This was by far my favorite day of the entire trip! We used our free day to go to Salzburg, Austria. When it came to planning the trip I was very indifferent about we did and I was genuinely up to do anything as I was not particularly drawn to Austria for anything specific. Erin…
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Day 12: Wrapping it Up
Today is presentation day, we started the morning off by doing extra preparation and adding final touches to the presentation. Once we arrived to the University of Augsburg campus, we went to a study room to practice our presentation as a group. After practicing, everyone dispersed to get food and wait until presentations started. While…
Four Rings and a Final Factory Tour
This week has honestly flown by, and it was hard to believe that Wednesday was already our final company site visit before presentations and the end of the program started approaching. Our last visit was to Audi, and I was especially excited for this one because after spending so much time researching BMW for our…
Automation and Architecture
On Tuesday, we started the morning with a visit to Aumovio, a company focused on automotive technology and safety systems. During the presentation, we learned more about the technology behind everyday vehicle functions that most people rarely think about, including sensors, brake systems, chips, and software used in modern cars. One thing that stood out…
Day 9 – Despair in the Air
Today was an intense day when visiting Dachau. We loaded onto the bus for our hour ride to the concentration camp. Upon entry, we didn’t see much of the camp, and I wasn’t able to feel the true emotions until I stepped through the gate and heard the infamous words, “Work sets you free.” This…
Heavy Machinery and Historic Streets
On Monday, we began the day with a long two and a half hour bus ride to Nuremberg to visit MAN Truck & Bus. During the drive, I spent a lot of time looking out the window at the scenery around us. We passed smaller towns filled with colorful buildings, churches, and green hills that…
Day 8 – Glockenspiels and Gardens
A quick walk to the train station and we were on our way to Munich! As I mentioned previously, the transportation here in Germany is much more efficient, reliable, and cleaner than that in America. I think this is because public transportation is much more integrated into everyday life here, like how the students take…
Day 11: Aumovio & Regensburg
We started the day with a company visit to Aumovio. There, we learned about the technology behind products most people never think about. The company develops sensors, brake systems, chips, and software that help modern vehicles operate safely. Aumovio recently split from Continental AG, which completely transformed their assembly lines. Inside the facility, machines and…
Day 10: Aumovio and Regensburg
This day started out very early, 5:15 in the morning early for me. There was a redeeming factor though, breakfast was out a little early, so I did get to enjoy that. Today we were going to Aumovio and Regensburg. Unlike MAN, I actually did have an interest for this one because I was a…
Day 9: MAN and Nuremburg
Out of all the days, this was the one where I didn’t know what to expect. I was not in the MAN group, and I have also never heard of the company. On top of that, I didn’t really know much about Nuremburg besides some surface level historical context. This was honestly a positive though,…
Day 7 – Art, Automakers, and Augsburg
I can not believe we are pretty much halfway done! Today was a much more chill day with only one item on the agenda: meeting with a reporter for Bloomberg BusinessWeek. I was able to catch up on some much-needed rest before going with the rest of the crew to a museum in Augsburg called…
A Different Kind of Campus
Immediately when I stepped foot on the university the first thing that I saw was that there were no students around. It was so dead that the university might as well be closed. This is completely contrary to pitt as we all know from about 9-10am there are always people walking around either to class…
A Culture Shock with Beautiful Sights
The immediate culture shock was the atmosphere of the city. Instead of the hustle and bustle of a classic American city I had been to like Pittsburgh and New York City, people seemed to be more laid back and relaxed, going about their days less oriented on work and more balanced than the average American….
An Embarrassing Departure
Until now, Germany had mostly existed to me through brands, history books, and videos online. As I was checking in to the airport on my phone, getting ready for the bus ride over, all of it felt more and more real. On the bus ride to the airport all I could think about was the…
Day 6 – Factory Floors to Fairytales
The blaring alarm went off at 5:15 as Lily and I peeled out of bed. We rushed to get ready, excited for the stunning views of Neuschwanstein Castle. I made sure to wear comfortable clothes, since previous students had informed us there was a bit of a hike to the castle. After a scenic bus…
A Day of Remembrance: Visiting Dachau
Before leaving for Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site on Sunday morning, I knew it would be a very emotional and difficult experience. Throughout the trip, we had spent so much time learning about German industry, culture, and history, but this visit felt very different from everything else we had done so far. As soon as…
Day 5 – Robots are Taking Over The World
We woke up and headed downstairs for our second company visit: KUKA. After a brief intro from Lawrence, who works in corporate brand management, we were able to see the robots in action with a presentation. This amazed me because of how the robots are able to work simultaneously toward a common goal. I was…
Moments in Munich
Saturday in Munich was one of the most exciting days of the trip so far. After spending most of the week in Augsburg visiting companies and historical sites, it was fun finally getting to experience a larger and much more fast-paced city. I had been looking forward to visiting Munich before we even left for…
A Day Around Augsburg
On day six of the trip, we had a more relaxed day in Augsburg before heading back to the University of Augsburg for a guest speaker later in the afternoon. After spending the earlier part of the week constantly traveling to company visits and historical sites, it was nice having more time to explore Augsburg…
Day 11: Walking on Sunshine
Today was an early wake-up call for everyone. The bus pulled out of the hotel at 6 in the morning. My plan was to sleep on the way there since we had to get up so early, and it was a long ride. That is exactly what I did. As soon as we started getting…