Global Consulting Project (GCP) Takes Cambridge Judge MBAs Across The Globe

Cambridge MBA students consider the Global Consulting Project (GCP) as one of the highlights of the program as it allows them to gain real-life work experience in countries across the globe.

At present, the students, in teams of four or five, are at work in Australia, Cyprus, China, Costa Rica, Ireland and Switzerland.

They have landed up at client locations after completing detailed project briefs, establishing the set objectives for each strategic project.

• The Global Consulting Project (GCP), one of the highlights of the Cambridge Judge MBA program as it allows the students to gain real-life work experience in countries across the globe
• Student teams are at work in Australia, Cyprus, China, Costa Rica, Ireland and Switzerland. The GCP marks the end of the Management Praxis II core course that focuses on enhancing negotiation skills as well as the study of leading high-performance teams.
• This is known as the Cambridge Venture Project CVP – the main purpose of which is to teach teamwork and collaboration, as well as client and team management.
• Unlike working in a simulated and safe environment in the school campus, the students are exposed to clients who expect professional contributions with real recommendations and impact.

The GCP marks the end of the Management Praxis II core course, a sequel to the Management Praxis I course delivered in Michaelmas Term (October-November). This course, a cornerstone of the MBA curriculum at Cambridge, focuses on enhancing negotiation skills as well as the study of leading high-performance teams.

The teams practice what they are learning in the Management Praxis I class on a real-life project; working in their study groups on a project that has been allocated to them.

Forté Foundation scholar Natalia Dziergwa describes the Global Consulting Project as “one of the most wonderful MBA experiences.”

This is known as the Cambridge Venture Project CVP – the main purpose of which is to teach teamwork and collaboration, as well as client and team management.

“You also get to learn about a range of interesting topics, meet some fascinating clients and work on their bright ideas,” the school says in a statement.

Later with the GCP, students get another opportunity to work with a client but this time the focus is more strategic and consultative. It enables them to reflect on the integration of skills and practice.

They will be able to use the new skills they have learnt in class to build stronger, more cohesive teams for their GCP.

This year, the GCP has once again allowed current students to gain a rich experience within a variety of industry sectors ranging from the arts, healthcare, finance, energy and environment, and NGOs; with companies such as Bloomberg, Uber, Barclays, the World Health Organization, Carnegie Hall and Emirates Airlines.

While the MBA Business Development team at CJBS typically sources the majority of the GCPs, a number of projects this year were sourced by the students themselves.

Student-sourced GCPs this year include Bridges Fund Management in the UK, as well as the global travel brand – Beautiful Destinations in New York and Sydney Opera House, Australia.

Natalia Khetagurova was revisiting Bloomberg NEF and said it was “still mesmerising”. This MBA team is sited within the New Energy Finance section at Bloomberg LP.

Based in London, the Bloomberg LP HQ welcomed the Cambridge MBA team. The European headquarters for Bloomberg is designed to foster innovation and encourage collaboration, the same values that Cambridge MBAs are expected to develop and enhances across the program.

‘Team Circus’ was based in Cyprus for a circular economy project with Cablenet run in conjunction with the CJBS Circular Economy Centre. Cablenet, founded in 2003, offers telecommunication and entertainment services to the corporate and retail market. It comprises 230 employees across three cities.

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Forté Foundation scholar Natalia Dziergwa describes the Global Consulting Project as “one of the most wonderful MBA experiences.”

Working again with the CJBS Circular Economy Centre but this time-based in Warsaw, Martin Siagian says, “We have been working with Poland’s largest IT solutions company to come up with a circular economy model where we leverage the Internet of Things (IoT) to balance electricity supply and demand in Poland. Through a smart grid and smart home, this will hopefully enable a better electricity usage in Poland in the future”.

Julia Polnareva says, “From the UK to the far reaches of Ecuador, ‘Team Chilli’ was in Santo Domingo Ecuador with client Dev Equity. Working with a company that enables smallholder farmers to have dignified incomes, our team visited a chilli pepper farm along with the R&D facility on the consulting project.”

Sadia Cuthbert, Head of MBA Business Development and Projects says, “We have offered fantastic project opportunities for our students again this year. The GCP is such an important leaning milestone for students, allowing them to apply their knowledge, their ‘softer skills’ and to gain experience in new sectors.

“The teams are always tested in these high-time pressured situations of real consulting work. We look forward to great results again and a fantastic range of experiences,” she added. Detailed case studies of several projects will be available on the school website from May 2019.(Image Source: wikipedia.org