Does Industry Tour help students?  Does industry tour help students to learn subject matter?

In my personal opinion, yes it helps especially those tours that are relevant to their studies, clarify doubt arises during their studies as well as related to where they might be going to work / to be employed after their studies.  Industry tours also might reinforce their learning and motivate their further interest in the subject / course etc.  As a Chinese saying - reading ten thousand books is not as useful as travelling ten thousand miles (读万卷书不如行万里路).  

How many times a student should visit industries during 4-year undergraduate engineering program?

As many as possible depending on times & resources availability.  However nowadays, with the advancement of technologies etc., some industry tours can be captured & viewed by many from Internet, YouTube etc.

Dear Muhibul,

Study-related industrial tour is indeed helpful. It enhances the students' insight, build confidence, empowers their theoretical knowledge, provides real life views on their future workplace environment, offer options to choose the best elective module for the undergraduate to specialize at postgraduate level.

During the 4 year undergraduate program for whatever discipline, the minimum of 2 is encouraged. This provides greater chances of choosing the right path towards your most  passionate calling thereby precluding future regrets, if any.

Best regards - Mariam

Dear Prof. Muhibul Haque,

It was evident from the cumulated experience that field or industry tours are very important for undergraduate students. It can form some kind of a bridge between study topics and their applications in the real world. Many student's concepts have been changed about their study and future planning because of such tours. In agricultural colleges, where I am working now, field tours improve the practical skills of students dramatically. First year students should be familiar with the industries of their disciplines as early as possible. We plan for a minimum of one tour every semester which mean at least 8 tours during 4-year undergraduate study.

Best regards

SM Najim 

Dear  Muhibul!

For sure, the industry tour is very important part of bachelor engineering education. I guess it could be right to say that the more industry tours, the better. In my university we have 2 or 3 tours in the industrial units during the 4-year education. The first one occurs at the 2nd semester of the 1st year, it is most general tour which aims to show students as many plants, machinery shops and so on as possible. The second tour occurs at the 6th semester (the end of the 3rd year) and it takes place on the specialised enterprise where students learn things about their future profession in the work conditions. Often, students take part in some developments ongoing in that place. Each of two tours lasts for 244 academical hours. The third tour is a diploma tour where student has to get information about his subject, to develop the device / technique / metodology / program and, if possible, to implement it. This tour lasts for 2 or 3 weeks.

Best regards.