ERP Master Tour Portugal: IT meets Pastel de Nata
- 10.06.2025
- News Study Program
Visit to the IT Competence Center of Tridonic / Zumtobel in Porto.
This year's study trip for the ERP Systems & Business Process Management Master's program led to Portugal. Visits to KPMG, Heidenhain, Tridonic and Polisport provided exciting insights into IT processes, production sites and Portuguese culture.
The itinerary included the two largest cities in Portugal: Lisbon - the capital and true metropolis - and Porto, the economic center of the north. The trip began with visits to the foreign trade organization of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (Advantage Austria) and the Austrian embassy. Here, the students gained valuable insights into Portugal's economy, politics and society.
Business delegate Günther Schabhüttl reported on the support Austrian companies receive when entering the market in former Portuguese overseas territories. Ambassador Christian Meran and Mag. König reported on the high level of trust the population has in the EU, the growing number of Austrians living abroad and the potential for optimizing consular processes.
Portugal as an IT hotspot
In recent years, Portugal has developed into an attractive location for IT service providers - not only due to the comparatively favorable wage structure, but also thanks to the good education of graduates from local higher education institutions.
KPMG operates a global competence center for process automation in Lisbon. Consultants and auditors develop software solutions there to make administrative business processes in particular more efficient. The german measurement technology group Heidenhain also uses the Lisbon site for the central management of internal IT services within the Group.
In Porto, the students visited the IT site of Tridonic / Zumtobel. Teams there are working on digital customer services, front-end applications, analyzing internal procedures, the ongoing S/4HANA conversion and IT security issues.
Experience production up close
During the visit to plastics processor Polisport - known for its bicycle-related products - the focus was on ERP systems in production. Particularly impressive was the store floor management in action, which many students were able to experience in practice for the first time - a direct bridge from theory to real-life application.
Of tuk-tuks and tartlets
The cultural aspects were not neglected either. We took a tuk-tuk through the hilly old town of Lisbon - a first, lively impression of the city with countless photo opportunities. Another highlight was a cooking course in which the students uncovered the secret of the famous pastel de nata - a Portuguese dessert that not only has a lot to offer in terms of taste, but also historically.
This article was written by students on the part-time master's degree program ERP Systems & Business Process Management as part of their practical project.