International Insight: Idaho State Students Visit Europe

Idaho State University students recently got to see how business is done on the international stage. 

This summer, 15 students spent 10 days traversing through Germany, Austria, Czechia, and Poland. After landing in Munich, Germany, the group first toured BMW Welt and visited the BMW Museum. From there, the group got a behind-the-scenes look at Allianz Arena, home of FC Bayern München, stopped by Red Bull Hangar 7 and the famous street Getreidgasse, toured a factory of crystal maker Ruckl, and more. 

“I hope they were able to broaden their horizons and see what's within reach,” said Haley Hardman, assistant professor of marketing at ISU, instructor/coordinator for the Idaho State University Honors Program and one of the trip’s chaperones. “If students haven't traveled much, within or outside of Idaho, then it is hard to see all the possibilities available to them around the world. Traveling can be so daunting, so I hope that some of the students were able to grasp an entirely new set of possibilities.”

Beyond business, the trip also featured cultural and historical stops including the birthplace of Mozart, Nymphenburg Palace, filming locations from The Sound of Music, a walking tour of Prague, a boat trip along the underground Punkva River, and somber visits to the Auschwitz concentration camp and Oskar Schindler’s enamel factory. 

“My favorite part of the trip was visiting Poland because it made history feel so much more real than anything I had learned in a classroom,” said Macy Winder, a finance and accounting double major at ISU. “It was a powerful experience that gave me a deeper appreciation for the resilience of its people and the importance of remembering the past.”

“The trip was easily one of the most exciting experiences of my college career,” said business management and marketing double major Luke Hansen. “It showed me that we, as ISU students, have so much more in common than we realize. My absolute favorite memory was riding electric scooters through Munich at night, just taking in the vibrant energy of the city.”

Last year, students visited Greece.

For more information on ISU’s College of Business, visit isu.edu/cob.