MBA Study Tour Switzerland 2017

Students on the Leeds Full-time MBA and Leeds Executive MBA came together in Switzerland to participate in an international study tour at the ZHAW School of Management.

Students on the Leeds Full-time MBA and Leeds Executive MBA have the opportunity to take part in a one or two week international study tour. In 2017, students were given the opportunity to visit the ZHAW School of Management and Law in Winterthur, Switzerland. 17 full-time MBA students and 4 Executive MBA students attended the tour, taking in a series of company visits and talks over the week.

Lectures were delivered by ZHAW's own academics including Dr Florian Keller, a veteran of Swiss telecommunications company Swisscom and the British Foreign Office. Guest lecturers included Elmar Mock, co-creator of the world-famous Swatch watch who is currently with Creaholic, the company he founded in 1986.

Company visits on the trip were based around a factory or headquarters tour, followed by an engaging question and answer session with the host. The multiple host countries that are visited each year give students an opportunity to immerse themselves in the business culture of other territories, as well as expand their global network. This year the students visited Microsoft, ABB and Link Institute. 

Catherine Porter, MBA Programmes Officer at Leeds University Business School, sums up the appeal of the trip,

The Zurich study tour was an amazing learning experience, giving our MBA students an entirely fresh perspective on Swiss academia, business and culture.  The tour was expertly coordinated by ZHAW with a perfect mix of inspiring academic lectures and impressive company visits hosted by high profile executives –  we all came away influenced by our experiences and motivated to  ‘be more Swiss’!