D1.8 – 5th meeting report – Lyon
The fifth Transnational Project Meeting of the SOHO project was hosted by Université Lumière Lyon 2 at the IUT Lumière (Campus Porte des Alpes, Bron) on 27–28 November 2025. It gathered 22 academic staff members from the partner universities in Bangladesh, Vietnam, Malaysia, Romania, Italy and France.
Objectives of the meeting
The meeting had four main objectives: to review the progress of the pedagogical work packages, to present the development status of the SOHO modules, to discuss how the modules can be integrated into existing curricula, and to open the discussion to concrete European examples of sustainable tourism and soft mobility.
Day 1 – Thursday, 27 November: project working sessions
After a welcome session and institutional introduction by the host, the coordinator framed the SOHO objectives and the agenda of the meeting. Each partner university then presented the progress of its work-package contributions, the SOHO modules developed or under development, and its reflections on curricular integration, both in degree programmes and in short-term training schemes.
Bangladesh presented a Smart Tourism Knowledge & Competence Center project built on the SOHO modules, with planned short certification programmes in sustainable transportation, accommodation and renewable energy, and a strong orientation towards training, applied research and support to policy makers.
Malaysia gave a detailed presentation of the Smart Transportation module, strongly contextualised on the Penang destination and integrating sustainable mobility, smart-city approaches, MaaS, data analytics and destination planning – a well-structured module, ready for integration into academic programmes.
Italy presented the Smart Renewable Energy module, focused on photovoltaic systems applied to tourism: a highly technical, hands-on course with 20 hours of classes and 20 hours of laboratory, and an ongoing reflection on how to adapt it for non-engineering audiences.
Vietnam presented the Da Nang territorial context (tourism, smart city, mobility) and proposed a progressive integration of the SOHO modules into bachelor’s, master’s and short training programmes, with the long-term perspective of a Smart Tourism Master’s degree and the development of local case studies aligned with the SOHO themes.
Romania (UNSTPB) presented the overall project status and the Smart Sustainable Accommodation module – digital technologies, sensors and control for tourist accommodation, illustrated with demonstrators – and led the wrap-up of the first day.
The presentations led to collective discussions on the pedagogical harmonisation of the modules, the adaptation of content to different target audiences (students, professionals, decision makers) and the clarification of next steps and coordination within the consortium.
Day 2 – Friday, 28 November: invited speakers and external perspectives
The second morning was dedicated to external interventions delivered in English for the benefit of the international partners.
ONLYLYON Tourisme & Congrès, the tourism office of Lyon, presented the city’s sustainable tourism strategy: metropolitan governance, public policies and support mechanisms for tourism professionals, and concrete actions on carbon-footprint reduction, eco-certification, accessibility, responsible events and citizen involvement – a practical illustration of sustainable tourism governance at territorial level, fully aligned with the SOHO objectives.
AF3V – the French Association for Greenways and Cycle Routes presented its mission and the development of cycle tourism in France, with a focus on bike–train intermodality as a key lever for sustainable tourism mobility (TGV, Intercités and regional trains, survey results and policy recommendations) – a very operational case study directly relevant to the Smart Transportation and MaaS modules.
Université Lumière Lyon 2 presented its tourism programmes (Professional Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees), its project-based pedagogical approaches, student feedback and project outcomes, illustrating the practical integration of SOHO themes into existing curricula and the importance of real-life case studies and territorial partnerships in teaching.
The day also included a visit of the campus and bilateral discussions between partners on future Erasmus+ (CBHE, Jean Monnet) proposals.
Cross-cutting conclusions
The meeting confirmed a good overall level of progress on the SOHO modules, with varying degrees of maturity across partners. Three key needs were identified: further pedagogical alignment, adaptation of the content to diverse audiences, and a strong reliance on territorial case studies. The second day provided valuable external perspectives, linking the SOHO project to concrete public policies, professional practices and higher-education programmes.
Next steps
The consortium agreed to set the date and venue of the last project meeting and of the project closing conference, to organise the training sessions at Politecnico di Milano, and to prepare the premises for WP5.
About this deliverable
| Deliverable | D1.8 – 5th meeting report – Lyon |
| Work package | WP1 – Project management |
| Host | Université Lumière Lyon 2 – IUT Lumière, Campus Porte des Alpes, Bron (France) |
| Dates | 27–28 November 2025 |
| Participants | 22 academic staff members from partner universities in Bangladesh, Vietnam, Malaysia, Romania, Italy and France |
| Dissemination level | Public |
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Project n° 101129336.