Program Description

Zürich is the largest city in Switzerland located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. This cosmopolitan city by the water combines creative urban life with nature in all its glory. Zürich is abuzz with activity day and night with its countless events, old-town, castles, modern city areas, financial district, food experiences, and diverse museums (over 50). You can be in the Swiss mountains in less than an hour with public transportation. Easy day trips are possible to other cities like Bern, Lucerne, Lausanne and Geneva. Zürich has for years ranked as one of the world’s top cities in quality of life. Note: GPA lower than 2.5 can be considered only with approval of instructor.

Students who successfully complete the program will receive 3 credit hours for:

• IE 495: Reliability and Business Excellence

Program Activities

The overall trip is 21 days in Zürich. This course is a “big picture” look at things that enable business excellence and how to know if a company has the items needed for long term success. The topics and learnings are applicable for all of the College of Engineering disciplines. It integrates engineering knowledge (reliability, manufacturing and business concepts) with things that need to be understood in real world situations to enable continuous improvement & competitive advantage in any industry. Several companies will be toured to support learning and discussion.

Planned trips include:

• Red Bull factory
• Estee Lauder factory
• Nestle HQ,
• Mondelez (previously Kraft) factory
• Peugot factory
• Lindt Chocolate museum and factory
• Visit to Lake Geneva and select towns/cities visits
• Scavenger hunt in Zurich and some cultural dinners are included