International cooperation constantly requires new ideas, and sometimes the success of an idea makes it easier to develop it further.

On 11 and 12 May 2026, project partners of DEHOGA Brandenburg partners from three European countries gathered in Potsdam for the closing and outlook conference of the Erasmus+ projects, hosted by DEHOGA Brandenburg e.V. 2022 – 2026. Under the motto “Step by Step to Excellence”, the two-day event brought together representatives from Italy, Greece and Spain to reflect on four years of successful cooperation — and to chart the course for what comes next.

On 28 April, this year’s professional meeting of the supporting & sponsoring members of DEHOGA Brandenburg took place at Spargelhof Klaistow, one of the largest agricultural enterprises in Brandenburg.

In addition to showcasing the range of services offered by providers to Brandenburg’s hospitality sector, various panel discussions also addressed current challenges in implementing DEHOGA Brandenburg’s internationalisation strategy.

At the DEHOGA Brandenburg stand, the results of the piloting of the TourX Hospitality Toolbox were presented, whilst on the ‘Gastro Brandenburg’ panel stage, the findings of the host survey conducted by TMB and DEHOGA Brandenburg as part of the ‘GastroZukunft Brandenburg 2026’ study were unveiled.

The discussions centred on the following questions: 

• What future directions do hospitality businesses consider realistic for their own operations?
• What ideas do they have for further development?
• What forms of support are they aware of, use or require for this?

This spring’s host survey revealed that the greatest need for support clearly lies in investment and visibility, supplemented by a need for funding, time resources and training.

For instance, 23% of respondents stated that they currently see the greatest need for support in skills development and further training.

To this end, the findings of the TourX project, which is now being completed, should also be effectively incorporated into the future development of the sector.Viewing training and further education within a European context – along with all the opportunities created during the project – as a strategic priority for the sector’s continued engagement will ensure it is ‘Ready for Excellence’ in the future.

Our Erasmus+ projects TourX and HOGAnet4VET once again made it possible to explore a new special culinary region of Europe as part of the NextGen Hospitality Trophy, and this time to learn about vocational training in the hospitality sector at the Bad Gleichenberg Tourism Schools in southern Styria.

From 13–17 April 2026, we were guests at the „Bildungshaus Schloss Retzhof“ with a team of trainees from the „AHORN Seehotel Templin“ and the „Kongresshotel Potsdam“.

There was a great deal of tension at the start of the stay, as the aim of the week was to face another professional competition and prove that Brandenburg’s young talent in the sector is well-trained enough to hold their own against the Austrian trainees from the styrian tourism schools.

The DEHOGA Brandenburg team was invited on 14 April for a guided tour of the „Bad Gleichenberg tourism schools“ and had the opportunity to get to know the students with whom they would then tackle the competition tasks on Wednesday as part of the NextGen Hospitality Trophy. This day was also used to familiarise themselves with the teaching kitchen and teaching restaurant, the competition task, the shopping basket for the competition menu and the rules of procedure during a preparatory workshop.

On Wednesday, the teams cooked, served and tasted what they had prepared together. The competition task was clearly defined – a three-course menu using the same basic ingredients, complemented by a special regional touch and accompanied by a pre-selected Styrian wine. Both teams started together, cooked and served together, and presented the travel regions they call home.

Thus, this 4th edition of our NextGen Hospitality Trophy was another joint success, from which both teams emerged as winners.

Both teams demonstrated the knowledge they have acquired at their respective stages of training and the enthusiasm with which they worked together to achieve excellent results on the day. The Brandenburg trainees demonstrated with great commitment that Brandenburg is a hospitable place and that exciting internship opportunities await the young Austrians here.

A big thank you goes to the organisers at the Retzhof and the Bad Gleichenberg Tourism Schools, as they not only embraced our enthusiasm during this exchange programme, but also, through the NextGen Hospitality Trophy in Bad Gleichenberg, inspired everyone involved to see these days as a potential starting point for developing a long-term partnership in vocational training between Brandenburg and Styria.

Armed with the extensive methodological knowledge and practical experience gained from our previous work at TourX, we were able to successfully organise this educational group mobility.

We should use this new network hub to gain lots of new experiences, work together and learn from one another.

The days at the Bad Gleichenberg Tourism Schools showed:

“Europe is our Stage!“

From 11 to 20 March 2026, DEHOGA Brandenburg accompanied a group of 27 vocational students and their teachers from Corregio in Emilia-Romagna on their study trip to Brandenburg and Berlin.

The aim was to introduce young people from the hospitality sector and related professions to Brandenburg’s vocational training landscape as part of the European education area, as DEHOGA Brandenburg has helped to develop over the past four years through the TourX project.

For DEHOGA Brandenburg, Potsdam was a logical choice: a city that combines history, culture, science and modern working life – with hosts from Brandenburg’s hospitality sector who are keen to showcase their businesses and their region. For the students of the „Convitto Nazionale Rinaldo Corso“, it was a first, in-depth look at Germany – beyond the clichés they had previously encountered.

