Duke University’s MBA program is currently looking for consulting project ideas for student teams to take on during the 2015-2016 academic year.
The Fuqua Client Consulting Practicum Course is a course that provides organizations with a team of 4-6 MBA students for 14 weeks of part-time work. Most of the work is completed remotely but in many cases also includes a site visit. Students select from submitted projects and typically about 50% of the projects in the past have been selected. Projects are conducted from January through April. If selected, organizations are expected to designate a team member who can spend 2-5 hours per week with the student team to provide project direction, answer questions, and provide project feedback. Information on how to submit a project for consideration is available here: http://www.fuqua.duke.edu/programs/studentconsulting/application/
Students will also be selecting project ideas specific to impact investing for the Duke Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship’s i3CP Program also through the Duke Fuqua School of Business. The i3CP Program also matches organizations to teams of 4-6 students and work is conducted remotely from January-April. For more information and to submit a project idea, go to: https://duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0rjUEjVPgrI1CbX
Innovations in Healthcare innovator Sproxil worked with the i3CP program last year on a long-term strategy project. According to Alden Zecha, Sproxil’s Chief Financial Officer, the i3CP team conducted primary research and reached sources that the organization would not have been otherwise able to reach, bringing fresh perspective to Sproxil’s thinking. Many of the i3CP team’s work helped Sproxil realize that some of the organization’s hypotheses were wrong and provided new ideas supported by research that have now been incorporated into long-term strategy.
“The CASE i3 team provided us with solid results to help guide our organization going forward. They were easy to work with and well organized, which made our time commitment lower than expected,” Zecha said.
If you have questions about the program or are planning to submit an application, please contact case@fuqua.duke.edu and they will follow up with you. The deadline to submit a project idea for both of these programs is August 31st.