18th Nov 2018
Last term, the Naropa Fellowship hosted Dr. Jaume Guia from the University of Girona, Spain, to teach a course on Tourism Management. As part of the course, Dr. Guia covered the Business Canvas Model for our budding entrepreneurs, and shared several insights on the global tourism industry. On the third day of the course, the Fellows were split into four groups to explore four tourism clusters around Leh, viz. Sumdha Chung, Gya and Upshi, Stok and Shey, and Khardung La and the old Leh town.
Dr. Guia joined the group that went to Sumdha Chung. The groups were guided to assess the sites not as tourists, but as researchers or consultants, studying the rich artwork and local culture powers tourism activities in the area. One of the experiences included an unplanned visit to a Ladakhi wedding in Nimmo village, where the Fellows were warmly welcomed into the festivities. Soon after, a storm blew down a significant portion of the tent. Together, the entire group of 14 Fellows, along with the wedding party, worked in unison with joy to rebuild the site. In Jaume's own words, "This is something you won't ever learn in a classroom. This is a masterclass with no words". The values of spontaneous problem-solving, team work, and appreciation of local hospitality and heritage were present throughout the exercise. (by Mudra Anil Kumar, Naropa Fellow, Class of 2019)
Dr. Jaume Guia is an Associate Professor in the Department of Business Administration at the University of Girona, Spain. He is also the Programme Director of the ErasmusMundus European Masters in Tourism Management, and the Scientific Director of the Tourism Research Campus where he supervised over 20 PhD dissertations.
Click here to see who are some of the faculty members of The Naropa Fellowship.
