Abstract:

The Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) is a young institution, founded in the early 70s of the XXth century. It is a public, dynamic and innovative university that is dedicated to researching and teaching, maintaining strong bonds with its social environment and a strong presence abroad.

In the UPV, cohabitation is part of an educational project where students and teachers alike from our five campus sites (Vera, Blasco Ibáñez, Alcoi, Gandia and Xàtiva) actively take part in. UPV is composed of 10 schools, 3 faculties and 2 higher polytechnic schools

Since course 2004-2005 our department has offered several subjects in English at the Higher Polytechnic School of Gandia. The proportion of national-foreign students has changed along the years. Taken as a whole (since 2006-2007), 40,6% of the students were Spanish, while 59,5% of them were foreigners.

During the first semester of this becoming academic year (2014-2015) an experience developing transferable skills will be carried out with the students of two different degrees: the Bachelor Degree Programme in Environmental Sciences and the Bachelor Degree Programme in Tourism Management. The subjects involved will be “Ecotourism” (BDD in Tourism Management) and “Adaptation to climate change in ecosystems” (BDD in Environmental Science), both optional subjects of the fourth year.

An open to the public workshop with a poster session will be organized with students of both degrees. Posters will be displayed in the University corridor. The students of the subject “Ecotourism” will prepare posters on the issue: “efects of climate change on ecotourism” and the ones of “Adaptation of climate change in ecosystems” will prepare them on “efects of tourism on climate change”. Groups of three will be made to prepare the posters. Of each group, one of the students will be in charge of explaining the poster to the public, an other will answer the questions made by the audience and the third one will be in charge of preparing question to be asked to the groups of the other degree.

The two main instruments for data collection will be our own annual reports and a voluntary and anonymous questionnaire given to the audience.
Students will have to integrate knowledge along the course to understand the complexity of the issues.
Transversal competences to be prioritized are: the application of practical thinking, teamwork and leadership, ethics and professional responsibility, effective communication, critical thinking, planning and time management and knowledge of contemporary issues.

The novel aspect of this initiative is to address generic skills to intertitular level, which approaches students to a multidisciplinary professional reality that students will encounter in their future working realities. The fact that the subjects are in English also provides a degree of similarity to today's employment environment: multicultural groups working together in English.

The 2 subjects chosen share part of their programm. This will permit the students face a topical subject in which two different worlds (the environmental and tourism) are opposed and will have to try to reach an understanding. As climate change, environmental protection and tourism are a current and controversial topics with no single position and with conflicting researchs.

Keywords:

Transferable skills, climate change, tourism, ecotourism.