Travel can be broadening, especially when it comes to learning about global logistics.
The Intermodal Transportation Institute (ITI) at the University of Denver recently concluded its ninth, annual Intermodal Travel Seminar, the final course taken by students completing the Master of Science in Intermodal Transportation Management degree program.
Last month ITI students visited Europe, where they had the opportunity to tour the Maasvlakte container terminal in Rotterdam; hear a presentation by Port of Rotterdam executives; and engage in discussion with senior-level officers and staff at NATO. They also met with senior executives at APM Terminals in The Hague; visited the Port of Brussels where they heard presentations by the Harbor Master and Inland Navigation Europe (INE); and had the opportunity to hear a presentation relating to the EU-funded container security projects INTEGRITY and CASSANDRA.
Upon completion of the travel seminar, students, all of whom hold senior-level positions in the transportation industry, were asked to comment on whether they felt this international learning experience would enhance their value to their company. Almost unanimously, students responded in the affirmative, saying that this exposure to different cultures and different ways of addressing and thinking about issues had given them a broader perspective on a variety of transportation-related issues and made them think more critically about similar issues in the U.S.
And as LM’s annual salary survey indicates, year after year, education matters.