tourism.

Timetable

The course will be delivered in one 2 hour lecture or seminar per week, over 11 weeks.

Excluded Courses

None.

Co-requisites

None.

Assessment

1. Written assignment - a reflective essay considering the development of teams and leadership strategies as they relate to tourism (ILO2, ILO4, ILO5)

2. Portfolio - creation of e-portfolio highlighting personal skills and achievements (ILO5)

3. Oral Assessment & Presentation - group work and presentation evaluating an innovative idea for the tourism sector (ILO1, ILO3)

Course Aims

The aims of this course are to: 

 

1. Introduce students to the core leadership approaches and practices in relation to sustainable tourism

2. Develop skills to become effective leaders and team members in a wide range of tourism contexts, including the ability to reflect critically on the role of a leader and team member

3. Understand the tools, approaches and processes required to drive innovation thinking in the tourism sector

4. Engage with a wide body of knowledge concerning the interactions between tourism leadership and sustainability

5. Assess personal attributes for the role of leadership and team membership

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

By the end of this course students will be able to:

 

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the current debate on Sustainable Leadership in tourism.

2. Understand and evaluate the primary leadership styles, and the tools and techniques for managing small and medium sized teams and critically assess the characteristics of effective team members within the context of the tourism sector.

3. Critically evaluate features and attributes of high-performance teams and assess appropriate strategies for building high performance teams, maintaining performance or recovering underperforming teams.

4. Critically evaluate tools and skills utilised to generate change in workplace behaviours such as: independent and critical thinking, effective communication, resourcefulness and confidence.

5. Critically reflect on personal experience and attributes and how they can be developed to improve responsible, effective dialogue with multicultural teams and different stakeholders in the tourism industry.

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.