Experiential Learning Opportunities
Experiential learning is one of the greatest parts about the Questrom experience! Throughout your two years there are a multitude of ways to get involved where you can apply your business knowledge and flex your management skills. Opportunities are available both formally, in classes and conferences, or more informally through global consulting projects over Spring Break. I’ve taken part in experiential learning through four different outlets: 1) class projects, 2) BU Global Ventures Consulting Club, 3) Health & Life Sciences Conference, and 4) case competitions.
1. Class Projects
There are many opportunities through class to work with companies! In Health Sector Marketing, we worked with a company to analyze their marketing plan and then delivered recommendations to improve it. My team worked with a local biotech company from the Harvard Innovation incubator that is addressing drug adherence issues. We met with the Business Development lead and his team, and came up with a marketing roadmap for their new product launch. As a team we presented to the board and were proud to hear that most of our recommendations were put into practice!
2. BU Global Ventures Consulting Club
BU Global Ventures is a student led club that runs a Spring Break trip to Guatemala (first year) or Peru (second year), where you consult with local entrepreneurs while also enjoying some fun travel with classmates. This year for spring break I went to Peru!–what an adventure!! After exploring Lima we each met with our local company. I presented (in Spanish– big win for all those high school Spanish classes!) and we delivered a Powerpoint deck on branding best-practices for the whole entrepreneurial community, as well as specific recommendations for our local company. The audience was so engaging and both excited and grateful for our help!
The trip is very rewarding. It’s wonderful to know I’ve put into practice the Questrom creed of “creating value for the world”, and it was encouraging to witness the courage and zeal of these local entrepreneurs leading their enterprises in challenging economic situations.
3. Health & Life Sciences Conference
Conferences are another fantastic way to exercise your leadership and management skills while networking with local companies and business leaders. The Health & Life Sciences Conference is Questrom’s largest student-led conference and attracts not only Boston-based thought leaders but also some of the nation’s biggest names. As a first year, I applied and was selected, to be the Assistant for Digital Media & Content. As a second year, I was the Director of Digital Media & Content. It was an incredible experience to work cross-functionally behind the scenes with classmates, through all the logistics and organization, and get a sense of what it takes to put on such an event. In my opinion, the best part was getting to see it all come together on conference day! It was a huge success, with over 200+ attendees from across Boston!
4. Case Competitions
Case competitions are a unique business school opportunity to compete, work in teams and be analytical! You’re given a case by a company or organization and have a given amount of time (sometimes it’s 2 months, a week, or even just 24 hours!) to analyze a case, create recommendations and give a presentation. I attended the Ohio State University case competition with two classmates, where we were tasked with expanding their diabetes program and making it a center of national excellence. We flew to Columbus, Ohio where we got to network and compete with schools from all over the country! The chance to apply my course skills to a real-world problem was thrilling, and taught me not only to think strategically but also critically analyze the viability of a solution. It’s fun to shoot for the moon, but you must also consider if you can and should actually do it? The whole experience was a fantastic way to work with friends, apply business logic, and refine my presentation skills, all while proudly representing Questrom at a national forum!
All these amazing experiences have strengthened my business acumen. However, there are even more ways to partake in experiential learning opportunities at Questrom. Link Day (a day of consulting for local non-profits), professor initiated projects (some professors have launched ad hoc trips/projects through personal corporate contacts), case writing (BU professors collaborate with students to write new case materials), MassChallenge (a start-up incubator where students are paired with a company), and Global Immersion Trips (school led treks over breaks to various countries to meet and work with international firms) are a few that stand out. The possibilities really are endless!!
Natassya Bedos is a Second Year Health Sector MBA student at the Questrom School of Business