The students in the study group came from different vocational streams at their school: catering, restaurant management, mechatronics and agriculture, and the study trip programme was deliberately designed to appeal to everyone – with visits to historic sites in Brandenburg’s capital, vocational training centres, research institutes and even a day at the water park.

An overview of some highlights:

• UNESCO World Heritage Site Sanssouci Palace and New Palace
• Brandenburg State Parliament in Potsdam City Palace
• Botanical Garden of the University of Potsdam
• Albert Einstein House in Caputh
• Day in Berlin featuring the Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate and East Side Gallery
• Potsdam-Marquardt Shipbuilding Research Institute
• Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering in Bornim
• Potsdam Film Museum
• BLU Water Park – because fun is part of the programme too

In particular, the combination of history, culture, vocational training and hands-on experience showed the pupils a Germany that is more than just Berlin tourism.

What began as a study trip quickly developed into a genuine European project full of encounters tat will not be forgotten in a hurry. Accompanied by TourX ambassadors from DEHOGA Brandenburg, the Italian pupils cooked together with German trainees at the OSZ Johanna Just in Potsdam. What sounds complicated — two languages, different techniques, different spices — worked surprisingly well. In the OSZ kitchen, a common language was quickly found.

The group experienced something similar on the Oberlin campus. The encounters with the trainees there were warm, direct and sparked curiosity.

What do you take away from ten days in Brandenburg? A wealth of impressions, some new contacts, a bit of German — and perhaps the feeling that Europe isn’t as foreign as it seems from afar. Any trainee who has stood at the stove alongside peers from Italy, Spain, Greece or Germany thinks more European. Not because they have to — but because they have experienced it for themselves.

DEHOGA Brandenburg was invited to this conference and had the opportunity to present its projects for digital training and further education in the hospitality industry and its mobility projects for young professionals.

A panel discussion with representatives from education, tourism and politics provided a forum for exchange, discussion, and new perspectives.

During this talks interfaces were quickly established and the tools currently being developed for the TourX Hospitality Toolbox have had presented to the participants in a workshop.

Participation in this conference provided also an opportunity to exchange ideas with Austrian colleagues on expanding cooperation and collaboration within the framework of the Erasmus+ programme.

This will require further steps, but by participating in this conference we generated an interesting feedback for further piloting of the TourX Hospitality Toolbox and our colleagues have opened up new opportunities for us to share our ideas on international Erasmus+ cooperation in the hospitality industry.

This was the essence of what made this study trip so valuable.

Colleagues who were participating in a study trip for the first time quickly realised how important it is to actively approach colleagues from other countries, and it didn’t take long for them to start also discussing internships for young professionals in Fuerteventura, Veneto and Brandenburg.

It became clear that we have a comprehensive portfolio at our disposal and that we should expand international cooperation and work even more closely with our immediate project partners and vocational schools in our partner countries.

This was particularly evident in the discussions on the organisation of internships.

Preparing internships not only requires cooperation between the sending and receiving organisations, but we should also involve the teachers who accompany the pupils and students on their development path, from their everyday training to the start of an internship, as they know the strengths and weaknesses of their protégés best.

This knowledge must not go unused, as it is important in order to be able to effectively and sensitively support and accompany future interns during such an important step as an internship abroad.

Joint action by all those involved requires mutual understanding of the details of the challenges involved in preparing and implementing the internships.

The interns, their teachers, the Erasmus organisers at the sending schools and the hosts at the receiving internship companies must get to know each other and work together step by step to prepare for the highlight of an internship abroad.

The TourX project provides many interesting tools for practical work. The short overviews of the various vocational training systems that have been developed provide a clear overview of their complexity, and the guidelines are valuable aids for joint planning.

Using these is both an opportunity and a challenge. This was demonstrated once again by this TourX mobility programme, because it is about so much more than just meeting formal participant numbers.

A key innovation was the consistent work in mixed international teams.

Participants from TourX partners in Greece, Spain, Italy, Germany, and Portugal were invited. This team constellation placed high demands on communication, coordination, and intercultural competence, but at the same time reflected realistic working conditions in an increasingly international hospitality industry. The teams were able to hold their own convincingly in this challenging environment.

With a high level of commitment, technical expertise, and a professional demeanor, the aspiring chefs, hotel and restaurant specialists, and tourism professionals successfully presented their achievements to the jury. The participants demonstrated that they not only have solid technical knowledge from their previous vocational training, but are also able to apply it in competitive conditions and in international teams.

The second NextGen Hospitality Trophy in Rovigo thus marks an important step in raising the profile of the format. The competition is increasingly seen as a transferable European model that will enable all participating organizations to act as hosts themselves in the future. The clearly formulated learning outcomes, the practical tasks, and the international cooperation already form a solid foundation for this.

The experience gained in Rovigo is now being incorporated into the further development of the competition, with the aim of combining excellence, mobility, and skills development in this professional competition on a long-term basis and across Europe. Everyone is eagerly awaiting the third NextGen, which is being prepared in Fuerteventura with TourX partner ASOFUER.

The NextGen Hospitality Trophy is thus evolving from its previous pilot format into a sustainable instrument of European vocational training in the hospitality and tourism industry.