Events

Past events

Dr Maurice Duffy , Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Date: Thursday 23 June 2022

Venue: Sir Tom Cowie Lecture Theatre

THE INC 2022

Date: 22nd to 24th June 2022
Venue: Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol, Cyprus

THE INC (Tourism, Hospitality & Events INternational Conference) “Tourism, Hospitality and Events: Innovation and Resilience during Uncertainty” is co-organised by the Cyprus University of Technology, the universities of Derby and Sunderland, and the Centre for Research in Tourism Excellence (CERTE).

Read more about the conference

CERTE

Tourism Naturally Conference

Date: 5th to 9th June 2022
Venue: Fort Collins, Colorado

Co-organised by the University of Sunderland and CERTE, along with other esteemed universities around the globe (Central China Normal University, Colorado State University, Deggendorf Institute of Technology, University of Derby, University of Piza, and University of Trento).

Read more about the conference.

"The joy of secondary data – my answer to life, the universe and everything" by Professor Heather McGregor,  Business Pedagogy 

Date: Thursday 19 May 2022

Venue: Sir Tom Cowie Lecture Theatre

As part of our 2022 series of Visiting Professorial lectures, the Faculty of Business, Law and Tourism at the University of Sunderland is pleased to welcome Professor Heather McGregor to discuss ‘The joy of secondary data – my answer to life, the universe and everything’. In this lecture Professor McGregor will discuss the wealth of secondary data that is available for business research and how she has harnessed data from a range of sources to support her own scholarship and that of her students.

'Human nature, time, and tourism' by Professor Elena Cavagnaro, Sustainability in Hospitality and Tourism

Date: Thursday 28 April 2022 via Teams only

In 1996 Przeclawski stated that ‘Tourism cannot be explained unless we understand man, the human being’. In other words, to understand tourism we need to understand human nature first and, more specifically, we need to answer the question whether humans can take other people’s interests into account when acting (think for example of the interests of a tourism destination’s inhabitants and its natural environment).

I am not the first to be concerned with these questions and am greatly indebted to Professor David Fennel’s discussion of them in Tourism Ethics and in a recent webinar on reciprocal altruism and tourism that he co-hosted. Yet, I claim that we need to go further than his and other scholars’ understanding of reciprocal altruism in tourism. Particularly, we need to challenge two statements. First, that self-interest is the default mode of operation of individual human beings. Second, that time is a critical component of reciprocal altruism and that – as time is more and more lacking in modern tourism encounters – the odds are against acts of reciprocal altruism in tourism. 

To challenge these statements, I will intertwine evolution theory and universal value theory with a philosophical perspective on human nature and time. Finally, to quote Professor Frans de Waal, I will argue that we need to defy the sociobiological perspective on reciprocal altruism by ‘putting the altruism back into altruism’.

In short, this lecture will challenge your view on human nature, on the nature of time, and consequently on the likelihood that hosts, and guests will engage in altruistic acts in time-bound tourism encounters.

Register via Eventbrite

 Professor Elena Cavagnaro

Visiting Professoriate Inaugural Lecture

'Degrowth: A realistic objective for tourism development?' by Professor Richard Sharpley, Tourism
Thursday 3rd March 2022

The ‘tourism-development dilemma’ – balancing the developmental benefits of tourism with its well-known negative consequences – has long been a challenge for the tourism sector. However, the advancing global environmental crisis and, in particular, the increasing (pre-pandemic) evidence of so-called overtourism, as well as the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic on tourism, have brought this challenge into sharper focus. Moreover, the policy of sustainable tourism development, the dominant tourism development paradigm for the last three decades, has proved to be unworkable. Hence, some now call for a radical reappraisal of development policies in general, and of tourism development in particular, within the framework of degrowth. Drawing on its key tenets, this lecture explores the relevance of the concept of degrowth to tourism and its wider implications.

Prof Richard Sharpley

'What might help to enhance the work experience of neurodivergent employees?' by Dr Frances Louise McGregor, Human Resource Management
Thursday 17 February 2022

Existing management research and management practices frequently overlook the relationship between the above-average human capital of highly functioning neurodivergent employees, their subjective well-being in the workplace and performance outcomes.  This research calls for greater attention to the hidden human capital associated with neurodiversity by mainstreaming implementation of neurodiversity-friendly policies and practices.

The research indicates that workplace neurodiversity, like biodiversity, is a natural phenomenon.  For subjective individual psychological and organisational well-being, neurodiverse employees require an empathetic culture and innovative talent management approaches that respect cognitive differences.

This research extends current debates on employee diversity and workplace well-being to advocate for embedding human capital investment in employees’ neurodevelopmental and cognitive disabilities.  The case is made for neurodiverse human capital development and for policy makers to promote inclusive employment and decent work in a context of relatively higher unemployment for neurodiverse individuals.  

Dr Frances Louise McGregor

Research Centre for Management Learning and Business Education

Research seminars

'Writing your Individual Research Plan (IRP)' by FBLT Professoriate
Wednesday 16 February 2022

Writing your Individual Research Plan (IRP). The panel consists of members of the Faculty Professoriate and has been designed to be a supportive discussion on developing your research plans.

The Panel Members were:

Professor Lawrence Bellamy
Professor Monika Foster
Professor Donna Chambers
Dr Derek Watson (Associate Professor)

'Planning to Publish: Challenges, Opportunities and Pitfalls' by Dr Hamid Seddighi, a leading Scholar and Researcher from the School of Business and Management
Wednesday 10 November 2021

CERTE

Tourism Naturally Conference – Online Symposium
Thursday 14 October 2021

Venue: Deggendorf Institute of Technology, Germany

Co-organised by the University of Sunderland and CERTE, along with other esteemed universities around the globe (Central China Normal University, Colorado State University, Deggendorf Institute of Technology, University of Derby, University of Piza, and University of Trento).

Read more about the online symposium

Past events 2019/20

Associate Professorial Lecture

'From Disorder to Diverse' by Dr Derek Watson
Tuesday 26 November 2019