Europe Hub HUB EUR

Regional Context

Our Europe Hub (HUB EUR) is coordinated by VIVES University of Applied Sciences in Bruges, Belgium — a city that is itself a world-class destination for tourism and gastronomy.

VIVES brings a distinctive set of assets to the project: a former Michelin 3-star restaurant repurposed as a professional cooking lab, two top-tier practical restaurant training locations, and recognised expertise in distance learning (VIVES is the leader in online course delivery in Flanders).

As the coordinating partner, VIVES oversees the overall project, manages the online learning platform, coordinates the scholarship admission process, and drives the alumni network. It is also the study destination for all ICP Connect scholarship recipients, who benefit from VIVES’s hands-on learning environment, modern facilities, and rich industry connections across Belgium and Europe.

Focus Areas

Sustainable Practices, Modern Tourism and Hospitality Education, European Standards

Track Record

VIVES’s commitment to international capacity building in hospitality is not new. Since 2017, VIVES has partnered with Mountains of the Moon University in Uganda to help establish and accredit their Bachelor of Tourism and Hospitality Management — the first graduates of that programme are now working in the tourism sector in their own region.

This long-standing collaboration is what brought the ICP Connect project to life, and it demonstrates what sustained partnership between European and Global South institutions can achieve. With ICP Connect, we are scaling that model across three regions.