Faculty of Economics & Business - Zagreb

Study trip to Budapest, Bratislava and Vienna

 

On Thursday, April 25 around 30 students from the BDIB, MMI and the Croatian Master in Managerial Informatics programmes attended a study visit through three European capital cities, Bratislava, Budapest and Vienna. The purpose of this study visit was to present to the students an educational perspective of supply management, distribution management and different educational opportunities at other European universities.

Departing Zagreb in the early hours of Thursday our first stop was the city of Koprivnica where Podravka, one of Croatia’s biggest food processing and pharmaceutical companies, is based. There we were given a tour of their food processing plant, the biggest of its kind in Croatia. The plant, fully automated was a good example of computer technology interacting to deliver raw materials, produce finished products and prepare them for distribution around the region and parts of Europe. A presentation by the head of Podravka’s logistics department showed us the importance of supply chain management in a company of this type and the innovative solutions that they use to increase efficiency and lower costs. After the tour of Podravka we continued to Budapest were we had some free time for sight-seeing before continuing to Bratislava where our hotel was based.

The next day after having some time to explore Bratislava’s old city we all went to the University of Vienna. The University of Vienna founded in 1365 is one of the oldest universities in Europe and is home to over 92,000 students offering them education in more than 180 courses. There we were introduced to their study programmes and all the educational possibilities that they offer and were given a tour of their campus. After lunch and some refreshments we continued to the Parndorf Outlet Centre which is located on the Austrian, Slovakian border close to Bratislava. At the Outlet Centre marketing manager gave a presentation on the distribution of fashion products in the outlet centre.

The next day we had a chance to go sight-seeing in Vienna which was a good opportunity for us to see one of Europe’s most beautiful cities. The same day we returned to Zagreb during the afternoon hours.

Overall this was a good educational trip that though us a lot about supply chain management, distribution and the interaction of information technology with different economic sectors. We also got the chance to see how other universities function and what educational opportunities they offer. Apart from this, during the trip we met many interesting people while strengthening relationships with other colleagues and professors.