The Management Consultancy in Practice: Venture Management and Growth project is part of the MSc in Entrepreneurship and Innovation and runs from January to March. Students work as a team of consultants to tackle real challenges faced by established organisations.

Benefits for your business

  • A succinct report and short presentation outlining ideas for solving your innovation challenge
  • Gain valuable insight into growth opportunities for your business
  • Use our students for a project you may not have the resources to tackle in-house

Why work with our MSc Entrepreneurship and Innovation students?

Our Entrepreneurship and Innovation MSc attracts students with a wide range of backgrounds, many of whom bring insights from their prior working experience in a variety of academic, business and regional contexts. Before this project takes place, the students will have developed their knowledge of the contexts and complexity of entrepreneurship, and issues associated with the growth of new ventures: identifying and evaluating opportunities, and managing finance and resources to grow the company.


What kinds of project are suitable?

We seek companies that are relatively new startups (primarily targeting 5 years old or younger) with products or services facing venture-based growth issues. In teams, students will explore a growth-related issue facing a host organisation to develop workable solutions to present to management. Example projects can include:

  • How can the company develop a business model and create new value propositions as it grows?
  • What are the best ways to recruit new staff and how might organisational structures change?
  • What are the best routes to reach overseas markets?
  • How should the company expand physically?

Companies should:

  • Openly share information on the business
  • Provide time to brief and engage with the students
  • Have physical premises which can be seen and experienced by the students
  • Be located in Edinburgh and accessible by public transport

Timescale

Projects typically take place between January and March.

Action Date
Contact the Business Engagement Manager to discuss your project May to October
Prospective clients submit project proposals Deadline: 13 October
Projects assigned to groups Late November
Initial group/client meeting to draw up project plan Early January
Main project work Between January and March
Delivery of report and client presentations Late March

Discuss your ideas

If you would like more information on student projects please contact our Business Engagement Manager. Please include details of:

  • Which project(s) are best suited to your proposal
  • Your contact information
  • Project title, objectives and outcomes, location, knowledge and any skills required