AUK Finance Students Visit Europe

Twenty senior finance students from the American University of Kuwait spent 10 days in France and Germany to examine modern manufacturing processes and the impact of the financial crisis on manufacturing in Europe.

The students' study abroad program was sponsored by Burgan Bank and a private sponsor eager to help senior students have a chance to see theories they learn at AUK in practice employed by the most modern manufacturers in Europe.

The students began their tour in Frankfurt visiting Deutsche Bank where they found operations on the trading floor most interesting. The students also visited the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

A visit to the SMART car plant at Smartville provided an opportunity to see the complete assembly line at Europe's most modern car assembly plant. visit to John Deere provided an opportunity to see the different elements which are needed in the production of significantly larger machines particularly agricultural machines like the combine harvester.

The impressive precision links supported by advanced computer programs and high-tech manufacturing equipment provide practical experience in the extremely complex world of the modern factory.

The students visited DOW Chemical plant where they were taken through the polystyrene extrusion process and saw the production of various sizes of Styrofoam. Visits to Daimler Benz and General Motors provided excellent examples of the shared relationships between these companies when manufacturing and supplying parts for the powertrains of Mercedes, General Motors, and BMW automobiles.

The students also had opportunities to learn about the interrelationship between business and culture in Europe where finance and manufacturing still "fit in" with everyday life and the "greening" of industry. Significant efforts to become energy efficient were in evidence at every plant visited.

Study Abroad is very much in keeping with the Mission of the American University of Kuwait to provide students "with knowledge, self-awareness, and personal growth that can enhance critical thinking." These students will bring back their experiences and share them in class with other students and promote a better understanding of the complex world of the global economy.
  

AUK Finance students Visit the Mercedes Museum
 

Entering Heidelberg University for a lecture on Global Prospects until 2020
 

Listening to a lecture on production at John Deere
 

At Heidelberg Castle
 

In the John Deere Factory Museum