I have my background in IT and during my undergrad days, I remember, being able to associate with companies like Google and Oracle was every man’s fancy. They are still the favorites of any computer science graduate. But hardly had I anticipated that a marketer can also find a role at Google. All these insights could be possible by the enriching International Study Trip experience we had during the last week in Dublin

The choice to select Dublin as study trip destination is not random. If you would look at the economy of Ireland you would find many MNC’s related to digital and IT sector that have their European HQ at Dublin. True there are certain economic incentives but the point I want to stress here is that it has led to creation of digital ecosystem of startups and corporates together. We also had the chance to experience some of the startups that Enterprise Ireland (Govt. body to foster startups in Ireland) was working with to help them export their services out of Ireland.

The four days flew so fast and we had enormous learning opportunities during the trip. The first day was briefing with the startups at Enterprise Ireland. We could meet the respective owners of company and ask questions and doubts pertaining to the case we had to work on. The second day was exploration day. We visited the campus of Oracle and Google and could get brief glimpse about their culture, their work and their processes. I feel like mentioning Anouck, one of our classmates, “Yes, there is such a thing as free lunches; it’s called a job at Google!” The companies like Google and Oracle have an open culture to foster innovation and they make sure that their employees may always remain motivated and hence they provide such a perks & facilities

The third day, we got a chance to visit Smurfit School of Business, a top ranked Business School by FT and we attended a short lecture on Digital Marketing by the faculty there. We also had a session by an industry expert who was the incharge of Digital Marketing functions at Ryanair. Later on we had a small intermingling with the students of Marketing Development Program where we could discuss how their Marketing program was placed in relation to ours and the experiences they had at the school. The final day was a wrap up. We had to leave our cozy BnBs, deliver the presentations for the startups and explore the city a bit.

I have inkling towards Sufism and Rumi  expresses my mind here well, “Travel brings power and love back into your life.”  In addition to the numerous learning instances, I was refreshed seeing a new land, new culture and new cuisines. I must not forget to mention the fun times we had as a group while exploring the city during our evenings each day after our normal schedule. So far Vlerick Journey has been enriching. I will keep you updated with the further interesting happenings

Rishi