Lisa Andersen and Natalia Nikolova receive the National Office of Learning and Teaching Award
This model of teaching and learning pursues an innovative, work-integrated learning approach to developing postgraduate business students’ management consulting skills – and social responsibility – through working with industry and the not-for-profit community sector.
Over the last eight years, 70 community projects have been successfully completed through the Management Consulting subject. With an estimated pro bono value of $1.2 million, this has made a significant contribution to the ongoing sustainability of scores of community organisations. The dynamic learning approach of the subject has motivated and inspired more than 400 students to learn a range of professional skills, such as communication, problem solving, analysis, critical thinking and team work. Their exposure to the complexity of the community sector and interactions with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures develops their social responsibility. For many students, their participation in the Management Consulting subject is their first experience of working in the context of the Australian not-for-profit community sector.
‘Each project, every semester, is different – coming with its own set of real issues and challenges,’ says Lisa Andersen. ‘This is the strength of the student experience and the challenge and excitement in teaching the subject.’
Completed projects have included a governance plan for the African Food Project; a social enterprise plan for Aboriginal maritime training program Tribal Warrior; a strategic plan for Ghost Nets Australia’s environmental work in the Gulf of Carpentaria; and an operations review for Afghani-aid agency Mahboba's Promise.
Students have twelve weeks to develop recommendations on business issues for a community organisation in real need. During the semester, students practice a diverse range of professional skills in real-world organisations, aimed at equipping them to deal with the complex and demanding task of management consulting. These skills include building teams, practicing leadership, pitching for a project based on their skills and expertise, developing a focussed and achievable project scope, collecting data through a range of methods, choosing appropriate consulting tools to make sense of the data and using their existing knowledge and experience to develop solutions. They then have to manage their individual and team work including milestones and deadlines, self-assess the quality of their work, prepare regular project progress reviews, write professional reports,develop execution strategies and present these in a formal board room-style environment to their client.
An added dimension to the Management Consulting subject is the participation of established consultants as student mentors. These highly experienced people come from leading consulting companies such as Boston Consulting Group, Deloitte, PwC, Accenture, Mercer, Advisian (formerly Evans & Peck), Fujitsu, Ernst & Young. They generously give their time to coach the next generation of management consultant specialists.
‘Our students often tell us that the Management consulting subject is the most demanding and challenging subject of their degree… and the most rewarding!’ says Natalia Nikolova.
‘The Management Consulting subject has had profound impact on the two of us,’ says Lisa Andersen. ‘Through the length and strength of our partnership, through accepting complexity every semester and the risks of each brand new project, through “not panicking”...while occasionally taking deep, calming breaths...and earnestly working together (…Natalia’s Green tea, my strong coffee) to build processes to underpin quality outcomes – we are the first and foremost recipients of the learning outcomes.’