Our Marketing postgraduate students are currently on a study field trip in Lugano, Switzerland. We caught up with Maria-Anna, one of the students, to find out how she is finding the opportunity to work with international companies…

What preparation did you have to do before the trip?

We had to prepare for two presentations; one for BRULI and one for FoxTown. For BRULI we had to prepare their influencer strategy for their social media, which was an assessed presentation, counting for 15% of our module. We also had to prepare a presentation for FoxTown, which is a major shopping outlet. For FoxTown we were looking at suggestions we could provide for the launch of their loyalty programme and then how these suggestions could be implemented.

How have you found the trip to Lugano?

We have met some amazing people and companies! They are very intelligent and passionate and they have provided us with amazing practical insights that we can use in our future careers. As well as the learning, the food has also been great and the people are very friendly and, of course, Lugano is a beautiful place to be staying in!

What has been your favourite aspect of the trip?

I think my favourite part of the trip has been learning how different cultures work. Although I am an international student I found it easy to adapt to the English working culture but it has been more difficult to adapt to the Italian and Swiss cultures. However, it has been great to learn how to adapt to different working environments quickly.

What has been the main learning point that you will take away from this trip?

This trip has taught me how to handle working under pressure and I’ve had to ensure that our presentations are suitable for practitioners, as well as lecturers. It has definitely been a busy trip and we’ve had to work long hours to ensure we are prepared to present but it has also been a very productive trip and has been a fantastic learning opportunity!

To learn more about our postgraduate courses please visit hly.ac/pg-experience-18