Photos counter-clockwise: 1) Students, Faculty Advisors and special guests at the Global Business Consulting projects launch in January; 2) Corporate Partners sponsoring ten international business projects; 3) Luis Arjona, Managing Director and Partner at Boston Consulting Group and Latin America and Caribbean Initiative (LACI) Advisory Board Member; 4) Vice Dean Henrik Cronqvist notes the numerous Fortune 500 CEOs with consulting experience during GBC launch; 5) Virtual final presentation of Previta team project.
During the January orientation, Microsoft, UPS, FedEx, GTT, Previta, La Bella, LLC, GTT and Boston Scientific mentors shared company culture, project details and expectations with students who, assigned in teams, would serve as international consultants on diverse subjects including talent management, sustainable business strategy, market expansion, and telehealth. They would apply skills they’ve learned to real business problems with school faculty serving as academic advisors. The session also provided expert advice from two international consultants which students put into practice. With team charters developed, students enthusiastically began working on their projects. They knew that this course would be challenging and that they would gain real business experience, but they were unaware of just how much.
In his January presentation, Luis Arjona, Miami Herbert Business School Latin America and Caribbean Advisory Board Member and Managing Director and Partner at Boston Consulting Group, focused on adaptability. No year would this advice be more valuable. Mid-semester, COVID-19 began to disrupt plans. Project-related trips to Mexico, Guyana, Puerto Rico and several Caribbean Islands were suspended. Teams could no longer meet on campus and some companies modified projects. Working in different time zones, adapting to virtual schedules, and dealing with personal and family issues, Miami Herbert Business students quickly rose to the challenge.
Students and companies alike found ways to work around the challenges and ultimately discovered newfound resiliency. All projects were successfully completed and corporate partners were again impressed with the caliber of our students, as seen through their comments: “The team presentation went above and beyond my expectations”; “You provided us good insights which we will utilize on our journey”; “I am impressed by their presentation”; “Excellent contributions and learning experience”; “The results surpassed my expectation.”
For students, the GBC was an unforgettable experience. One student summed it up: “This project has brought closure to my time at University of Miami. I will look at GBC as the single most beneficial experience of my time at the U. As a whole, the U has been a tremendous opportunity and I am grateful to be an alumnus.”
