It is interesting to note how one trip you make to your dream destination always make you stay in awe with that place for the rest of your life. There is nothing that stops you from cherishing those memories forever. Before the I share my experience , a big thank you to my batch 13 – 15, my friends , Radhieka Ma’am and Tasneem for being a part of this wonderful journey and trip with me.

The buzz had started long back in May 2014 when we all were gearing up to get our visas and still were excited for the trip as the announcement was made by Radhieka Ma’am. This German Student Exchange happens each year between Indo German Training Centre, Mumbai and Duale Hochschule Baden Wuerttemberg, Karlsruhe where we get an insight into the Business Environment in Germany and vice versa when German students come to India on the exchange programme.

This trip has so many wonderful memories, but they were some experiences that took our breath away and some industry visits that totally enthralled us. Amongst the places visited “Schwarz Wald “i.e. the Black Forest and the “wunderbare” city of Heidelberg is one of the best attractions on the whole trip. With lush greenery, the antique cottages, those fairy tale paths in the woods and then the “Schwarzwaldkirschtorte” or the black forest cake for the hungry mouths are what each one remembers. To add on “Kirshwasser” or cherry water also added some spice! Coming to Heidelberg I was spellbound by the beauty of the roads and the maintenance of those churches, it gives you a sneak peak in the 20^th century Germany as the architecture in this area has its own charm. Romantic lakes, marvelous and grand buildings and the opulence of the palace in Heidelberg make you fall in love with Germany all over again.

Coming to our industry visits, I take back huge amount of learnings from this exchange program, the visit at SAP left me spellbound, the BIG Data approach, the interaction with the HR pertaining to organization culture, what drives technology at SAP, the employee interactions at SAP, their connection with DHBW and the selection criteria for the German Dual System of Learning was totally different from what we have here in India. The next visit that I look forward to having again is Klingel Mail Site Visit, for the simple fact that whatever theory I studied in Supply Chain Management and Logistics, I saw that coming into practice, from inventory to managing extra stock, from order confirmations to dispatch and how RFID technology works to Material Handling and Perishability factor in Supply Chain, it had almost all in practice. I will personally make a visit once again to Klingel Mail only to understand the nitty-gritties of the industry because being a “Mittelstand “firm or SME, it had a very fair management system. From the entire industrial visits one thing was sure “Mittelstand Industrien” at present form the backbone of the German industrial scenario and contributes the maximum to the GDP of Germany.

My “Jugendherberg” or the youth hostel gave us a small demo of how German life was chilled out and open. I am sure my comrades will agree with me when I say that student life in Germany is one of the most exciting ones. Not only because of the flexible relationship between the students and the teachers but also the scope of extracurricular activities that is available after classes.

Sharing Indian values and traditions with my German counterparts was what I loved doing the most on this trip. Since I could understand and converse in the language, on the dinners that we shared with German students, it was incredible to note how they were interested in the whole thing. This I call a true cultural exchange where you go to another country, imbibe their culture and at the same time not forgetting to have exchange of ideas about your culture as well.

An experience worth having!

Rucha Khot, IGTC 13 -15