It’s rare for undergraduates to gain real-world project management, cutting-edge technology, and international business and travel experience in a single class, but Auburn supply chain management students are doing that and more as part of an innovative course (SCM4900) taught by Professors Tyler Morgan and Tony Roath.

A total of 27 Auburn students partnered with technology-focused graduate students at the University of Trento in Italy and Toulouse Business School (TBS) in France on projects this academic year for several European companies.

In the fall, Harbert students collaborated with Trento engineering graduate students on finding AI-based solutions to enhance industrial partners’ manufacturing efficiency. This marked the second year in a row the students traveled to Italy for the Italy-Auburn collaboration.

Together, the students helped Almax Mori, which makes aluminum extrusion dies used in products like car frames and lamp posts, develop an AI model to predict production delays and optimize delivery times to customers. They also helped Giardini, a leading producer of polyurethane-coated items for the fashion and sports industries, implement an AI solution to automatically and accurately identify the causes of machine downtime.

“The class was kind of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that not a lot of students get to be a part of,” said senior Katie Bohm, who was assigned to the Almax Mori team. “The Trento engineers worked on the technical, AI aspects of the project while we provided a business perspective and kept the project on track.”

According to junior Gabe Lopez, learning the fundamentals of project management and AI applications in industrial manufacturing at the start of the semester were key to success.

“The Trento students had the coding and in-depth AI knowledge,” said Lopez, who served as a project lead on the Almax Mori team. “We looked at the project from a supply chain perspective, checking to see if there was anything they could do to optimize their algorithm, which would affect the company’s production. We made sure that their recommendations to the company were robust.”

Senior Robert “R.J.” Meyer, who worked on the Giardini project, said the fall course experience paid big dividends for him this past summer when he worked as an intern at Amazon’s automated packing division in San Antonio.

“In Trento, we worked with two companies, looking at their processes and figuring out how we can make things more efficient,” said Meyer. “I looked at what [the Amazon facility] was currently doing, what their pain points were, and I identified some solutions that could potentially provide some utility in either faster packing rates or better [order] fill rates.”

The French connection

In the spring, Harbert students are working with TBS data science graduate students on an AI and mixed reality (MR) technology project with European aircraft manufacturer Airbus, which is headquartered in Toulouse.

One of the most beneficial aspects of the course, according to senior Margaret Wilson, has been interacting with the international students, particularly in-person during the recent week long visit to Toulouse in early March.

“Although we all spoke English, there were some challenges with language barriers,” said Wilson, noting that in-depth technical discussions required her to carefully organize her thoughts and ideas before expressing them. “You really had to think through whether the words you’re using to describe your solution made logical sense.”

Wilson also appreciated learning about and touring Airbus.

“Getting to go inside their manufacturing facility was extremely valuable,” she said. “It was also interesting to compare and contrast how we do manufacturing [in the U.S.] and what the work-life balance looks like versus how they do things in France.”

Intentional design

Roath and Morgan designed the course to simulate what students will encounter in their actual industry careers.

“They wouldn’t spend four months overseas,” explained Roath. “Instead, they’d work with their international counterparts on a daily basis through zoom and then they’d do a short-term visit on site to achieve a specific outcome.”

 Embedding the week long trip abroad also enables SCM students to gain valuable international experience while meeting their requirement to complete an industry internship, noted Morgan.

“In most cases our students complete their internship over the summer, which would rule out a traditional study abroad program,” Morgan said. “Our course allows them to travel abroad in a meaningful way within the semester.”

The course allowed Bohm to gain the international business experience she’d always dreamed about having.

“Study abroad was on my Auburn bucket list as an experience that I wanted, but as a double major in supply chain management and business analytics, I never found the time during the school year or the summer to do it,” said Bohm, who has accepted a position as a risk and financial analyst at Deloitte after she graduates in May. “Taking this course added to my skill set and rounded out my Auburn experience.”

Looking ahead

Lopez expects the course will help him this coming summer when he returns to Lockheed Martin for a second internship, as well as longer term when he launches his career.

“I got to learn more about AI, how to interact with international engineering students and how to solve a real-world problem,” said Lopez. “I’ll be able to show [Lockheed Martin] that I’m just a more well-rounded person, and it puts me a step ahead of my competition for full-time jobs later.”

Meyer encourages other students to take the course, especially since traveling abroad has been the best experience he’s had during his time at Auburn.

“The combination of being surrounded by historic locations, creating relationships with other students as you explore the country and being exposed to drastically different world views create a unique and memorable experience that cannot be replicated elsewhere,” said Meyer, who took the course in both fall and spring.

He enthusiastically endorses the course and encourages other students to consider taking it.

“You go into the trip relative strangers, and you come out being really close friends,” said Meyer about the unifying experience of traveling abroad. “You also have a different perspective of the world and how it operates, which is really, really cool. I would go back and do each trip I’ve done 100 times over if I could.”

As the semester winds down, Morgan and Roath, along with faculty colleague Robert Straw, want to scale the course to include additional Auburn students and industry partners while making it a permanent part of the highly regarded Auburn SCM curriculum.

In fall 2025, for example, they’ll add a new industry partner—an Italian craft brewer—and will welcome additional Auburn students from the Horst Schulze School of Hospitality Management.