One of my favourite things about being on BSc Business is the wealth of fun field trips we get to go on throughout the three years.
To give you a better picture of some of the cool places you could be visiting if you go on the course, I’ve decided to compile a list of my highlights from the past three years so far.
BSc Business Bootcamp- First Year
Part I: Overnight Field Trip to Eden Project
Because of the structure of the BSc Business course focusing on building employability skills (and that fact that teamwork is a crucial part of managing businesses and building a strong workplace cultures), there are a lot of group assignments/presentations/ team projects over the course of the degree and in turn- the need for LOTS of team building.
Within the first few weeks of freshers- my cohort of 60-something students went on an overnight trip to the Eden Project where we attended lectures, team building activities, networking/getting to know each other, and at the end- the assignment to give an impromptu presentation with our project groups in front of the entire class (with only ten minutes to prepare).
It was such a fun start to my course and we made so many fun memories within those two days! It allowed me to get a chance to meet everyone on my course properly and establish the family-style community that the course tries to build within each cohort.
We got to sleep in the camping pods on-site, which was so much fun as well! There is nothing like waking up and getting to look around the grounds at sunrise!
Part II: Fistral Beach Team Building Day
On our way back from Eden Project, now a bit more familiar with each other and ready to take on the next tasks- we stopped at Fistral Beach for lunch and an afternoon of team building. We were split into different groups from the ones we worked in at Eden Project and had to work together against the other teams to try and win different challenges. We learned a lot about ourselves and how we perform in different group environments and at the end of the day we all got to communally reflect on our personal experiences.
BF Adventure- Second Year
Flashing forward to the first few weeks of Year Two- BF Adventure.
This was one of the most memorable of the field trips for me because it was full of adventure, adrenaline, and challenges! As you will read a bit more about below- there is a big group project carrying on through the majority of Year Two that is apart of our BEP2030 module, and this field trip was to give everyone an opportunity to see how their project team and project team members work in high-pressure conditions. We started off the day, solving different puzzles and challenges together and had to figure out how to properly delegate roles and work as a team.
In the afternoon, we were given the task to build a raft with just some barrels, rope, and wooden planks without any instruction before racing them against the other project teams in a fixed time period. This was definitely the most challenging part of the day- but we sure learned a lot from it! We ended the day with a confidence building exercise of each student climbing up different parts of the cliff and jumping off in front of the whole cohort.
We were encouraged to cheer each other on and support each other if one of our team members got too scared or did not want to continue- so we all really bonded with each other that day.
JP Morgan Bournemouth- Second Year
As mentioned above- in Year Two, students get the opportunity to go on an overnight trip to Bournemouth in preparation for a field trip to the JP Morgan Bournemouth Campus. This visit is tied to the Sustainability Consulting Project that we all spend the following months working on in our project teams in preparation for a final proposal and presentation to the some of JP Morgan’s senior staff members on the Bournemouth Campus. I learnt so much on this field trip and felt that the collaboration with a real big-name company gave me the incentive to build on my professionalism in ways I may not have beforehand. It also gave me a really good talking point to refer to on my CV and in interviews for internships.
Pendennis Yacht Harbour- Second Year
I really enjoyed this field trip because we got such an in-depth experience of what goes during a Yacht Build at these harbours and I was really fascinated with the whole process behind it. We got to even see a yacht at the beginning stages of a build and got to have a hands-on tour with the Project Management team behind it. This was really cool because we got the opportunity to get a better insight into what the day-to-day life of a project manager could be like.
New York Field Trip- Third Year
I recently just come back from the NYC Field trip the other week, and had the BEST time!
This field trip is a part of the BEP3090 Module in Term 1 of Third Year. The aim of this module is to chose a research topic to follow over a 5-day ethnographic research trip in New York where each student is responsible to collect relevant data during business-visits, tours, independent observations and trips, and open discussions. We visited some very interesting companies and learned a lot about the differences between US and UK businesses/work life.
***If you are interested to read more about what we did and where we went throughout the week, check out my blog post here and get a full recap of everything we got up to.
Pendennis Castle- Third Year
Our most recent field trip was just at the start of Term 2 at Pendennis Castle. With term 1 of our final year out of they way, and the fear of dissertations beginning to loom over us all, The Business School eased our stresses by booking out the event rooms at the castle for a full day of seminars, workshops, and lectures. We even got to have one of our lectures inside the fortress!!
All in all, I feel really lucky to have gotten to experience the amount I have on this course and I feel very grateful to have made it my first choice when I was applying for university. While our lectures and seminars are more open and interactive than other courses, I think that is what makes it so special because it truly prepares students for the working world!
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If you enjoyed this blog and are interested to hear a bit more about the BSc Business Program, click here to take a look at the course page and how to apply, and click here to find out why I chose to come to Penryn Campus.
Be sure to stay tuned into @exeterunilife on Instagram to see what we all get up to each week and what student life is like at Exeter.