Platform for young research
The annual International Student Conference in Tourism Research – ISCONTOUR for short – was founded in 2013 by Prof. Christian Maurer, Head of the Institute of Tourism, Wine Business & Marketing and Head of the master’s programme in Tourism Management and Leisure Business, Marketing at IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems, and Prof. Roman Egger of Salzburg University of Applied Sciences. The basic idea of ISCONTOUR is to offer young researchers a platform where they can present their work. Since 2019, ISCONTOUR has been jointly organised by MCI Innsbruck and IMC Krems and held alternately at the two locations Krems and Innsbruck.
The aim of the conference is to promote young researchers. At ISCONTOUR, international students and graduates of bachelor’s, master’s and PhD programmes present their research work. The two-day conference offers an interesting programme with workshops on innovative research methods, and exciting keynote lectures. Young researchers present their research papers accepted for ISCONTOUR. The topics range from sustainable tourism, marketing and product development to destination management. In addition to research, the focus is of course also on networking.
Foundation stones for academic careers
The target groups of ISCONTOUR are students, graduates, professors, researchers and tourism practitioners. Thankfully, the non-profit conference is supported by various sponsors. Before corona, ISCONTOUR had around 200 participants from more than 30 different countries. After a year’s interruption due to corona, ISCONTOUR will take place for the ninth time from 16 to 17 May 2022.
“With ISCONTOUR we want to motivate students and graduates for research. It is a joy every time to see the beaming faces of the authors after they have successfully presented their research. And for some, this first publication may be the foundation stone for an academic career. For tourism businesses and organisations, ISCONTOUR also offers a platform to exchange ideas with highly qualified potential employees,” says Christian Maurer.