Its been about a week since I arrived home in the US, and I already want to go back. I absolutely loved everything about Ireland, from the city to the countryside, it was truly a beautiful place. Something I enjoyed seeing was the vast contrast of technology use within the city versus the countryside. Through all of our site visits, it was easy to see how each company was using technology in different ways. For example, Microsoft was using virtual reality technology to help companies more efficiently fix machines in-house rather than outsourcing it. This was really interesting to see because I’ve never seen technology used like this before. Although, in contrast, when we went to the sheepherding farm, there was much more basic technology that has been around for years was being used.
The strong presence of the technology industry in Dublin has attracted many companies to have their European headquarters located there. Another contributing factor was England leaving the European Union. As our presenter, Madison, from Guinness Enterprise Center explained, many companies are coming to Ireland because it is a part of the EU, it is English speaking, and it is very centrally located between the US and the rest of Europe. Personally, before visiting Ireland, I knew that there were big companies located here, but now I did not realize just how many tech companies are in Dublin.
As I mentioned earlier, prior to coming to Ireland, I had a very basic knowledge of the Irish business landscape as you are only able to learn so much online, but learning firsthand from Dr. Kelly is what overall helped me gain a deeper understanding. Throughout our whole tour, he told a story of how much of Ireland’s population left, then education rates in Ireland increased, attracting more big companies, and which overall made people want to come and be a part of the workforce. I had no idea how Ireland’s current business landscape is somewhat new to the country and it was not like this 60 years ago.
What I learned throughout visiting different companies, is it is so important to understand business culture. My company for the final project is Guinness Enterprise Center. Before the trip, as a group, we researched and made presentations, but we were only using secondary research from their website. We were able to get a grasp on the big ideas, but what really bridged the gap in our research was being able to go there and ask questions firsthand. For example, we read on the website that GEC worked with three government entities. We truly had no idea the extent of how GEC and the three entities work together from start to finish to help entrepreneurs grow. Now that we know this information, we can make stronger recommendations for Guinness Enterprise Center.
This trip helped my development as a business professional in many different ways. Since the Irish are such friendly and talkative people, I was able to feel much more comfortable talking to others and asking questions, which has translated to my day-to-day life. Typically, when someone is giving a presentation to a large audience, I would kind of sit in the back and not ask any questions, but after this trip, I feel so comfortable asking any presenter any question that I may have. Another skill that I learned was adaptability. As Hilary said multiple times throughout our trip, “we must grow where we are planted”. Events, speakers, and companies changed throughout our trip, and it was important to be able to understand and adapt to the new situation even if it wasn’t what we originally planned. Both of these skills that I gained throughout this trip are very important and will help me in my internship this summer as well as in my professional future.
Something that I learned about myself is that I enjoy learning about new cultures. I have been fortunate to travel within the United States, but never abroad. I absolutely loved learning about their cuisine, history, day-to-day lives, really everything. I think I had a very narrow view of other cultures and this trip has broadened my horizons. I really would love to go back to Europe and explore more, and I will definitely be looking into more study abroad programs for possibly next summer… Below I attached a picture from the Cliffs of Moher which is one of my favorite parts!
