24 April 2018
Consulting on three different projects simultaneously has been the most interesting experience for me on the MSc Entrepreneurship and Innovation. I had expectations at the start of the programme and consulting wasn’t one of them. Now it’s been added to my bucket list and ticked off!
Of the four courses I took in Semester Two, three covered consulting for businesses in different sectors of the economy.
Innovation Management in Practice
The first consultancy project was with . The course, Innovation Management in Practice (IMP), is designed to expose students to the practice of innovation management in well established organisations. Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) is a global investment firm in the financial industry with about 50 offices world-wide. I worked alongside four other E&I students to develop a framework for open innovation and idea filtration for the organisation. Using secondary and primary research, we were able to present our findings at the end of eight weeks to the client.
Venture Management and Growth in Practice
The second consultancy project was with ; a new venture in the travel industry. The course, Venture Management and Growth in Practice, is designed to enable students to develop a practical understanding of the growth process and the challenges faced by new ventures. The company, just like every other startup, faced the challenge of growth and market saturation. As part of our brief, my team and I identified new areas for the business to expand into. We also identified potential business partnership, as the business operates on a B2B model. Using secondary and primary research, we were able to deliver our findings to the client at the end of eight weeks.
Organising for Social Change
The final consultancy project was with , a social enterprise dedicated to helping homeless, vulnerable and socially isolated people. The course, Organising for Social Change; Governance, Strategy and Innovation, was designed to provide students with insights into the operational, strategic and governance challenges faced by third sector organisations (in particular, social enterprises).
The interesting thing about this project was the diversity of the team. I had the opportunity to work with students from other programmes in the Business School and across the University. In my team were students from Public Health, Entrepreneurship and Innovation and Management Science.
As part of the brief, we identified a means of developing value creation in the organisation, assessed the challenges they faced and designed processes to avoid mission drift. Based on our findings, we presented recommendations for the challenges to the client at the end of the course.
Reflecting on the insights and lessons I have learnt over the past ten weeks, I am now considering a career as a business and innovation consultant.
Adaora, MSc Entrepreneurship and Innovation