The Consultancy Project module brought together students from Sheffield Business School's undergraduate programmes to work directly with client organisations on critical business issues. Participating companies spanned sectors including manufacturing, financial services, consumer goods, non-profits and more. Those companies included LEGO, HSBC, Taylors of Harrogate, Tempus Novo, Sheffield Forgemasters and others.
Sheffield Business School hosted the event at their Charles Street building, with the event spanning across five classrooms simultaneously, to accommodate the 200+ students involved.
Dr Michael Benson, Associate Head, Sheffield Business School at Sheffield Hallam University, said: “The students will have developed their employability skills by working with industry clients on ‘real-world’ challenges that the businesses can then take back into their organisations. The Consultancy Project module also provides opportunities for students to network with each other, and industry clients, to discuss potential job opportunities within their business”
Ryan Furnival, BA Hons Business & Economics student, who worked on a pitch for Taylors of Harrogate, said: “The consultancy project module has offered me a multitude of unique and valuable experiences, from a hands-on approach to meeting the client, whilst also building global professional relationships and liaising with colleagues over at the University of Texas, Dallas in the United States.We were very fortunate to have the opportunity to present in front of Vice-Chancellor, Liz Mossop and Module Leader, Dr Michael Benson.
“This opportunity to pitch to a professional business has been extremely beneficial as I have been able to sharpen my communication skills, translate complex information into an understandable format and tailor the message to a specific audience with clear visuals for an impactful presentation, whilst also structuring questions and answers logically and concisely to maximise impact.”
One of the companies involved, was Tempus Novo, a charity from Leeds which aims to aid ex-offenders back into employment. A previous knowledge-transfer partnership between Sheffield Hallam and Tempus Novo has recently been shortlisted for a Small Business Charter award.
Steve Freer and Val Wawrosz, Founders of Tempus Novo, and a Consultancy Project client, said: “It will be around two-years ago when we were invited to the Sheffield Hallam University business school to do a talk on Tempus Novo, and we met Associate Professor Jia Liu and Dr Michael Benson. The talk was so well received that we were invited back to do another, and we have since become executives in residence and partners on various projects including the consultancy project.
"It is rewarding to see the students grow in confidence throughout the consultancy project and the recent presentation they put together was one of the best we have seen. In fact, it was so good we have used it to demonstrate our impact as an organisation in other forums, as the content was excellent.”
In addition to the presentations, a networking lunch allowed students to connect directly with the participating companies to discuss potential graduate job opportunities. The Vice-Chancellor of Sheffield University attended during the networking session.
As part of the University's Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) initiative, 50 students from The Hague University in the Netherlands attended in-person to take ideas back to their home university. The event also included virtual participation from students at The University of Texas at Dallas.
The Level 6 Consultancy Project module exemplifies Sheffield Business School's commitment to providing students with real-world experience and connecting them to potential employers. The consultancy projects equipped students with critical analytical, problem-solving and presentation skills valued by businesses across all sectors.
