Today our time in Amsterdam came to a close with a deep dive into Tony Chocolonely and a group dinner at an Indonesian restaurant.  After a good night’s sleep, I started to pack before our Tony Chocolonely presentation at 2:00. Joke Aerts, a member of the Tony Chocolonely team, explained to us the Tony Chocolonley’s…

Today we got to tour the business school at the University van Amsterdam (UVA) and then went on a canal cruise through Amsterdam.  We left the Generator this morning at 10:30 to meet our tour guides at UVA. My tour guide Thomas walked my group around all of the central buildings on the business campus….

Today we took a train to the city of Utrecht to visit Aurea Imaging and walk around the city! Once we arrived at Aurea Imaging (a precision agriculture company), we were given an overview presentation by International Sales Engineer and Operations Process Owner Ruan Kruger. The company uses drones to assist farmers in crop growth,…

Today we had the chance to tour Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and visit KLM, a Dutch airline company! This morning we took a few trams to arrive at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, where we were led around campus by two tour guides. The first stop on our tour was a well-being pop-up center in one of the…

Today we traveled by ferry to the vintage market and met with Pitt alumni in Amsterdam! In case you were not already keeping track, the ferry is the seventh mode of transportation for which the city accommodates (with the other six being the bus, metro, train, tram, bikes, and cars). The ferry ride was short…

Today we traveled to the province of Zeeland to visit Watersnoodmuseum and Deltapark Neeltje Jans! On the hour-long bus ride from the hostel to the museum, we were in the midst of farming and agriculture in the Netherlands. Having grown up around farms, I could immediately spot differences between farms in the Netherlands and the…

Today we took a metro to West Amsterdam to visit MX3D, a 3D metal printing company! Before we got on the metro, we first visited the 3D-printed bridge in Amsterdam that MX3D created. The bridge is considered a “smart” bridge since it has sensors to measure its load and temperature under various circumstances. This assessment…

Today we woke up very early to visit the Royal FloraHolland (the flower auction) and De Tulperij (the tulip farm)! After arriving at Royal FloraHolland at around 7:30, we had the chance to tour the warehouse distribution facility. I was taken aback at how large the facility was (the entire complex was equivalent to 250…

Today we ventured to Zaanse Schans to learn about the different products made from the windmills! Thankfully, I bought an umbrella before we left so I was able to stay somewhat dry during the rain that lasted all day.  On our way there, we ran into some public transportation roadblocks. After a delayed tram and…

Today entailed both cultural and educational experiences in Amsterdam!  At CREA, Karel Bockstael shared how his experience at KLM (a major airline company in Europe) influenced his current position as a sustainability consultant. We learned the drastic effects that airplanes have on the environment in terms of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission. In fact,…

Within two days, I traveled in the smallest airplane (a 12-person plane from Lancaster, PA to Pittsburgh) and the largest airplane (a Boeing 747 from Philadelphia to Amsterdam) I have ever been on. While the consecutive days of travel were long and rough on the ears, an adrenaline rush from being in a new place…

Hey everyone! My name is Will Miller and I am almost done with my first year at the Swanson School of Engineering. I intend to major in bioengineering on the cellular engineering track with a minor in chemistry and a certificate in the conceptual foundations of medicine. After my undergraduate years at Pitt, I plan…