The time has finally come:the students of the Master's degree program "Integrated Management/Integrated Management Systems" are off to Scotland. In the capital Edinburgh, we will be attending the "World Symposium of Social Responsibility and Sustainability" for a total of 3 out of 5 days. This is organized by the University of Edinburgh and the University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg (HAW), among others. The aim of the event is to support interdisciplinary exchange between scientists, companies and political organizations conducting research or projects that focus on sustainability and social responsibility. Furthermore, the question of how companies can act sustainably and with social responsibility is to be addressed.

I will tell you about my experiences and impressions of the trip and I hope I can inspire you for this beautiful spot on earth.

DepartureThe

journey begins and the first thing on the agenda is train travel. From Zittau to Prague in 4 hours, because the flight to Edinburgh departs from Prague airport. It rains on the way and as the drops beat against the train windows, I wonder if we are in for 10 days of bad weather. When I arrive in Prague, I meet up with my brother who lives and works here. For once, no rain awaits me. So far so good. I then spend the day with my brother in a beautiful city with lots of culture and delicious food

.Day 1: Arrival in the new cultureThe

next day, my cell phone alarm rings at 6.30 am. I take the metro and bus through the city directly to the airport terminal. There I meet my fellow students together with our course director, Prof. Brauweiler. They are already at check-in and after a quick rummage around in the suitcase that a friend and I are sharing, I can also check our luggage in. A quarter of an hour later we are sitting in front of the gate waiting. We share our experiences of packing our suitcases and the trials and tribulations of the "complicated" route from Zittau to Prague. The others had traveled by car. After the security check and another waiting break, we finally board the plane. Please fasten your seat belt. We take off - off to Edinburgh.[caption id="attachment_1122" align="alignleft" width="200"] Arthur's Seat[/caption

]ScotlandIn

the capital, something unexpected awaits us - sunshine. And it's really warm. I buy a ticket for the shuttle bus and then we can finally head towards the city center. We are greeted by the sound of bagpipes in Welverly Place. I immediately take the opportunity to exchange the cash I brought with me for pounds. Unfortunately, when buying tickets for the bus, I had the problem that the pound coins I had brought with me were not accepted. I still had these from my family's previous trips to the UK. After a 20-minute walk with bag and baggage, we reached our hostel, the Destiny Student Brae House. An overnight stay in a double room with bathroom costs around 30 euros. We share the kitchen, as my 9 fellow students and I all fit into an apartment with 5 double rooms. All in all, it's good accommodation at a moderate price, just a 10-minute walk from the city center. After settling in and making a detour to the nearby department store, we walk to Holyrood Palace, the Queen's official residence in Scotland. From there, we set off on a hop-on hop-off tour. Many of you will be familiar with this: you take a city tour, but you have the opportunity to get off and look around on the way. Later, you can continue on another bus. There are lots of different pubs and restaurants at the Grassmarket where you can also sit outside. We take the opportunity to spend the evening in one of the pubs. As haggis is a typical Scottish dish, of course we have to try it. Haggis is a sheep's stomach stuffed with offal. Sounds disgusting, but it works. We try it as a "pie", a kind of stuffed (in this case with haggis) cake.[caption id="attachment_1123" align="aligncenter" width="5184"] Grassmarket in the city center below Edinburgh Castle[/caption]

Day 2: Between Lowlands and LochsWe

used the day to see the surroundings of Edinburgh and the adjacent Lowlands. We booked a bus tour with timberbrush tours. The highlights are Loch Lommond - the largest loch in Scotland in terms of area - and Stirling Castle. Many of you (at least I hope so) will be familiar with the movie "Braveheart" starring Mel Gibson as William Wallace. Stirling Castle plays an important role in this, as it does in Scottish history as a whole. This is also brought to us in a humorous way by the bus driver during the trips to the various locations. Small details ensure that even the biggest Scotland fan learns new things.[caption id="attachment_1120" align="alignnone" width="5184"] Group photo at Loch Lommond[/caption]

Day 3: University of EdinburghOn the

third day, we explore Edinburgh on our own again in the morning and I can even exchange my old coins at the Bank of Scotland.In the afternoon, we meet staff from the University of Edinburgh for the first time in one of the university's many buildings. There are several campuses spread throughout the city. The staff tell us general things about the university and what it does. As the university is hosting the "World Symposium of Responsibility and Sustainability", the topic of sustainability is of course also discussed and how the university tries to deal with the topic in its everyday life and make its students and staff aware of it.[caption id="attachment_1121" align="alignnone" width="5184"] University of Edinburgh[/caption]As the last and decisive group match of the German national soccer team against South Korea at the World Cup is taking place on this day, we look for a pub with public viewing after our meeting at the university. All hell breaks loose there, as Mexico is also playing Sweden at the same time. We've already missed most of the game and all we see is the drama in injury time. I talk to one of the spectators who, when he finds out I'm from Germany, comments "poor you". But I can clearly see that he has to pull himself together and not seem too happy about the outcome of the game. If you do the damage, you don't have to worry about the ridicule. Later in the evening, we go up to Arthur's Seat, from where you have a great view of the city and can even see the sea. It makes up for the World Cup defeat, although I have to admit that I'm not the biggest soccer fan anyway.[caption id="attachment_1124" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Sunset over Edinburgh[/caption]

Day 4: First day of the "World Symposium "

The "World Symposium" begins on the fourth day. We can expect many different lectures and presentations on the topics of social responsibility and sustainability. The whole thing takes place in two different rooms and you can use the schedule to decide which topics you find interesting and would like to know more about. There are lots of different people from all over the world, including China, Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, and of course the UK and Germany. We are there all day and listen to the various presentations, which are sometimes more and sometimes less interesting. At the end of the day, we also have the opportunity to chat with the other participants over a glass of wine and music. Afterwards, we go to a pub again with our professors and lecturers, as Prof. Brauweiler is leaving early the next day

.Day 5: The second "World Symposium" dayOn the

second and last day of the "World Symposium", various lectures are held again, including one by a member of our university, Mr. Markus Will. This was one of the best lectures, as not only I but also my fellow students and other participants of the conference found. Mr. Will receives the "Best Paper Award" for the paper accompanying the presentation, which is presented by the conference director Walter Leal. The conference ends afterwards and while our remaining lecturers prepare for their return journey on the same day, my fellow students and I have already decided to take a few more days off in preparation for the trip

.a few more days offWe

use

this

time to immerse ourselves even further in the Scottish culture and landscape. We go to the seaside, climb mountains and visit other cities such as Glasgow. During the week, we also bought train tickets for the Scottish Railway, which took us through the Highlands to Inverness, a city in the far north of Scotland. We spend two more days there and visit the famous battlefield at Culloden, where the English defeated the Jacobites in 1746, and the following day we drive to Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness, probably the most notorious and best-known lake in Scotland.[caption id="attachment_1125" align="alignnone" width="5184"] Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness[/caption]

Departure dayUnfortunately

, time passes far too quickly and we have to leave the very next day. We see Edinburgh one last time and then fly off again, back to Germany, where exam time awaits us. We wish we'd stayed in Scotland with the incredibly friendly people, the fantastic landscape, the cute sheep and cattle, the endless lochs and the romantic sunsets - goodbye Scotland![caption id="attachment_1126" align="alignnone" width="5184"] Herd of cattle[/caption]