Today was a great day! For starters we did not leave until 9:15am so we all got to sleep in. I think those extra 2-3 hours really helped with all of our jet lag.

We departed at 9:15am and arrived around 10am. Today we visited the Tier 1 supplier called GROB. Let me just start off by saying I loved this visit. It was so interesting for both engineering and business students. We started off with an introduction to the company. Right away the gentlemen who spoke to us was awesome. He was not only intelligent, but he also was funny and engaging.

Then after this introduction he gave us name tags, a mini speaker, and headphones to plug into the speaker. He spoke into a  microphone that was connected. I thought this was so cool because it allowed us to hear him while being in the loud factories. This also showed me and my fellow classmates that they truly cared about making this experience the best it could be. We toured all the different offices/ factories spaces. This was interesting to see but I will say it was definitely more for the engineering students. I will note however that it was the perfect allocated time. Not too short but not too long. I would show some pictures, however we were not allowed to take any in the building. 

When the physical tour was over with, we went to their cafeteria and had a complimentary lunch. Not only was the food good but it was also nice to talk to some of the American and German students I haven’t had much of a chance to get to know yet. After a good meal we went back to the room we went to in the beginning. Two gentlemen gave presentations to us. 

The first presentation was my favorite. We discussed the market trends for GROBs industry, how they adapt to the changes, and the roles in the company. I personally love this type of thing, so I was very engaged and interested in the conversation. It was interesting to hear them verses Hoerburger. Especially in how they plan on dealing with the trends. Professor Feick discussed this with us afterwards and we all agreed on how interesting both companies’ different ways of handling change were. 

One thing I have learned about this trip is that a business career path is exactly where I want to be at. This has been very insightful, and I am grateful to have this type of clarity at such a young person. 

The second presentation was just discussing the HR aspect. For example, they talked about the vacation days, paid time off, free gym membership, and free snacks/lunch. As an American I envied this greatly! He also mainly discussed job/internship opportunities with them. I think a lot of us would love to work at GROB; I know I would.

Then it was time to say our goodbyes and go back to Augsburg. By then it was around 3pm. When we got back the girls and I finally got to go to the grocery store. This was so cool and surprisingly easier than I thought. Then we took a little nap and got ready to explore the nightlife in Augsburg. Some of the German students we met came with us so that was fun. Overall was an awesome day. See you tomorrow. 

Talk soon!

Kat