IFE students in Champagne, France
Welcome by Ferry Quenet, director of in&ma university, photo by Anna Gryszkiewicz
The first visit took place in France. 40 IFE students involved in management and production engineering courses participated in it. For one week, in the Champagne region, the students visited companies ranging from retailers, confectionery and champagne producers to manufacturers of high-quality optical glasses.
They visited SODINE, Biscuits Fossier, Leman Deco, Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte, Vandemoortele, Champagne Veuve Cliquot and BBGR-Essilor. In these companies, they carried out process efficiency analyses and drew up improvement plans under the guidance of experts.
In front of the Champagne Veuve Cliquot factory - Reims, France, photo by: Anna Gryszkiewicz
The students also participated in two workshops. One, run by Arnaud Cuivillier, an industrial strategy expert, related to approaches to strategy and industrial performance (Approche en Strategie Industrielle & Performance). During the other, Virginie Girault, a management consultant, spoke about how to strengthen success of international industrial projects (How to Strengthen Success of International Industrial Projects).
Workshop run by Virginie Girault at in&ma - Châlons en Champagne, photo by: Anna Gryszkiewicz
A particularly important experience was the meeting with TUL graduates, who completed part of their studies at in&ma and linked their professional lives with France. It was another opportunity to broaden knowledge about foreign strategies and business management in France.
in&ma students in Łódź and the region
The other industrial study visit took place in Poland. It was attended by 48 French students from in&ma university who carried out process audits at companies, learning about the specifics of Polish industrial plants. The plan of their stay included five companies: Albea Plastic, Polmos Żyrardów, Amazon, BSH, ADDEV Materials – Żychlin.
The workshop in the test laboratory FAURECIA IFE TUL was run by mgr inż. Klaudia Hillebrandt-Szymańska, photo by: Anna Gryszkiewicz
Five workshops were prepared for the French students. Dr Marzena Stawicka ran a workshop on motivation and communication ('Yes, you can! – ways to boost motivation, communication and self-management"). Mgr inż. Klaudia Hillebrandt-Szymańska presented a case study "Simulation of the process of production and use of seats" in the test laboratory Faurecia IFE TUL.
Motivation and communication workshop run by Dr Marzena Stawicka from the TUL Language Centre Photo by: Anna Gryszkiewicz
In the workshop conducted by Roksana Jacquet, an economic expert at NADII, students learned "How to create a start-up based on professional experience in Polish conditions. Economic development in the Łódź region: challenges, growth and impact on the industry + industrial strategy”. The workshop "Lean manufacturing approach in the Vandemoortele Group" was run by Aneta Motylewska – Operational Excellence Manager from Vandemoortele Bakery Products Polska. The topic of the fifth workshop was "Reverse logistics: challenges, opportunities, implementations"; it was run by Aleksandra Muszyńska from Philips – an expert in logistics.
During the study visits, students from Poland and France expanded their knowledge, developed their competences and got a taste of the working culture in an international industrial environment.
On the path to the goal
The implementation of the study visits, two more of which will take place later this year and next year, allows TUL and the French in&ma university to strengthen cooperation on short-term mobility pathways and the recognition of learning outcomes in the form of awarding partial qualifications.
This is another action within the strategy of implementing active learning methods and creating a university model in which students are not only taught, but first and foremost study, taking advantage of various paths of educational experience, and industrial study visits are a tool for adapting the university educational offer to the market needs.
Thank you NAWA