Something is brewing in the School of Business — work-integrated learning with Alberta breweries

We talk to students doing work-integrated learning for AB brewers — going from from classroom to taproom

Students in SAIT’s School of Business — regardless of their area of focus — are often exposed to case studies and work-integrated learning opportunities with local businesses. Check out how SAIT’s marketing students in particular are working with area breweries.

Learning outside the classroom takes you “Fahr”

On a blustery January afternoon, 30 marketing students loaded into a bus and hit the road for Fahr Brewery, an award-winning, internationally recognized brewery creating beer in the German tradition. But the field trip wasn’t about sampling beers — it was about gaining knowledge for assignments.

The attending students were from two different SAIT marketing classes. One group was evaluating marketing communication strategies to help Fahr to promote their signature Oktoberfest event, while another was tasked with looking at Fahr’s digital footprint and existing marketing. By the time of their tour, they had already had multiple conversations with brewery staff, but this trip took them away from their desks and straight to the production site.

This would be SAIT’s second time in as many semesters making a site visit to Fahr Brewery.

When asked, founder and brewmaster Jochen Fahr says, “In Germany, we do apprenticeship-type work, so this is a familiar model and one I’ve always really liked for the experience students gain. And, as the owner, I like working with students because they haven’t necessarily been exposed to the brand before. It gives us an outsider’s perspective and helps us understand how they interact with our products. Reviewing their projects and proposals at the end of term very helpful to us.”

“I’m a big fan of going out and seeing what they’re about,” says Cameron Mueller, reflecting on how this site visit informs his group’s project. “You get a raw experience by getting to interact with everyone there and seeing the process in person. You just get such a better feel of what the brand is about.”

Another student, Kaden Howell says he appreciates opportunities to learn outside of the classroom. “You got hands-on learning. Experience — that’s really what it’s about. We read about it in books, but it really sinks in when you get out there to practice what you learned.”

Brewmaster Fahr says, “I can see Fahr continuing to work with students from SAIT. It’s been a really great experience, and they're all very enthusiastic, and the instructors were great, and you can just see that it's a really high-quality program.”