Business Trip From Brussels to Cork: 54 Business Students, 5 Cities, and One Unplanned Stormy Detour
54 Fifth and Sixth Year Business, Accounting and Economics students have just returned home from their whirlwind Business Trip to Brussels, Rotterdam, Utrecht and unexpectedly Amsterdam & Cork (thanks to storm Ashley).
The trip kicked off in Brussels, the home of the European Union. The students were very lucky to be given the opportunity to visit the EU Parliament Hemicycle on Summit Day and were delighted to be joined by EU Commissioner Mairead Mc Guinness and MEP Regina Doherty for a Q&A session. Whilst also in Brussels the students got to visit Concept Chocolate, a bespoke chocolate making factory. Students were given a wonderful presentation by the master chocolatier which looked at all angles of the business from sourcing materials to marketing their products and chocolate tasting! After an early start that morning and a long day of visits the students were more than happy to dine in the Hard Rock Cafe on Brussel’s main square, Grand-Place.
Friday saw a change of destination, The Netherlands. After a 3 hour coach trip, the next port of call was Rotterdam Port, the biggest of its kind in Europe. Students were in awe of the pure size and magnitude of the port and were given a very insightful tour onboard the Futureland Ferry. The next stop was the Royal Delft Factory, a brand that has been around for hundreds of years. Students got to see the production process of making the delftware while also seeing the master painter of the Delftware in action. The final business visit of the day was to the Clara Maria Cheese & Clog Making factory. Students got to see and smell the operations of an Agri-Business at first hand. Witnessing the making of the traditional Dutch Clog was definitely a highlight here.
Saturday and Sunday brought a day of fun at Walibi theme park and cultural visits which included a guided tour of the beautiful student city of Utrecht, a visit to Zaanse Schans windmills and not to mention a spot of shopping in the Hoog Catharijne before returning to the airport.
Students and teachers had to do an unexpected u-turn at the departure gate home as storm Ashley took hold in Dublin. Students made the most of an extra day in Amsterdam with a visit to the Rijksmuseum before getting home to Dublin via Cork! All in all the Business Trip was a great success and the students had a ball and gained lots of valuable information for their Leaving Cert Business subjects.
