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Leeds Beckett international student challenge goes stateside
The one-week, Live International Consultancy project saw the group visit Crummer Graduate School - part of Rollins College in Winter Park, Orlando. BA (Hons) Business and Management student, Ryan Ahern; MA International Communication student, Sofia Segato; Executive MBA Programme student, Aya Hamed; and BA (Hons) International Business Studies student, Marcus Taylor, were selected for the trip.
The client for the Florida Live Consultancy Project was PowerGrid Engineering located in Lake Mary, North of Orlando, and; due to the diversity of skills within the student team, each were assigned roles based on experience and what they have studied at university.
Marcus, who has now graduated with first class honours, said: “Aya had five years’ experience in engineering so focused on the operational issues; while Ryan had studied strategic planning extensively at university so he undertook creation of the planning process tools. Sofia was an Italian digital marketer who undertook a review and action plan for the social media strategy and SEO position. My experience is predominantly in sales-based roles so I was tasked with heading the meetings and delivering the report and presentation to the team, clients and Rollins College at the end of the week.”
Speaking about the trip, he added: “The week in Florida was our time to learn about the company and its issues. We then had three weeks upon our return to complete a comprehensive report.
“The experience was one that I will never forget: from walking around the luxurious and botanical garden-esque campus of Rollins College, to presenting a full written report and planning tool to one of the fastest organically growing companies in America, the trip was a once in a life time experience. It was also a great chance to meet undergraduates from Rollins College Business School and to enjoy some of Orlando's nightlife.
“The trip gave us the opportunity to channel and focus our learnings from the past four years and apply it to a real life company. For me, this allowed me to add a practical element to the skills Leeds Beckett has already given me. Theories are awfully flat when learning them out of a textbook but when one is presented with a successful company who has paid for our service, the theories, learnings and solutions put forward, seem to come to life. It was at this point that we all realised flexibility and business acumen is just as important in this context as theories.”
Marcus said that the experience had made him reconsider his next step following his graduation. He commented: “I am currently interviewing for roles in investment banking and stockbroking which is my chosen career path, however, after seeing and experiencing the quality of learning and infrastructure at Business Schools in America, I am now contemplating delaying the uptake of any roles for a year in order to study a Masters in International Business Management at an American business school, such as Rollins College.”
Mike Brown, Professor of Management Practice at Leeds Beckett, said: “Sofia, Ryan, Marcus and Aya met with PowerGrid at the start of the week, having been given an outline of the project by Professor Jim Johnson of Rollins.
“Overall the week proved to be extremely successful and hopefully the learning experience has illuminated a number of important business related skills for our students.
“Our Live International Consultancy projects give our students a unique opportunity to engage with international businesses and clients at a high level, which in turn not only gives them experience but it gives them an edge as graduates going forward with their chosen careers.”
Photo: From L-R Sofia Segato, Marcus Taylor, Aya Hamed & Ryan Ahern.