At the Chambers College, experiential-learning opportunities are key to propel our students to the forefront of business education.
On March 24, members of our Global Supply Chain Management (GSCM) department took a group of students to the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Plant in Buffalo, West Virginia, to learn about the industry and to get a sneak peek into Toyota's processes.
The trip to Toyota showed students how many possibilities there are within supply chain management, while showing them world-leading innovation.
"The Toyota trip was extremely beneficial to students because it allowed us to make connections to the content we have learned in our classes," said Ryan Putorti, a Global Supply Chain Management senior. "The Toyota Business Practices training showed world-class examples of those learning objectives and how they can be manipulated and applied in a real-life setting."
Not only do these out-of-the-classroom trips benefit students, but they also benefit the department because our educators can bring back more current examples of things like process improvement, which allows for future students to better grasp the material.
After several years of remote learning and abiding by COVID-19 precautions, our GSCM students were finally able to get firsthand experience from a multinational company right here in West Virginia.
"The trip was impactful for me because I was able to draw from previous experiences I have had in the manufacturing environment from internships and see how aspects like scale, layout and efficiency differ from plant to plant," said Putorti.
The company culture also stood out to students and created a positive learning environment.
"I have been able to see great examples of company culture through internships. Students who had not seen that prior were able to see the "Toyota way" with their respect for persons. Nowadays, I think company culture is a big selling point for employers and is directly related to job satisfaction," said Putorti.
At manufacturing plants like Toyota, many times you have to think on your feet. For some students, that is their favorite thing about the industry.
"I started studying Global Supply Chain Management because of how fast the field is growing and the opportunities it presents," said Jackson DeVol, a Global Supply Chain Management senior from Parkersburg, West Virginia. "My favorite thing about GSCM is how it makes you think outside the box for a lot of problems."
“I found the Toyota visit to be extremely interesting,” said DeVol. “My favorite
part of the trip was learning just how insanely precise some of the processes
are, with some measurements of parts having to be within a small fraction of
a hair’s width to be considered acceptable. I think these experiential learning
opportunities are important because it provides a sense of what we are really
going to see in our real-world jobs once we graduate.”
Our seniors are able to take what they learned and put it into practice at their first job post-graduation.
"These experiential learning opportunities are important because it provides a sense of what we are really going to see in our real-world jobs once we graduate," said DeVol. "In my experience, after seeing what all goes into the manufacturing process at Toyota, it made me realize just how much learning continues after obtaining the degree."
Learn more about our Global Supply Chain Management department and how you can get involved at business.wvu.edu/gscm.
SH /04/07/22
CONTACT: Shelby Hudnall
Marketing Strategist
WVU John Chambers College of Business and Economics, Strategic Communications
Stoompa1@mail.wvu.edu
