In early June, James Tanoos from Purdue Polytechnic’s supply chain program took the night train to Munich, Germany after presenting at a conference in Rotterdam and before another scheduled presentation in Zurich. This journey’s purpose was to return to the Munich University of Applied Sciences (MUAS), where Tanoos has fostered an academic connection since first visiting in 2022.
In that time, a sizeable amount of “reciprocity and exchange” between MUAS and Purdue has developed, Tanoos said. “[During the visit] I served as a guest lecturer for their MBA class. … Afterwards I actually got to speak with a student who will be at Purdue in the fall taking classes—one of mine, in fact.”
The content of Tanoos’ presentation at MUAS incorporated several real-life resources, such as industry case studies from Ford and Tesla that delved into the respective companies’ post-pandemic global supply chain. The Ford example discussed radical changes to the company’s supply chain strategy, and the Tesla case dealt in part with potential effects on the company’s stock price after the reveal of their Cybertruck.
Teams of MUAS grad students were then asked to devise “collaborative consulting recommendations,” as though they were presenting to the Tesla board of directors on a plan for 2024.
“I also planned out a workshop for next year's study abroad in May, 2025 where my students will come to campus and work with undergraduates from MUAS,” Tanoos said.
During Tanoos’ prior study abroad program, which took place over spring break, Purdue students had the opportunity to tour BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche’s German factories.
Study abroad opportunities of this kind within Purdue Polytechnic are often the result of many years of work, done in order to solidify the many international partnerships required in order to create a unique curriculum for Purdue students. Purdue Polytechnic administers these programs through its Office of Globalization, the homepage for which can be found below.
Additional information
- Purdue Polytechnic’s Office of Globalization
- Polytechnic students, faculty bring tech expertise to dozens of research projects at university-wide Expo (Purdue Polytechnic newsroom)
- James Tanoos: best presenter at global mechanical engineering conference (Purdue Polytechnic newsroom)