On October 28, Waseda University’s Health Promotion: The Joy of Sports and Exercise Unit held a mini-workshop with visiting faculty member, Associate Professor PD Dr. Kirstin Hallmann of the German Sport University Cologne. This mini-workshop was held in a hybrid format, both at Waseda’s Higashi Fushimi Campus and online in real-time. There were 15 in-person participants, mostly students, and 4 participants online.
First, Assistant Professor Rei Yamashita of the Faculty of Sport Sciences introduced Dr. Hallmann, who then began her lecture.
The workshop, titled “Experiences, their dimensions and interrelationship with places and spaces in destinations,” featured a slide presentation showcasing Dr. Hallmann’s recent work.
Research on how one’s experiences are facilitated by the spaces and places provided in living spaces and travel destinations, including Dr. Hallmann’s own experience of interviewing travelling runners and mountain climbers, made up the content of the presentation.
Doctoral student Masaki Komatsu, who participated in the workshop, provided the following comments and his impressions:
“I am currently writing my doctoral dissertation on the field of sports tourism, and I have been referring to many of Dr. Hallmann’s previous research. Dr. Hallmann is a well respected researcher in the field of “Destination Competitiveness,” which also happens to be my field of research as well, so it was an incredible opportunity to hear directly from her on her latest research and the future direction of her research activities in sports tourism.
“During her presentation, Dr. Hallmann explained that her research has recently shifted and expanded from ‘determinants and indicators of competitive tourism in tourist destinations’ and ‘tourism promotion from a business perspective’ to ‘giving meaning to places and spaces through experience’ and ‘how participants co-create experiences through places and spaces’. I was able to feel closely the progress of research in this field.”
“During the Q&A session, I asked her about her reasons for the change and expansion of her research focus. She answered that in addition to academic progress and research, there were also social demands and responding to these demands led to expanding the scope of research. She advised me that, as a researcher, it is important to not only to develop research interests but also to be a researcher who can take action and make social contributions.”
“For my dissertation, I was able to obtain a lot of useful information on how to revise chapters, apply theories, and proceed towards my conclusion. I am extremely thankful to Dr. Hallmann for providing this very valuable opportunity to me in the midst of my studies.”
Dr. Hallmann carefully answered the questions from the students while sharing her expertise, and the event proved a valuable learning experience for all participants.
