Designed as a space for learning, experimentation and networking, the week enabled participants to work collectively on concrete issues related to tourism development, training, innovation, employability, the promotion of territories, and cooperation between higher education institutions and their socio-economic environment.
An action-oriented methodology
Throughout the week, participants particularly appreciated the proposed methodology, which was based on hands-on practice, collective intelligence and a step-by-step progression.
The objective was not merely to present European programmes or explain the rules of a call for proposals, but to enable participants to engage immediately in the project design process. Working in groups, they began by identifying a concrete need or challenge before defining the expected changes, the target groups and the European added value of their proposal.
They then worked on the main components of a project: objectives, expected results, activities to be implemented, partners to be mobilised, the complementarity of the consortium, monitoring indicators, risks, initial budgetary guidelines and the conditions required to ensure sustainability.
This progressive approach made project development more accessible and demonstrated that a strong European proposal must first be built around a clearly identified need, a coherent intervention logic and a group of partners sharing a common vision.
“A highly useful, practical and collaborative week that enabled us to move from an idea to an initial project architecture.”
Collective work at the heart of the approach
The collective dimension was one of the week’s main strengths. Participants were able to compare their ideas, combine their expertise and gradually enrich their proposals through contributions from individuals representing different institutions, disciplines and regions.
This group work fostered the emergence of new complementarities between higher education institutions, vocational education and training stakeholders, socio-economic partners, and organisations involved in local and tourism development.
The week therefore helped participants move beyond an approach in which projects are designed in isolation, encouraging instead the creation of interinstitutional teams capable of sharing their resources, expertise and networks. This dynamic is essential for building credible consortia and developing proposals that respond simultaneously to European priorities, national needs and local realities.
The added value of the experts
The complementary contributions of the experts also provided significant added value. Their interventions helped clarify the specific requirements of the various European programmes while supporting the groups in translating their ideas into concrete project proposals.
The methodological sessions were complemented by opportunities for discussion, practical workshops and personalised feedback. The experts were therefore able to help participants clarify their objectives, strengthen the coherence between the identified needs and proposed activities, better integrate the dimensions of quality, impact and sustainability, and anticipate evaluators’ expectations.
This combination of theoretical input, collective production and individualised support enabled the groups to make rapid progress and gradually improve the relevance and feasibility of their projects.
Ten tourism-related projects
This collective dynamic led to a particularly encouraging result: ten projects emerged around the theme of tourism.
These projects address tourism from a range of perspectives, particularly in relation to training, skills development, professionalisation, educational innovation, the digital transition, heritage promotion, entrepreneurship, territorial development, and stronger cooperation between institutions and socio-economic stakeholders.
The proposals fall within several Erasmus+ programme frameworks:
Capacity Building in Higher Education projects, CBHE;
Capacity Building in Vocational Education and Training projects, CBVET;
Jean Monnet actions, dedicated to teaching, research and debate on European Union issues.
This diversity demonstrates the participants’ ability to identify the programme best suited to their objectives and to view tourism not as an isolated sector, but as a driver of cooperation, education, innovation and sustainable development.
A dynamic supporting internationalisation
Beyond the production of ten initial project architectures, SPARK helped strengthen a genuine culture of internationalisation within the participating institutions.
The week promoted a better understanding that internationalisation is not limited to mobility schemes or the signing of cooperation agreements. It also depends on institutions’ ability to design joint projects, join international networks, mobilise their socio-economic partners and embed their activities within a long-term institutional strategy.
The projects developed in Oran therefore offer valuable opportunities to strengthen team capacities, develop new European and Mediterranean partnerships, and position Algerian institutions as fully engaged actors in international cooperation.
Sustaining the momentum beyond the week
The success of SPARK cannot, however, be measured solely by the number of projects designed during the week. It will also depend on the ability to maintain the groups’ engagement and transform their initial ideas into sufficiently strong proposals for submission under future calls.
The week demonstrated the value of a methodology that does not merely provide information about programmes, but supports project leaders throughout the progressive development of a proposal, from identifying the initial need to defining a work plan, a consortium and an impact strategy.
It also helped create a community of project leaders who share common methods, ambitions and challenges. This community represents a valuable resource for exchanging practices, pooling experience and encouraging new forms of cooperation between institutions.
Next steps
The next stage will involve supporting the consolidation of the ten projects. Each group will need to examine its core issue in greater depth, clarify its objectives and expected results, structure its work plan and identify the expertise required within the consortium.
Particular attention will also need to be paid to mobilising relevant European partners, ensuring the effective involvement of socio-economic stakeholders, developing the budget, defining performance indicators, and formalising quality assurance, monitoring and risk-management arrangements.
The projects may be supported according to their level of maturity through targeted workshops, review sessions, methodological consultation sessions and introductions to potential partners. It will also be important to identify the most appropriate call calendars and develop a realistic roadmap for each project.
The outputs, methods and resources developed during the week will also be capitalised on through the IPTICAR WebApp. This space will facilitate the sharing of tools, the monitoring of each group’s progress, the promotion of results and the pooling of experience across the network.
A dynamic to be sustained
The strong mobilisation of participants, their positive assessment of the methodology, the quality of the collective work and the experts’ involvement confirm the relevance of the SPARK format.
The week represents an important step in developing an Algerian community of project leaders capable of designing ambitious and coherent European cooperation initiatives rooted in the needs of their territories.
The momentum generated in Oran must now be consolidated and sustained. It opens the way for new forms of cooperation supporting tourism, education and training, innovation, employability and territorial development, while sustainably strengthening the internationalisation capacities of Algerian higher education institutions.