The young and eager students of DSB set out on an exciting journey of discovery to Germany. The interactions started with the European Central Bank in Frankfurt where the students were greeted with excellent visuals and multimedia props to explain the intricacies of operations in a Central Bank.
This was followed by the visit to the BASF factory in Mannheim, the largest chemical complex in the world. The students were made aware of the housekeeping, the efficiencies and safety and logistical challenges involved in handling the hazardous nature of the products.
A visit to the famed Mercedes Benz Museum in Stuttgart followed in which the students saw exhibits pertaining to the history of the 4 – wheeled vehicles right from horse drawn carriages to Formula 1 cars in which Mercedes Benz dominate. A sightseeing trip to the castle of Neuschwanstein was organized which was the inspiration for Disneyland castles. The students spent two days at the Munich Business School where they were exposed to challenges of successful branding and issues in working with virtual teams, a contemporary management issue faced by businesses transacting globally.
The informal learning continued with the visits to the BMW World, a contemporary Museum, and to the largest BMW factory in Germany. It was amazing to see how they operated a 2.5 kms long assembly line in which each car was customized as per the order of the customer. A visit to their body shop also exposed them robots handling many operations.
