A week of adventure: Corvinus DSG study visit to Passau in 2024

In October 2024, 15 students travelled again to the city of the three rivers, Passau, accompanied by DSG lecturer Anna Freund, to get to know the city and Lower Bavaria. During the five days, they visited several companies and attractions, listened to lectures at the university, but there was also plenty of time for cosy walks and fun. 

The team travelled by train. On the day of arrival, the study visit participants took a short city tour before meeting the Corvinus bachelor and master study-abroad-students in Passau for a joint dinner. On the second day, they attended a lecture on international marketing by Professor Totzek. This was followed by a campus tour of the University of Passau and lunch in the beautiful university canteen. In the afternoon they visited the Schwarzmüller company in Freinberg, Austria. Marc Zeimentz, Head of Controlling of the Schwarzmüller Group, gave an insight into the activities of the company. Schwarzmüller manufactures high-quality trucks and special transport vehicles. The factory tour lasted nearly 3 hours and focused on vehicle production. 

On Wednesday, the whole team travelled by bus to Neuburg am Inn, where the CenTouris Institute of the University of Passau is located. Here, CEO Stefan Mang gave a presentation on the Institute’s activities and the ongoing projects involving the Institute’s experts in complex research activities. Then, back in Passau, the group visited one of Bavaria’s oldest breweries. This is where they heard about the Bavarian Purity Law of 1516, which states: “We hereby proclaim that henceforth, in the country as well as in the cities, marketplaces and countryside, only barley, hops and water are used for brewing beer”.  

In the evening, the group was invited to the freshers’ evening, where every year the university distributes beer and “Leberkäse” to the “Quietschies” (Lower Bavarian for freshers). On Thursday, the group visited the InnKubator, where they got an insight into the startup scene in Passau. They met the founder of the university startup Lesson Organiser, Thea Kakavand. In the afternoon, the last trip took participants to the Kropfmühl graphite mine, one of the largest ones in Germany. Friday was the day of departure. 

The study visit was full of interesting excursions and professional programmes that help DSG students to better understand the knowledge taught in the BSc courses and associate it with practical examples. We would like to thank the DAAD for their generous support and the University of Passau for their cooperation in the implementation of the programmes.