Master's students have gained valuable insight into management, marketing and manufacturing during a trip to one of the UK's most successful car producers.
Hundreds of MINIs leave the assembly lines each day and the group got to see this in action at Plant Oxford.
Back at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU), they are reaping the benefits of the factory tour, having gained knowledge they can apply to their studies as well as their future careers.
MBA Global students found the company's export activities of particular interest.
Swapnil Holay said: "It helped me to relate my global knowledge, as cars are manufactured for the global market from that plant.
"It made me examine how the design standards differ on the global perspectives."
Swapnil - who gained his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering in his home country of India - signed up for the visit because he feels business and management students should have knowledge about operations and systems that are carried out on the work floor.
"This will help us to take effective decisions and analyse problems from the core, keeping in mind the work floor specifications," he said.
"The exceptionally well-organised and well-planned visit also gave us good exposure to the automobile world as well as introduce us to latest technologies used in manufacturing."
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Michael Starkey, Programme Leader for Strategic and Digital Marketing, Marketing Management and Advertising and PR Management MScs, organised the visit.
"BMW Mini has been used as a common theme for both course work a final examination," he said.
"The aim was to provide students with an excellent understanding of how cars are made, particularly using robots to manufacture the body shell."
Three million MINIs have been produced since BMW relaunched the brand in 2001 and Strategic and Digital Marketing MSc student Will Chamberlain said the trip put into perspective the size of the production plant as well as the processes that allow the iconic car to succeed year on year.
"The visit allowed the theory learnt to be put into perspective by seeing the real-life operation following such methods," said Will, whose career ambition is to work within sports marketing.
Posted on Wednesday 14 March 2018