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 and a marketing manager who went 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 — and how that real-world experience can translate to a career.

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.”

An alumni’s career journey from classroom to taproom

While completing her marketing major at SAIT, Raygan Crook anticipated landing in a 9-to-5 job in a downtown office — something she felt would take some getting used to. But, entering the workforce, Crook’s expectations turned on their head. Now, some of Crook’s best marketing plans are written from the bar of her workplace taproom.

As the marketing manager of Big Beaver Brewing in Okotoks, she’s often found on a stool, tapping away with her laptop on the bartop, listening to the owner of Big Beaver Brewing and the brewer discussing upcoming events and brews. She flexes her creative muscles in ways she never expected — including working with SAIT students for work-integrated learning.

The seeds were planted early. Back when she was a SAIT student, Crook was already working with Big Beaver as a server. In the beginning, she had no idea that a School of Business instructor named Rob Eirich was challenging marketing students to find real-world solutions to real-world case studies — sometimes projects based on Big Beaver’s business model and needs.

Since it was all-hands-on-deck on the then-team of three at Big Beaver, she was quickly involved.

“At the start of the semester,” Crook recalls, “the instructor would have me and one of the owners to do a little meeting with the class and share the backstory on the brewery so they could start the whole plan for their class. At the end, we were given these really cool marketing plans from a bunch of different students.”

In her manager role, Crook was well-prepared to keep up the relationship with SAIT students. Sometimes, groups worked towards outcomes assigned by the instructor, while other times they would identify goals on their own. Either way, Big Beaver was available to provide answers and resources to help students gain experience beyond their textbooks.

Crook sees practical benefits of participating in work-integrated learning as a business. “When I started my full-time position, a lot of it was really helpful. They would submit amazing ideas for website design, events, email campaigns and branding. One of the plans I really want to implement included linking to all of the local businesses who contribute to our beers on our website. For example, we have a Saskatoon Honey Wheat Ale made with locally sourced berries and honey. We could show how we’re working with the community to make it.”

Recently, she’s worked with classes specializing in marketing plans and research, providing students with information to help them craft (pun intended) surveys.

Raygan Crook, a SAIT alumni and the marketing manager at Big Beaver Brewing