The Faculty of Management and Cultural Studies bids farewell to former Dean Prof. Dr. Ute Pflicke on her retirement.
With her extensive commitment to practice-oriented learning and intercultural cooperation, Prof. Dr. Ute Pflicke has left a lasting mark on Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences (HSZG). After more than a decade of service to students and the Faculty of Management and Cultural Studies, she is now retiring. Her contributions to teaching, research and faculty management leave a strong legacy.
Prof. Dr. Ute Pflicke began her academic career with a degree in transport economics, which she completed with her doctorate at the Dresden School of Transport. Since 2012, she has headed the Bachelor's degree course in Tourism Management and the Master's degree course in International Tourism Management at the HSZG. Her aim has always been to create a familiar learning environment in which students and lecturers work closely together. "We have a family atmosphere at the university. The distances are short and teaching staff and students know each other well. This makes learning and teaching here particularly pleasant," she emphasized.
The international excursions that she undertook together with her students and colleagues are particularly noteworthy. These trips took her to various countries such as Tunisia, Georgia, Albania, Latvia, Vietnam and Armenia. The excursions, which she introduced together with her colleague Solvig Langschwager as compulsory courses and examination prerequisites, enabled students to gain practical experience and offered them the opportunity to explore the tourism potential of the regions they visited directly on site.
During her tenure as Dean from 2018 to 2021, which was particularly challenging due to the pandemic, Prof. Pflicke managed a rapid transition from face-to-face to online teaching, often without the necessary technical and methodological knowledge. "The biggest challenge of my tenure was definitely the pandemic, which caught us all unprepared," explained Prof. Pflicke, emphasizing how difficult it was to maintain teaching under these circumstances.
It is particularly noteworthy that during her tenure as Dean, Prof. Pflicke led the faculty through the difficult times of the corona pandemic with her solution-oriented and uncomplicated approach. Her commitment set a decisive course for the future of the faculty.
Another success was the organization of the DAAD Summer School in cooperation with Vietnamese partners in 2019. This initiative was also launched in cooperation with Solvig Langschwager and enabled students to acquire intercultural skills and gain valuable experience abroad. Unfortunately, the project was interrupted by the pandemic, but Prof. Pflicke expressed the wish that her successors would resume this important collaboration.
In addition to her teaching activities, Prof. Dr. Pflicke was also involved in research. A particular focus of her work was the development and marketing of tourist destinations (destination management) and the promotion of innovation in tourism. One of her most important projects was "InnoTour", which developed innovative concepts for small and medium-sized enterprises in cultural and health tourism.
Another highlight of her research was the development of a "wine and pleasure route" in the border region of Lower Silesia, in which she developed a virtual reality application together with students and with the support of cooperation partners. "This project was new territory for all of us and showed us how we can integrate innovative technologies into teaching," recalled Prof. Pflicke.
In teaching, Prof. Dr. Pflicke had a few favorite modules that were particularly close to her heart. These included the modules "Destination Management 1 and 2", in which she conducted business games with students on the development of destinations. One of these business games dealt with a Swiss Alpine destination that was struggling with the effects of climate change. "I always particularly enjoyed teaching this module, as it gave me the opportunity to pass on my practical experience directly to the students," said Prof. Pflicke.
The "Tour Operator Management" module, which was based on her 20 years of experience in the industry, was also one of her favorites. In the Master's course, she placed particular emphasis on the "International Tourism" module and on a module on development cooperation developed together with her colleague Solvig Langschwager, which was designed to broaden the students' view beyond their own horizons.
For her retirement, Prof. Dr. Ute Pflicke plans to devote more time to sporting activities such as mountain biking, Nordic walking and cross-country skiing. She would also like to continue traveling, especially to the Alps and Italy. She also plans to continue her supervision of students at the IBS Academy in Vienna and possibly start a new project on the topic of "Slow Life in the Upper Lusatia and Lower Silesia region", which will focus on culinary traditions and sustainable lifestyles in the region.
In conclusion, Prof. Pflicke expressed her wish that the faculty will continue to be successful and that it will continue to distinguish itself as a unit for management aspects, especially with the upcoming move to the new building. She hopes that student numbers will continue to increase and that the faculty will continue to make significant contributions to academic and practical education in the future.
With the departure of Prof. Dr. Pflicke, the HSZG is losing an exceptional professor whose influence extends far beyond the lecture halls. Her active, constructive and enriching work on the Faculty Council has made a significant contribution to the further development of the Faculty of Management and Cultural Studies. Her commitment to the students and her solution-oriented approach have set the course for the future. Her work will continue to be felt at the university, and our best wishes accompany her into her well-deserved retirement.
Text: Sebastian Benad
Photos: Ute Pflicke / Sebastian Benad