Sefa Study Trip 2013

Purpose of the trip

This year’s destination of the Sefa Study Trip will be Athens, Greece. The trip takes place from April 9th until April 16th 2013. During the trip, 30 International and Dutch Economics and Business students from the University of Amsterdam will explore the Greek debt crisis up-close by visiting multinational companies, universities and governmental institutions. At these locations they will discuss solutions and see which opportunities there are in this city. Lastly, they will also broaden their horizon further more by visiting Athens’ cultural sights.

Program

With a varied program the students will learn how businesses operate in real-life and how the concepts studied at the university are applied. Focus point lies on answering the questions like: how are international companies dealing with the crisis? Do they have a different strategy since the beginning of the crisis? What kind of opportunities are there in Greece? Visits to the universities in Athens will further contribute to understanding the crisis. Lectures will be given by professors and discussions can be held with local students. Moreover, Athens is a very historic and culturally diverse city. By exploring the cultural sights, the participants will enhance their knowledge of the ancient history. Lastly, the group will also take some time to explore Athens nightlife.

Previous Study Trips

Sefa organized the first Study Trip in April 2011, when 30 students visited Istanbul. During their stay, the students visited KPMG, AkzoNobel and Deniz Bank as well as two universities and the Dutch Consulate. During the second Study Trip in 2012, a new group visited Budapest and visited Unilever, Sanoma and K&H Bank as well as two universities and the Chamber of Commerce.

Both trips were a success, as the students saw many different sides of Istanbul and Budapest and the companies there. In addition, students from different programmes shared their experiences and still keep in touch.