Wetenschap - 18 april 1996

Plea for MSc Recreation

The World Leisure and Recreation Association (WLRA) is seeking WAU's cooperation in establishing an MSc programme on tourism and recreation in Wageningen. At the moment the association offers a programme at the Christelijke Hogeschool in Leeuwarden, Friesland. This institute for higher education has an international faculty where a different teacher from abroad is brought in every fortnight to teach courses. The faculty specialises in development issues. The main reasons for a Third World focus are the rapid expansion and the growing economic interest in recreation and tourism in these countries.

The main drawback for the faculty in Friesland is that they are not entitled to give MSc degrees. WLRA states that because of this they miss out on many possible grants for students. Joining hands with WAU would solve this.

WAU's Executive Board is willing to talk with the WLRA about a joint MSc programme in Wageningen. The board, however, says that there will be many practical problems to overcome before such a programme can be launched. For example, the structure of the present WLRA-programme differs from the structure of the MSc programmes at WAU. Moreover, the method of teaching by continuously flying in teachers is not common practice in Wageningen.

In recent years, several MSc students from the MAKS programme, have written theses on this subject under the section recreation and tourism at the Department of Sociology.