Cooperation agreement signed between the Bildungswerk der Wirtschaft in Berlin and Brandenburg and JT Touristik

Other open-ended partnership agreements for hands-on advanced training and continuing professional development courses held by specialists and managers in the tourism industry

After the partnership agreement was made with the tour operator BEST-RMG-Reisen was made at the beginning of the year, additional strategic cooperation agreements were made with the prestigious industry specialists JT Touristik and bbw Bildungswerk der Wirtschaft in Berlin and Brandenburg; these agreements will ensure that the university delivers excellent, hands-on advanced training and continuing professional development courses taught by highly-qualified specialists and managers working in the tourism industry. On 18 May JT Touristik and bbw agreed to collaborate for an indefinite period of time.

According to Jasmin Taylor, the Managing Director of JT Touristik, 'Employees are the most valuable asset that any company has.' 'By collaborating with bbw, we want to find suitable junior staff and to encourage our managers to further develop their skills and their talents. We also see this as an opportunity to inform students about our company and the range of services we offer. We are confident that we will gain suitable interns and look forward to contributing to making their programme of study as 'hands-on' as possible.

The objective of both partners is to offer each other support in the future with advanced training courses and continuing professional development courses as well as with the recruitment of specialists and managers. This includes sharing information on a regular basis and transferring praxis-related knowledge on the level of university advisory committees as well as organising joint events, such as those held held at the bbw University of Applied Sciences where presentations and specialist lecturers talk to students. For JT Touristik, the cooperation agreement with the bbw results in having the opportunity to recruit interns and suitable Bachelor and Master graduates in economic sciences who have specialised in tourism and event management as well as retrainees and tourism specialists who have completed their training at the Chamber of Commerce (IHK). Moreover, the agreement also makes it possible to initiate projects, like study-related case studies, topic assignments for student theses, or even industry-related, commissioned research assignments.

Dr Andreas Forner, the Managing Director of bbw Bildungswerk der Wirtschaft in Berlin Brandenburg, says, 'University of Applied Sciences''s cooperation agreements with strong partners in the travel and tourism industry, like the one it has with JT Touristik, is part of the university's development strategy for industry-oriented advanced training and continuing professional development courses at all levels of proficiency. bbw University of Applied Sciences takes centre stage as a university of applied sciences run by business for business and as the number 1 institution among private universities of applied sciences in Berlin and Brandenburg. Naturally we want to raise the profile of our popular programme of study - Economic Sciences with a specialisation in Tourism and Event Management - and to increase the opportunities of our graduates for the start of their careers. However, many other graduates from advanced training and continuing professional development courses can also profit from having a strong network with prestigious companies like TJ Touristik, which is why we are very pleased about this cooperation agreement.'

JT Touristik is a well-established and owner-operated tour operator from Berlin. The company is an expert for trips to the United Arab Emirates, especially Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The company offers packaged deals at best-buy prices which include all travel services in combination with inexpensive regular, charter or low-cost flights. JT Touristik's world-wide offers include last minute trips, packaged holidays and special hotel offers for about 150 destinations. Their most important destination areas include Italy, Egypt, Turkey, Spain and the Indian Ocean as well as Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Moreover, the company also offers a large selection of city tours. JT Touristik has been awarded the 'Safer Shopping' TÜV-certificate and its offers are marketed on several travel websites and in more than 10,000 travel agencies. More information is available at: www.jt.de

The bbw Bildungswerk der Wirtschaft in Berlin and Brandenburg is a non-profit consortium. The bbw works alongside the Business Associations of Berlin and Brandenburg to support the development of specialists and managers for companies in many industries. The bbw Group is a professional training partner for training people with all levels of proficiency and it offers a wide variety of advanced training courses, continuing professional development courses and programmes of study. The bbw Group is currently active in more than 35 locations in the region. The bbw Group includes the bbw University of Applied Sciences- University of Applied Sciences-, which is now the largest, private, state-recognised universities of applied sciences in Berlin and Brandenburg. The bbw University of Applied Sciences has a diverse offer of Bachelor's and Master's programmes of study.

More information is available at: www.bbw-gruppe.de und www.bbw-hochschule.de