Students from Széchenyi István University returned home from Portugal in early May, where they worked on Bosch-related projects together with young people from several universities as part of a short mobility programme. The practical tasks and the final exam at the end of the programme showed that the students from Győr performed outstandingly well.

Széchenyi István University offers practice-oriented courses and a degree that is valuable in the labour market. This includes the possibility of gaining experience abroad, which is available not only to those who would like to spend longer time abroad but also to those who would prefer to spend only a few days at other universities.

Within Erasmus+, the so-called Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) is a short mobility programme in which online participation is followed by a few days of face-to-face participation. Most recently, 13 Hungarian and international students from Audi Hungaria Faculty of Automotive Engineering and one doctoral student from the English-language Doctoral Programme in Economics and Management (SZEEDSM) participated in BIP at the invitation of the Portuguese University of Technology Porto (ISEP). Eszter Sós, Assistant Professor in the Department of Logistics and Forwarding, accompanied the young people to the programme "Co-creation and Innovation for Industrial Sustainability".

Hungarian and international students of Széchenyi István University with Eszter Sós (left) at the University of Porto.

"The online part of the programme started at the beginning of March with an event where, in addition to the organising Portuguese university, the participating partner institutions - UPM in Madrid, SAXION in Enschede, the Netherlands and our university - were presented. The students were divided into mixed teams and presented with their project assignments. They then participated in twice online meetings twice a week, where they heard technical presentations from university lecturers and Bosch experts. On behalf of our institution, Dr. Petra Szakonyi provided training on low-energy cities and neighbourhoods," said Eszter Sós.

She added that the online part was followed by a trip to Porto. During the week, the students visited the Bosch factory and were also given a number of technical presentations and a sightseeing tour of the city. "At the end of the programme, the team members had to take an exam on their knowledge of the topic, which our students passed with an exceptionally high level of 100%. The final day consisted of a presentation to the host company, where the participants presented their results and analyses and presented their innovative ideas," the lecturer stressed.

During the short programme, the mixed teams had to develop a concept to improve the sustainability of Bosch's business processes or to introduce new sustainable products or services. The focus was on developing the students' skills, with a particular emphasis on teamwork in an international environment and presentation. Participants in the hands-on training were able to analyse real business models, while improving their language and communication skills.