Company visits

An initial form of company visits often takes place at the beginning of a course. Students sometimes come into contact with companies or organisations for the very first time this way. Through presentations by directors or staff, a first glimpse is given of companies' visions and strategies and the ins and outs of their processes and operations.

For more extensive company visits, the actual visit forms part of a larger assignment around such a company. You can then use the company visit to test students' acquired knowledge in practice. For example, give them assignments before or during the company visit that are relevant to what they have learned. For example, have business students analyse the company's internal processes and structures, evaluate the strategy, and make improvement proposals. Have students create a case study of the company, with business analysis and strategy, and present it, for example, during a group discussion at the end of the visit or afterwards. Or think of Computer Science students visiting a software company where they analyse and evaluate software development procedures or create a software design for a specific application. You can evaluate the assignments and include them in the final assessment of the course. 

The advantage of a company visit is that it gives students a realistic experience in the real world, this is often an important addition to theory. This ensures transfer of the knowledge gained from a fictional or theoretical setting to real life. In addition, this kind of experience increases students' motivation.

During a company visit, you can use different types of assignments to test students' knowledge, such as:

• Analysis assignments of certain aspects or processes in the company. For example, have them do a SWOT analysis. 
• Problem-solving assignments where students try to solve an existing problem based on their learned material.
• Presentation assignments where students present their analysis, solution, or idea to a panel of teachers or industry experts. 
• Project assignments in which students work for an extended period on, for example, designing a new product, developing a marketing campaign or devising a technical solution. 
• Group work where students work together in groups to complete one of the above assignments. 

Want to know more?

• Community Service Learning - Vrije Universiteit
• Field trip - KU Leuven
• Studenten worden consultant bij bedrijfsbezoek BearingPoint - Universiteit Leiden
• Reasons why industrial visits are key to student development - Sharda University
• Exploring the Educational Impact of Academic Field Trips Over
  Time (pdf) - Nova Southeastern University
  

Zie ook: Research project, Product design, Case assignment.