Otago Polytechnic students are preparing for the global workplace along with students from other polytechnics through study tours.

Students have been taking part in six-week study tours funded by the Prime Minister’s Scholarships for Asia (PMSA). They are developing their capabilities to succeed in the global workplace through experiences that will teach them cultural competence, problem solving and other skills.

Ten OP students have been in Coimbatore, India, studying Business and Supply Chains, and six OP students plus one Southern Institute of Technology and three Eastern Institute of Technology students have been studying tourism and hospitality management in Da Nang, Vietnam. 

The OP students are from across our programmes, including: Engineering, Design, Business and Culinary Arts

The aims of the India study tour were:

• To understand the critical but complex business, logistics and supply chain issues in the rapidly growing Indian economy.
• To explore opportunities, understand issues and develop relationships for future engagement.

While on the study tour, the students learned about: 

• Textile and Garment Supply Chains.
• Health Care and Pharmaceutical Supply Chain.
• Fresh Fruits and Vegetable Supply Chains.

 The aims of the Vietnam study tour were

• To understand the growth and strength of the tourism and hospitality industry in Vietnam.
• To experience operational aspects of the international tourism and hospitality Industry.
• To extend knowledge of key business and management principles.

Other students will soon participate in PMSA-funded semester long exchange study at our partner institutions. They include an IT student who is going to study in business courses in Japan at Kansai University, Osaka.

A second-year business student is currently settling into a nine-week Winter School programme in Finland at Lappeenranta University of Technology.

In February/March we look forward to welcoming back two engineering students after the completion of their study abroad semesters. One has been studying “Creating Resilient Cities” in the Netherlands, at Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences. The other has been studying courses in Renewable Energies in Germany, at Stralsund University of Applied Sciences.

A Bachelor of Applied Science student is returning from a semester of study at Fontys University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands. She studied in the Sports Performance programme at Fontys. The course completes her degree study.