Barbara Neuhofer has just returned from a two-week overseas trip to Australia where she has been invited as one of the 15 winners of the International PhD Student Competition 2013.

The School of Management, University of South Australia hosted 15 of the world’s top PhD students to participate in an interdisciplinary forum entitled “Management in the 21st Century” in Adelaide, Australia from 11th – 13th November 2013. After receiving 107 applications from 33 countries, 15 winners have been chosen through a rigorous selection process by a panel of academic experts.

Barbara presented her winning paper “The experience economy of the 21^st century: Innovation through technology-enhanced tourism experiences” and participated in a stimulating discussion and knowledge exchange with the 15 PhD students in the areas of strategy, operations management, innovation and entrepreneurship as well as HR management and ethics. As a special honour, Barbara was also invited by the Associate Head of the School to give the official thank-you speech on behalf of the winners at the award ceremony.

Barbara reports that the visit to the University of South Australia (UniSA) was a fantastic experience to meet excellent PhD researchers in the field as well as meet and network with academics in the School of Management of UniSA, including Prof Graham Brown, Dr. Sunny Lee, Dr. Aise Kim and Jenny Davis. Participating in the forum has provided an excellent opportunity to not only explore ideas for future collaboration but also strengthen the existing official partnership between UniSA and Bournemouth University.

Barbara Neuhofer, BU eTourismLab, Bournemouth University receiving her certificate from Prof. David Lloyd (Vice Chancellor and President, University of South Australia) at the award ceremony.

During her trip to Australia, Barbara also took the opportunity to visit two further universities, including the University of Wollongong and the University of New South Wales. In her visits to both campuses, Barbara met with faculty members including Dr. Ulrike Gretzel (University of Wollongong), Prof. Sara Dolnicar (University of Queensland) as well as Dr. Nina Mistilis and Prof. Larry Dwyer from the University of New South Wales.

Barbara reports: “It has been a fantastic experience to participate in this great forum. As the only person selected in the field of tourism, it was a special honour for me to share key insights of my research in the interdisciplinary management forum. The visits to three Australian universities allowed me to strengthen and expand my existing network and look into concrete opportunities for collaboration after the completion of my PhD.”

Sincere thanks go to all people who made this visit possible, Barbara states: “I am very grateful to the UniSA for their generous invitation to fully sponsor my overseas travel, the perfect organisation of the event and the great stay in Adelaide. I would also like to thank all Dr. Ulrike Gretzel and Dr. Nina Mistilis for their warm welcome to their institutions. Last but not least, I would also like to thank the Graduate School and the School of Tourism for their funding contribution to make this trip possible.”

Professor Dimitrios Buhalis, Barbara’s supervisor commented “I am delighted that Barbara was selected through tough competition to participate in this sponsored workshop. This is a great recognition of the excellent work that Barbara is doing for her PhD and I am very proud of Barbara’s achievements. Traveling to Australia was a great opportunity for Barbara to extend our existing partnership with the University of South Australia and winning the competition is a real accolade for Barbara and the School of Tourism.”

For more information about the International PhD Student Competition 2013, visit:

http://www.unisa.edu.au/Business/Management/International-PhD-Student-Competition/

Footnote picture: Barbara Neuhofer, BU eTourismLab, Bournemouth University giving the thank-you speech at the award ceremony.