Description

Organized visits of university students to public administration institutions (so-called on-site visits) represent an effective form of experiential learning, which brings together academic education and practical operation of the public sector. These visits offer students valuable insights into the functioning of state and local institutions, the challenges they face, and the tools and methods used in real-world administrative processes. At the same time, they strengthen mutual understanding between the academic and public sectors and often lay the groundwork for future collaboration in the form of internships, joint research, or employment.

Diverse selection of visited institutions, ranging from large central bodies to smaller local branches and specialized agencies, ensures a broad spectrum of perspectives on how public administration functions in various thematic and territorial contexts.

Objectives

On-site visits of students to public administration institutions aim to:

• Provide students with practical insights into the functioning of public institutions and their internal processes.
• Encourage critical thinking and active learning through interaction with professionals and real examples from practice.
• Create opportunities for future collaboration – student internships, diploma theses, or expert consultation.
• Build bridges between academia and practice, enhancing the relevance of university curricula.
• Stimulate long-term partnerships based on mutual understanding of the needs and capabilities of both sectors.

How does the format work?

The core of the activity consists of an organized excursion, during which students visit 4–6 institutions per day (depending on location and travel time). Optimally, the program is spread over two days, allowing sufficient space for transfer, breaks, and in-depth discussions.

Visits are designed for smaller groups of students – ideally around 10, maximum 15 participants. Each visit lasts a minimum of 45 minutes, optimally 60–90 minutes. The structure typically includes:

• A presentation by a qualified staff member.
• If possible, a practical demonstration – software use, workstations, guided office tours, and examples of internal outputs.
• A discussion session, which is a key component of the visit. Students are expected to prepare questions in advance.

Key phases in organizing the visit

• Early planning – at least three months in advance to ensure institutional availability and logistics.
• Careful selection of institutions – balancing thematic diversity and geographical distribution. Suggested examples:
  • Municipal and regional offices (transport, education, culture, planning, investments, etc.)
  • Cadastral office
  • Statistical Offices
  • Road and Motorway Directorate
  • Environmental and planning agencies
  • Financial administration
• Preparation of students – prior study of basic facts about each institution. Students prepare independently based on brief guidelines provided by the teacher, which specify key aspects and topics to focus on during their individual pre-visit study.
• Coordination with institutions – ensuring the content has added value (e.g., beyond publicly available facts), adapting to students’ level of knowledge, and encouraging informal insights.

• Post-visit feedback – students complete a short questionnaire reflecting on what they found most useful or interesting, what could be improved, and any suggestions for future visits. This feedback can help refine the format and maintain quality over time.

Role of Participants

• Academic staff:
  • Organize the program, coordinate logistics, and communicate with partner institutions.
  • Select institutions and plan the thematic focus.
  • Supervise the educational outcomes of the activity.
• Students:
  • Prepare in advance; formulate and ask relevant questions.
  • Observe key themes across all institutions (e.g., HR, data usage, IT systems, organizational culture).
  • Prepare post-visit outputs – written reports, ideally in pairs, each focused on one transversal topic evaluated across all visits.
• Public institutions:
  • Provide expert presentations and practical demonstrations.
  • Engage professionals capable of discussing technical issues (preferably beyond PR or marketing staff).

Benefits for Participants

Students:

• Gain exposure to real working environments in public administration.
• Learn to compare practices across institutions and evaluate effectiveness.
• Establish personal contacts for future cooperation or employment.

Teachers:

• Deepen ties with practice and enhance the relevance of their courses.
• Strengthen partnerships with public sector actors.
• Gain new ideas for research or thesis topics.

Public administration:

• Raise awareness of their work among future professionals.
• Identify potential interns, collaborators, or employees.
• Receive feedback and fresh perspectives from academia.

Challenges (and ways to address them)

Although on-site visits offer clear educational and collaborative benefits, their implementation presents several practical and organizational challenges that must be anticipated and addressed effectively.

The most significant burden lies in the logistical organization of the entire program. Academic staff must identify suitable institutions, coordinate dates, plan transfers and time schedules, and ensure smooth communication with all involved actors. The complexity increases proportionally with the number of institutions and locations included. Ideally, these activities should be led by an academic with extensive knowledge of the field and strong professional contacts across relevant public sector organizations.

Another challenge is the availability and willingness of institutions to participate. To avoid scheduling conflicts or low engagement, it is essential to begin planning at least three months in advance. Clearly communicating the objectives and mutual benefits of the visit increases the chances of a positive response from institutional partners.

Maintaining active student engagement can also be difficult, particularly if the visits are not formally embedded in the curriculum. This can be addressed by integrating the activity into the course requirements – for example, through a system of credit recognition based on active participation, preparation of questions, and submission of reflective reports.

An often underestimated risk is the variability in the quality of presentations delivered by institutional representatives. If the presenters are not well informed about the background and expectations of the students, the sessions may become either overly basic or too technically advanced. Academic organizers should therefore provide the host institutions with a clear overview of the students’ academic profiles and study focus in advance. Additionally, it is helpful to encourage institutions to involve subject-matter experts rather than PR or administrative staff to ensure relevance and depth.

To further improve the experience and long-term quality of on-site visits, it is beneficial to collect feedback from students through a short evaluation questionnaire after the event. This allows organizers to identify the most valuable aspects of the visits as well as areas for improvement, contributing to the continuous refinement of future excursions.

Tasks and Resources On-site visits are financially undemanding for hosting institutions, requiring only time for preparation and delivery. The main costs fall on students (transport, possibly accommodation) and the organizing academic staff, who must coordinate the entire program.

The most significant burden lies in organizational time and effort, especially when multiple institutions or locations are involved. To support participation, universities may consider offering travel subsidies or integrating visits into funded field trip schemes.

Despite these costs, the educational and networking benefits make the activity highly valuable in the long term.

Example

On-site visits represent a structured form of experiential learning connecting university education with the real operation of public administration. Students visit selected institutions to observe data workflows, decision-making, and everyday administrative processes. The activity is typically integrated into specialized courses or field modules and combines expert presentations, guided tours, and discussions with practitioners. This format effectively bridges theory and practice, strengthens students’ professional orientation, and often initiates further cooperation such as internships or diploma theses.

The Department of Geoinformatics, Palacký University Olomouc, has been organizing student on-site visits for over 20 years as a mandatory part of the Geoinformatics and Cartography study program. During a three-day tour, students visit around 12 public and private institutions across the Czech Republic. The institutions include the Czech Statistical Office, Czech Office for Surveying, Mapping and Cadastre, Institute of Planning and Development Prague, MAPPA Ostrava, Olomouc Regional Authority, City of Olomouc, Directorate of Roads and Motorways, Czech Hydrometeorological Institute, and the Emergency Response Center 112. These visits are highly valued by both students and host institutions and often lead to follow-up collaborations on projects, consultations, or employ006Dent opportunities.

Do you want to know more about the policy engagement toolkit?

Do you want to share your experience in policy engagement? Do you think about contributing to the policy engagement toolkit? Feel free to contact Tome Sandevski via science-policy@pvw.uni-frankfurt.de