Oxford MBA Students Complete International Strategic Consulting Projects

MBA students from Saïd Business School recently completed their strategic consulting projects (SCPs) for 29 organisations in 16 countries around the world, including Tanzania, Qatar, Italy, the US, Zambia and India.

Each year, small teams of MBA students complete a challenging eight week long project for a sponsoring organisation, applying their learning to specific issues or business opportunities identified by the company.  The SCPs are located in a broad range of sectors and the nature of the briefs is equally diverse. This year’s projects included improving the delivery of financial services to rural Ethiopians, analysing the ways in which technology could improve healthcare delivery in India, and studying the feasibility of a UK spaceport.  

‘The Strategic Consulting Project is a fantastic opportunity for students to utilise and consolidate all they have learnt over the year at Oxford in a real-world setting and gain insights into world renowned companies,’ said Professor Dana Brown, Director of the MBA programme. ‘Sponsoring organisations benefit from having a team of highly skilled and motivated students working on a particular business situation to which they are able to bring a fresh and multi-disciplinary approach. The projects have developed a strong reputation for excellence and many organisations return year after year to employ the skills of our students.’

The Strategic Consulting Project is a fantastic opportunity for students to utilise and consolidate all they have learnt over the year at Oxford in a real-world setting and gain insights into world renowned companies

A number of companies sponsor students teams each year, having become aware of the considerable value the projects offer the organisation. Many sponsoring organisations have commented on the value of the MBA students’ contributions and are planning on implementing the recommendations made.

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This year, a number of MBA students chose to complete an SCP on their own entrepreneurial start-up. By engaging with their classmates’ wide range of professional and cultural backgrounds, the entrepreneurs are able to develop their business plan at an accelerated rate.

2014 projects

Satellite Applications Catapult

An MBA team, exploring the feasibility and long-term sustainability of a UK spaceport for the Satellite Applications Catapult, have developed a study that is now being used to support decision making at the highest level – by Ministers, the UK Space Agency (UKSA), and private spaceflight executives to shape the discussion on the topic. At the Farnborough International Air Show, the UK government announced their firm ambitions to have a fully-functional, operating spaceport by 2018, but was lacking an objective economic assessment. The study conducted by the MBA team delivered important findings derived from primary research, as well as key insights derived from a combination of existing research. The MBA team determined that a UK spaceport will act as a pillar of growth for the UK and European space industry, enabling lower cost access to space, and creating economic benefit far beyond its perimeter fence. A spaceport will unlock economic growth and jobs in existing UK industries and regions, while positioning the UK to take advantage of emerging demand for commercial human spaceflight, small satellite launch, microgravity research, parabolic flights, near-space balloon tourism, and eventually high-speed point-to-point travel. Their report estimates that a spaceport will deliver approximately £2.5bn and 8,000 jobs to the broader UK economy over 10 years. View the full report here.

‘We put our full faith in the team to deliver this high-profile project and they did not disappoint’, said Chad Anderson, Business Innovation Manager at the Satellite Applications Catapult. ‘The final report has just been published and has already helped our organization win new business. It is very impressive what these students were able to accomplish in just eight weeks and we are extremely pleased with the final product. This is the second time that we have sought the services of MBA students from the Saïd Business School and I guarantee we will be back again next year.’

::fitscriptr

::fitscriptr is an entrepreneurial venture from Jamie Manuel, MBA 2013, that offers health care professionals the option to prescribe group exercise to alleviate health and wellness issues. As rates of behaviour related chronic diseases and mental health problems rise and increase pressure on health care providers,::fitscriptr seeks to remove access barriers to group exercise and initiate and sustain participation through the power of groups and positive peer pressure. A team of MBA students looked to validate the business model with respect to the customer strategy and market entry positioning. By identifying the key strategic groups involved in the health and wellness solutions sector, the team recommended a change in customer strategy from private health insurance companies to self-insured employers.

‘The SCP team analysed and challenged the business model for ::fitscriptr and dramatically accelerated the process of identifying customers and competitors which allowed me to feel confident in making some significant, high-stakes decisions about customer selection early on in my start up’ said Jamie Manuel, CEO of ::fitscriptr. ‘My classmates understood that the future of my business rested with them and they have definitely produced excellent findings that I will implement in the next few months.’

Acumen

Sudhanshu Malani, Manas Nanda and Anchal Kakkar worked with Acumen to identify the factors that limit or prevent impact investing in frontier markets, with specific focus on Pakistan. The social enterprise ecosystem in Pakistan is at a nascent stage and the SCP team identified that a lack of access to capital early on and the absence of support systems to refine business models was limiting social enterprises from developing. The MBA students identified the best practices of successful global angel networks, incubators and accelerators and analysed them in relation to the economic and social context of Pakistan. The team produced a report with recommendations and a business model for fresh interventions in the country.

‘The project helped us all gain a deep understanding of how the incubator and accelerator ecosystem works, both in frontier markets such as Pakistan, and in developed markets such as UK and USA’ said Sudhanshu Malani, MBA 2013.

‘We have been impressed by the quality of work the Oxford MBAs have produced for us. It was a great benefit to have three bright and enthusiastic students addressing a real problem that we are working on’ said Sophia Ahmed, Business Associate at Acumen Pakistan.