Horizon 2020 is the EU's largest research and innovation programme. As part of the call H2020-SC6-TRANSFORMATIONS-2018-2019-2020 (Socioeconomic and Cultural Transformation in the Context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution), a group of 15 universities from the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Netherlands, Israel, Hungary, Germany, Poland, Austria, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy (conducted by Mendel University in Brno, the Czech Republic), is currently receiving a grant from the programme. UKF in Nitra is a part of the consortium. Between 1st January 2020 and 31st December 2022, the aim of the SPOT project (Social and innovative Platform On cultural Tourism and its potential towards deepening Europeanisation) is to develop new approaches to the project's understanding based on cultural tourism. Thus, to support the promotion of development in disadvantaged areas.

Cultural tourism is always changing; in addition to the existence of its traditional forms (e.g. geographic, festival, culinary) it is being actively explored and co-created by its participants through popular thematic approaches (e.g. wine routes or pilgrimages). These trends bring opportunities for rural areas refreshment, additionally to protect and publicize the local culture and landscape. The project also binds academic and application approaches via case studies from each country. It tries to identify topics and areas in which interventions at local, regional, national and European levels can help to achieve sustainable development and offer particular solutions.

Four researchers from the Faculty of Natural Sciences (Dr Kramáreková – project manager, Prof. Petrovič, Assoc. Prof. Krogmann, and Dr Šolcová) and one researcher from the Faculty of Arts at UKF (Prof. Ivanič) are involved. The budget for UKF in Nitra is almost 112,500 EUR. The implementation of this project represents success in academic cooperation and the acceptance of UKF's scientific results, moreover it brings further opportunities for mutual cooperation.

Text: Dr Hilda Kramáreková, Faculty of Natural Science – Department of Geography and Regional Development