Dr Kevin Masters with students at the Lamborghini factory

Students at the Lamborghini museum

Students on the Volvo museum tour

Students visiting the Volvo museum

Two study trips organized by the Business School Student Experience team took place last month in Gothenburg and Bologna.

Both trips took place over four days and activities were centered around sustainability in business and economics, with students learning about the dilemmas that Swedish and Italian companies face when balancing financial sustainability and ecological issues.

20 first year students visited the Lamborghini Factory in Bologna where they attended a presentation by the department of corporate strategy and sustainability at Lamborghini, followed by a factory guided tour and Lamborghini museum visit.

As well as exploring the city, the students also had an opportunity to attend a seminar on sustainability at the University of Bologna Business School.

In another trip, a group of 20 second year students travelled to Gothenburg where they visited Gothenburg University, School of Business, Economics, and Law and took part in a tour of the School.

The following two days involved a tour of the Volvo Museum, a trip to Lindholmen Science Park as well as a talk by Pierre Svenson, Regional Bureau Chief of Unionen. Unionen is Sweden's largest trade union on the private labour market and the largest white-collar trade union in the world.

Hans Van Der Heijden, Director of International Affairs, said: “The students benefitted from insights into cultural sensitivities in business and economics. They now have a broader understanding of the ways in which Swedish and Italian companies operate in a multi-lingual, international context”

Dr Kevin Masters, Lecturer in Strategy and Marketing, added: "Our tour of the Lamborghini factory was a real 'eye-opener'. Reading about a management paradigm such as 'lean production' is all very nice, but witnessing key concepts such as 'just-in-time' applied in real-time was unforgettable. Seeing robots whizzing around, silently getting on with their work, was just surreal!"

Molly Gilham, Strategy and Marketing student said: “The trip to Gothenburg has awoken my understanding of business within Scandinavia. Being able to compare their education and the way they teach business has provided me with a deeper understanding of their want for unions. Their white-collar union dominates 70% of Sweden's population, so I can appreciate their drive for professionalism; an outlook I wish to adopt further within my studies.”

For more information on the global opportunities available to you during your degree at the University of Sussex Business School, visit our Global Opportunities page on the Student Hub.