What is the International Study Tour?
The International Study Tour was by far my favourite experience at Durham University!
The module is an incredible opportunity to take part in real collaborative consultancy work, enriching my academic experience as a student on the Consultancy pathway of the MSc Management programme.
Applying what I had learnt across my master’s degree to deliver real solutions for an international corporation enabled me to bridge the gap between theory and practice, supported by the learning environments of both Durham University Business School and Esade Business School, ahead of my transition into working in a consultancy firm in September.
This module also helped expand my horizons in terms of career prospects, as I would now love to return to Barcelona, having had the opportunity to explore the city and practise the language in more formal contexts than would have been possible outside the module and the study visit.
The module
We spent a sunny week in Barcelona, with a variety of activities each day before delivering our consultancy presentations to our clients at the end of the week. We visited the campus of Esade Business School for a variety of guest lectures and skills sessions in the mornings, helping us to reflect upon and improve our presentations ahead of delivery to the clients.
In the afternoons, we visited companies on site, explored their facilities, and learned from their experts, which helped us better understand their strategies in practice and refine our recommendations ahead of the presentations.
We were very fortunate to work with a variety of international organisations, including Estrella Damm, Hewlett Packard, Vinted, Diamond Seeds and our client, LaCabine, a clinical skincare brand, which exposed us to the working practices of a diverse range of organisations.
At the end of the week, all the teams presented their analysis and recommendations, giving us the opportunity to get real feedback from industry leaders on our solutions in response to a variety of business challenges, from designing international expansion strategies to identifying innovative new product opportunities. The DUBS international study tour team were amazing throughout, ensuring the whole group made the most of our time in Barcelona.
The tour
During the tour, we stayed in the Les Corts area of Barcelona, where we had the opportunity to get to know our teams better in our free time and explore the city. Whilst this is an intense week of learning, developing networks and working on consulting projects, there was still plenty of time to enjoy Barcelona through the organised group activities, like the welcome dinner and the tour of La Sagrada Família, and having the evenings to ourselves to visit the beach, Las Ramblas and the tapas bars. Once all the consultancy presentations were complete at the end of the week, the teams went out to celebrate together in Barcelona, which was a lovely way to round off the trip!
I am so grateful for this opportunity, and I would highly recommend the international study tour!
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