University of Utah students come from all corners of the world. U leaders went to one of those corners to meet with alums early in June.

President Taylor Randall and a contingent of university leaders—including Chief Alumni Relations Officer Kris Bosman, Vice President of Innovation Troy D’Ambrosio, new David Eccles School of Business Dean Kurt Dirks and Utah Senate President and U alum Stuart Adams—traveled to Germany for a European U Alumni Weekend.

BMW CEO Oliver Zipse was among the alums who met with them.

“Innovation is the driving force of economic and societal progress,” Zipse said. “Therefore, it is of utmost importance that the academic and the industrial world are in constant exchange and share their views on today’s and tomorrow’s challenges.”

The university has been hosting alumni weekends in Europe since the 1990s, including events in Finland, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway and Portugal. Alumni weekends are often launched and planned by the alums themselves.

During this year’s alumni weekend, alumni toured BMW’s manufacturing facility. On the tour, alums got to see how world-class luxury cars and motorcycles are produced and got an insight into the products that will be coming to the global auto market now and in the future.

“It was a pleasure and an honor to host President Randall and the delegation of the University of Utah at the BMW Group headquarters in Munich to discuss and showcase how we are revamping our 100-year-old Plant Munich for the next level of all-electric mobility,“ Zipse said.

Later that evening, U Alumni hosted a welcome reception with University of Utah staff and alumni at restaurant Augustiner Bräustuben. The next day began with a walking tour of Munich, including highlights in the center of town. After the walking tour, the group visited the historic Oktoberfest Museum.

After a day in the city, alumni gathered for a reception and dinner where Randall discussed his vision for the U becoming a top 10 public university. Adams spoke about the strength of Utah’s economy, the important role the U plays in the state, and the potential of the Olympic Winter Games being held again in Salt Lake City. D’Ambrosio discussed progress the university is making on integrated learning for all students across all majors.

Don’t miss the next alumni gathering near you—you can join a chapter or check out our events calendar to stay up-to-date. More photos of the trip can be found on U Alumni’s Facebook page.