How passionate Kamila found her perfect course

The start of the journey

When Kamila was researching where to study, she read about our BA (Hons) International Tourism Management and knew she’d found the perfect course for her. She says this was down to the mix of theoretical knowledge with real-world learning, as well as the opportunity to get involved in the tourism sector and be taught by industry experts.

She explains: “The main focus of the programme is on tourism, but it is still a management course that provides necessary and transferable skills to succeed in any industry.”

International experience

In the first year of her undergraduate degree, Kamila was able to go on a fieldtrip to Edinburgh to visit a variety of tourist sites, such as Edinburgh Castle and the Edinburgh Dungeon, to analyse the differences between the visitor experience. And to indulge her particular interest in heritage tourism. In her second year, she was able to take this further and flew to Italy to see how Venice manages visitor numbers and promotes sustainable tourism.

“Each fieldtrip was then linked to our assessment. All of our fieldtrips enhanced our knowledge and understanding of current industry practices and issues, but also served as a great bonding time for our class.”

The next steps

Kamila enjoyed getting involved in research during her undergraduate degree. She took part in our Undergraduate Research Scholarship Scheme (URSS), which gives second-year students the chance to take part in a funded and supported research project.

Kamila credits this experience with helping her in her final year, as well as with progressing to postgraduate study: “It was a very helpful experience as it served as a practice for conducting an independent study in my final year and later on in my masters thesis.”

Hands-on experience

After completing her BA (Hons) International Tourism Management, Kamila progressed onto the MSc Tourism Management. And she was part of the organising committee for the international academic conference, Tourism Naturally 2019, which look place in Buxton. In 2020, she also had the chance to help organise the Centre for Contemporary Hospitality and Tourism’s Online Postgraduate Conference.

She says: "With the great support of my lecturer, supervisor and co-author, Dr Iride Azara, I've had the opportunity to present our research at the Tourism, Hospitality and Events International Conference 2020. We also published this study in the Tourism Planning and Development journal. I think this is the achievement I am most proud of."

Kamila’s plan is to apply for a PhD to continue her research into focusing on research in heritage tourism.

"It has been a transformational journey. Not only have I moved to another country and met friends from all over the world, but I have learnt so much. The courses taught me to think critically, solve problems and make decisions, adapt to different situations, think creatively, conduct research and apply knowledge to practice."