During the period from 29th May till 10th June 2005, thirty students from the School of Business and Management at the American University of Sharjah traveled to Switzerland and Germany on a business study tour. The companies that the students visited were Nestle, Credit Suisse, Swiss Reinsurance, Novartis, Audi, Motorola and Siemens.
The tour was organized under the supervision of Carol Houser, Director of Community Relations at the School of Business and Management. The tour provided students a better understanding of how businesses are managed at international level.
Students got the chance to meet senior level executives at the professional seminars and tours organized by multinational corporations. This gave the students a better understanding of how to manage their businesses. The students, coming from different degrees of specializations, got a chance to see how the companies plan their strategies and tactics in their respective field of study.
The tour was not only about business; it also consisted of cultural and social visits. One of their visits was to the Red Cross/Red Crescent Museum in Geneva, which gave the students an opportunity to learn about the history of international crisis and how this organization dealt with them. The students also got a chance to get a taste of German history and culture by visiting the Linderhof and Neuschwanstein Castles, as well as, the Deutschland Museum. The students visited Audi production plant and museum in Munich. Students were able to see how four major German auto companies formed to a successful car manufacturer.
The tour left a lasting impression on each student as it was a highly beneficial for students who got the chance to learn about different businesses and cultures, as supported by Moaz Afzal, who said, “Being part of an American education system one can guarantee quality education, but trips like these help us see our knowledge applied in real world, and things which we are not able to see in our home country”.
