This spring, students from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Haslam College of Business spent 10 days studying in The Netherlands during the college’s first study abroad experience in the nation. Facilitated by Haslam’s International Programs and Study Abroad (IPSA) office, participants explored the country’s rich cultural and business history, studying enterprises representative of its current business landscape.
Less than half the size of Tennessee, The Netherlands punches far above its weight in the global economic arena. The country is renowned for its advanced agricultural practices and use of hydroponic farms, enabling Dutch farmers to produce vast agricultural output. In 2023, it ranked as the world’s second-largest exporter of agricultural products, after the U.S., and eighth-largest exporter of goods overall, making it an ideal locale to study international business.
International Business Immersion
Students explored multiple cultural and business sites around Amsterdam and Rotterdam, including the Aalsmeer Flower Market, the world’s largest flower market and center of the world flower trade, Booking.com, a major digital travel company, and the Port of Rotterdam, Europe’s largest anchorage and a key logistics hub. The study abroad participants also visited the Rotterdam School of Management, recognized for its research and academic excellence, and the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies, a leading think tank translating academic insight into real-world government policy.
A goal of the experience was to ensure the students learned about international business operations through examples in The Netherlands. To demonstrate their knowledge, the students were divided into teams of four to research, develop and deliver presentations explaining their findings at the end of BUAD 400, the study abroad class their experience fulfilled. For Alex Del-Castillo, a senior in supply chain management, the presentation helped tie together all the different aspects of the experience.
“Conducting the briefing at the end of the course gave me time to consider as many different factors as possible to create a well-thought-out presentation,” says Del-Castillo. “After finishing all of our visits and activities, it was useful to reflect back and think deeper about what we had just experienced.”
Lauren Jacobs, IPSA director, who organized the Dutch study abroad trip, was impressed by how well the group understood the international business operations they observed during site visits. She recalls several students asked detailed questions about supply chain management during a visit with Port Authority officials in Rotterdam.
“They conducted research about the company ahead of time to ensure they understood the technical terms,” she says. “The students had many great follow-up questions that helped them complete their final presentations for BUAD 400.”
Robust Cultural Experience
Among the cultural attractions were tours of Amsterdam, its canals and the Anne Frank House, a visit to the Maritime Museum Rotterdam and a biking tour of the Kinderdijk windmills district.
For Katharine “Katie” Bryan, a senior in management, the most memorable element of the experience was the Kinderdijk windmills tour. In true Dutch fashion, the group pedaled on bikes from Rotterdam to Kinderdijk, and she calls the trip one of the most beautiful experiences of her life.
“Everything was lush and green and teeming with life,” she remembers. “The windmills themselves were absolutely gorgeous and an engineering marvel. Many of them are still operational and have been for over 300 years!”
Another notable aspect of the students’ visit to The Netherlands was the nation’s focus on sustainability. Given the country’s limited space, Dutch citizens are especially committed to resource conservation.
“It was genuinely difficult to find something that is single-use and not biodegradable, but for the few things that were, the Dutch take recycling seriously,” Bryan says. “Sustainability is so ingrained into their culture that not making sustainable choices is seen as selfish and heavily frowned upon.”
According Bogdan Bichescu, academic leader of The Netherlands study abroad program, as well as the Master of Science in Business Analytics program director and associate professor in Haslam’s Department of Business Analytics and Statistics, it is always rewarding when students pick up on cultural distinctions.
“This is what makes these programs fun,” he explains. “They expose students to a different mindset, different culture, different ways of building and developing a certain environment.”
Carrying the Torch
Jacobs agrees, noting that the students not only gained knowledge, experience and international insight during their visit to The Netherlands, but also served as outstanding representatives of the college and the Volunteer Spirit.
“We consistently receive high praise for Haslam students from the businesses we visit in our study abroad programs,” she says. “They’re professional, prepared and extremely curious to learn. We expect every group going on a program to maintain those relationships and that reputation, and this group more than met our expectations.”
Plans are already underway for The Netherlands 2026 Study Abroad Experience. To learn more about this and other study abroad opportunities, visit Haslam’s IPSA website.
Main photo: Members of The Netherlands study abroad experience pose with their academic leader, Bogdan Bichescu (far left), on a bridge above one of Amsterdam’s many canals.
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CONTACT:
Scott McNutt, senior business writer/publicist, rmcnutt4@utk.edu
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