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Academic Travel Case Studies
Global Business in Action: Immersive Learning in Santiago, Chile
Destination Partners planned and delivered a faculty-led International Studies Program in Santiago, Chile for a large private U.S. business school -- coordinating company visits across retail, energy, finance, and technology, hands-on local market experiences, sessions with Chilean business experts, and end-to-end logistics for 220 participants, delivering strong academic alignment and high student and faculty satisfaction throughout.
Client and Program Details
Client: New York University business school
Program Type: Faculty-Led International Studies Program
Scale: 200 students + 20 faculty/staff
Primary Deliverables: End-to-end program planning, company visits, and local market experiences
Secondary Accomplishments: Building local partnerships, connecting academics to real-world business, and designing authentic cultural experiences
Location: Santiago, Chile
Summary
As part of its International Studies Program (ISP), the university set out to give students a direct, ground-level experience of global business -- not through case studies or simulations, but through real companies, real markets, and real conversations with local leaders.
Destination Partners worked closely with the faculty team to translate that vision into a fully realized program in Santiago. From the earliest planning stages, every element was designed with a single goal: to make each company visit, market walk, and expert session directly relevant to what students were studying in class.
The program brought 220 participants into contact with leading companies across Chile's most dynamic sectors -- retail, energy, finance, and technology -- alongside guided visits to commercial districts and markets where students could observe consumer behaviour, pricing dynamics, and cultural nuances in real time. Local business experts provided context that no textbook could, sharing first-hand perspectives on Chile's economy and its place within the broader Latin American business landscape.
Throughout the program, Destination Partners managed every logistical detail -- transportation, scheduling, on-the-ground coordination, and safety planning -- so that faculty and students could stay focused on learning.
Challenges
Connecting to Coursework: Ensuring that every company visit and market experience mapped directly onto the program's academic curriculum, rather than becoming disconnected field trips with little learning value.
Accessing Top Companies: Securing substantive, meaningful interactions with business leaders at leading Chilean and multinational firms in a competitive market where access is not easily arranged.
Creating Authentic Experiences: Designing market visits and cultural activities that offered genuine insight into Chilean business and consumer culture -- not packaged, tourist-facing versions of the country.
Managing Complexity: Coordinating 220 participants across a busy, fast-moving city with tight scheduling requirements, multiple venues, and a high-volume itinerary.
Maintaining Safety Standards: Upholding strong duty-of-care protocols for a large group operating in an unfamiliar urban environment across multiple sites and activities.
Resolution and Solutions
Curated, Curriculum-Aligned Company Visits: Destination Partners organized visits to leading local companies and established multinational firms, each selected in consultation with faculty to directly reinforce key course themes across retail, energy, finance, and technology. Every visit had a defined academic purpose.
Hands-On Market Experiences: Guided visits to Santiago's markets and commercial districts gave students real-time exposure to consumer behaviour, pricing strategies, and cultural factors shaping the local economy -- learning that can only happen on the ground.
Local Expert Sessions: Destination Partners arranged sessions with Chilean business leaders and regional experts who shared candid, first-hand perspectives on Chile's market dynamics, business environment, and position within Latin America.
Seamless End-to-End Logistics: All transportation, scheduling, venue coordination, and on-the-ground operational support were handled by Destination Partners, removing administrative burden from faculty and ensuring the program ran on time and on plan.
Thorough Risk Planning and Safety Management: All partner organizations were carefully vetted, contingency plans were built into every stage of the program, and dedicated on-site staff maintained safety oversight throughout, ensuring a well-run program for every participant.
Program Outcomes
Strong alignment between academic goals and real-world company experiences across all visits.
High levels of student engagement and consistently positive faculty feedback throughout the program.
Smooth, well-executed program delivery from arrival through departure.
Meaningful connections made between students and Chilean business leaders.
A strengthened university partnership and a solid foundation for future programs.
Program Planning Insights
How does Destination Partners secure company visit access in Santiago?
We work through established networks of local business partners, industry associations, and in-country contacts built over years of program delivery. Every company visit is arranged well in advance and briefed with the specific academic context of the program, so hosts understand the purpose and engage accordingly.
How do you ensure company visits connect to the academic curriculum?
Before any visit is confirmed, we consult directly with the faculty team to understand the course themes and learning outcomes. Each company is selected and briefed to address those themes specifically -- whether in retail, energy, finance, or technology -- so students arrive at each visit with relevant context and leave with material they can apply in class.
How do you manage a program of 220 participants across Santiago?
We build detailed movement plans that account for transportation logistics, venue timing, group size management, and contingency options at every stage. Locally embedded coordinators are on the ground throughout, and a central coordination structure keeps all moving parts aligned in real time.
What makes your market experiences authentic rather than tourist-facing?
We design market and commercial district visits around specific learning objectives -- consumer behaviour, pricing dynamics, cultural factors -- rather than treating them as sightseeing. Local guides are selected for their business and economic knowledge, not their tour narration skills. The goal is insight, not entertainment.
Can Destination Partners support future or repeat programs in Chile?
Yes. The relationships and local knowledge we build on each program become the foundation for the next one. Clients who run repeat programs benefit from accumulated partner relationships, refined logistics, and a growing depth of understanding of what works best for their specific academic model.