Earlier this summer, Dr. Nancy Murray, Faculty Associate in Retailing & Consumer Behavior, teamed up with Robyn Waters, former VP of Trend, Design & Product Development at Target, to lead a study abroad program through three cities in Europe. Students were required to complete two weeks of online coursework on trend theory and principles before the trip in order to prepare for their hands-on learning experience abroad.
The trip started in Scotland, at the Dalkeith Palace in Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland. This historic building has been leased to the University of Wisconsin system for study abroad programs since 1986. Dalkeith Palace provided the students with a place to get adjusted to the new time zone and to get to know one another in a relaxed atmosphere. They also had classroom learning here to prepare for their trend research in London and Paris.
After exploring Edinburgh, the group headed for London, England. The students started their projects on analyzing current offerings of varying product categories. While in London, the students also visited Trendstop, a trendforecasting service. Here they learned methodology that went into the forecasts, and were given some examples of what trends they believed would be emerging next.