A Brief Guide to Student Projects with Industry

Abstract

S tudent projects with industry have much to offer in terms of enhanced student learning, but they can be difficult to create, plan, and manage sustainably. This paper details and distills the best practices from a four-year process to develop an undergraduate business strategy course around a student project with industry. This reflexive process revealed that our traditional analytical approach to business strategy was not teaching students how to create strategy in practice. Integration of course learning objectives with project deliverables was a key to replicating a practical project-based learning experience each semester. The needs for an industry liaison, additional student preparation, and active client engagement in the learning process are also discussed.

A Survey of Research in Field-Based Education: A Summary of Process, Best Practices, and Lessons Learned

“…(Grossman 2002, Armacost and Lowe 2003, Handfield et al 2011, Milne and Zander 2012, Hillon et al 2012. Case studies attempt to approach such an experience; however, case studies contain a structure and though potentially vague best course of action, the problem is well framed for a good case study.…”

“…(Armacost and Lowe 2003, Gorman 2010, Hillon et al 2012 Students learn that data is not neatly packaged in the most convenient format for their analyses; it can be ill-formatted and incomplete.…”

“…(Eaves 1997, Fish 2008, Aserkar 2013, Hillon et al 2012) Emails, phone calls, and meetings are critical components of project success. Knowing when to copy a teammate, client or advisor forces the student to balance too much communication with not enough, and is a novel skill for students…”

“…In three recent cases, a more formalized entity provides leads on projects (Fraiman 2002, Handfield et al 2011, Hillon et al 2012. Handfield et al (2011) describes a Supply Chain Resource Cooperative at North Carolina State University, with 41 member companies, that makes a $30,000 annual donation to participate.…”

“…Fraiman (2002) describes the W. Edwards Deming Center at Columbia with industrial partners. Hillon et al (2012) developed a relationship with a local Small Business and Technology Development Center, which is supported by the federal Small Business Administration. Heriot et al (2008) leveraged a federally funded Small Business Institute until funding ran out, then leveraged an advisory organization, the Small Business Institute Directors Association on an independent basis.…”