MSc students participate in an industry trip to Berlin
A number of the Management School’s MSc students on the “Leaders of Tomorrow” programme recently visited Europe’s economic powerhouse, Germany.
The 27 participants in the programme took in both ends of the business spectrum: major global manufacturing at the Volkswagen automotive manufacturing factory in Wolfsburg and the digital start up cluster of Silicon Allee in Berlin. The “Leaders of Tomorrow” programme is offered to postgraduate students across all Management School courses who have achieved the highest results in their studies. The initiative, which includes a number of trips and industry visits throughout the semester, aims to improve their teamwork, communication, networking and leadership skills, as well as provide further industry experience.
During the visit, which took place from the 27th – 29th June, MSc students took part in an engaging and informative tour at Vollkswagen which illustrated the scale of the operation and the logistics & skills which are required to run the largest and most advanced car manufacturing plant in the world.
Students also visited the digital start-up community, Silicon Allee, where they had the opportunity to meet CEO, Travis Todd. American ex-pat Todd, delivered a presentation on the history of the Berlin start-up scene proving insight into what has led the sector to thrive in the city. The session concluded with networking, questions and open discussion between the students and employers.
Whilst in Berlin, the Management School arranged a networking dinner with local alumni including Philip Holley, BI Professional at Daimler TSS, Lucinda Perondini, Chief Marketing officer at JewelCandle and Matthias Paskowsky, an entrepreneur. Alumni were able to share their own experience of working in Berlin and gave an insightful view into their career progression since graduating from the University of Liverpool.
Leaders of Tomorrow involves students completing a series of employability workshops, leadership seminars as well as an employer visit in the UK hosted this year by online retailer, Shop Direct. The trip to Berlin was the culmination of Leaders of Tomorrow for this year. The Management School secured a bid for funding from Santander Universities Global Division (UK) with the aim of encouraging and supporting students to develop an international business mind-set.
Sadie Lawty, MSc Careers Advisor, commented: “The trip provided our students with a fantastic opportunity to learn about how companies outside of the UK operate. It has given them a global outlook and has better equipped them to start their careers in whichever country they choose.
“We know that employers look for well-rounded people with a mixture of academic achievements and employability skills, so this trip will have undoubtedly helped students further their careers”.