The wider objective of the project is to remedy the lack of systematic up-to-date market-oriented in-job training and retraining in the sphere of tourism and hospitality, a sector of the economy which is seen as vital for the future prosperity of many Russian regions.The specific objective of the project is to develop life-long learning programs in the form of in-job training and retraining of unemployed within tourism and hospitality. This will be done through new market-oriented teaching methods (problem-based learning, e-learning), and through the setting up of Tourism Resource Centers which establish triple-helix cooperation between universities, government and private businesses. The Tourism Resource Centers will also increase the involvement of universities in tourism market development through joint projects with industry partners, and thereby bring teaching and research closer to current market trends. The project targets four Russian regions - Tomsk, Altay, Kemerovo and Ivanovo – but the experience from the four regions will be widely disseminated to other universities and industry partners across Russia.In order to facilitate convergence with EU developments in the field of life-long learning, the project will start with an analysis of European/Russian experiences in lifelong learning and the needs of industry/employers in in tourism and hospitality. The key organizational output of the project is the setting up of the network of four Tourism Resource Centers which will form the hub of knowledge production and exchange between universities, industry and government. The project will train teachers in new pedagogical methods and develop in-job training and retraining programs in tourism and hospitality. Both training and dissemination will be supported by the setting up of an interactive web 2.0 platform that will allow trainees, teachers/researchers and industry partners to interact in creative problem-solving.