Business Practicum
We consult with you to define a project of strategic importance, real business value, and impact. Once confirmed, we build a student consultancy team of four to five high-performing students.
- Masters level students studying a range of business disciplines from the Masters of Management suite of programs including business fields of Accounting, Economics, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Human Resources, International Business, Management, and Marketing.
- Two modes of delivery:
- Intensive two-week mode (across Winter or Summer), student team consults with you daily, and are based on your site
- Semester long (12 weeks), student team consults with you weekly
- The student team presents findings to a group of key stakeholders and produces a professional consulting report of 4,000 words.
Features of a Suitable Project
The project should be of strategic importance to the organisation or have a significant and valued operational impact. Projects are most often based around a single question and must be achievable in the timeframe.
A suitable project:
- Is capable of being completed within the intensive or semester long time frame by a team of four to five student consultants.
- Addresses an open-ended question for which various approaches can be applied and recommendations made.
- Is not predominately an interview or survey (i.e. data gathering or research exercise) but also requires synthesis and analysis of data as the basis for recommendations. Please note within the intensive (2-week) mode of this subject it is not possible for students to conduct surveys, data for analysis needs to be made available by the host organisation in advance.
- Must primarily require the application of business disciplines. If knowledge and understanding of non-business disciplines are required, it is anticipated that advisory assistance will be available from within the host organisation.
- Provide access to relevant stakeholders and resources in your organisation.
- You can find the project proposal form here, please complete and return it to fbe-industryprograms@unimelb.edu.au for it to be considered for this program. Please note completion of this form does not guarantee admission into the program, it must first go through a short approval process and meet academic requirements.
Engaging with the Student Team and Academic Supervision
Your student team will meet and consult with you on a daily (intensive mode) or weekly (semester mode) basis.
- Currently, meetings between our industry partners and student teams occur online and in person. During the Sydney Winter Business Practicum, all meetings are in person.
- Please also be available to answer questions via email or ad hoc meetings as they arise across the course of the project.
- The team of students will be supported by an Academic Supervisor who will finalise the project scope with you prior to the practicum. They will also monitor progress and support the students throughout the project.
Please Note
- You will need to allocate a Project Supervisor from within your organisation as a point of contact for students and to consult with them on the project.
- We require two key contacts from your organisation to provide to the students.
- Students are covered by the University of Melbourne’s Insurance Policy for the duration of the project.
Timeline: Summer, 2023
Summer 2023 - Business Practicum Intensive (2 weeks)
| Phase 1: Getting ready | |
|---|---|
| August - December 2022 | Step 1 (August - October 2022): Submit your project proposal. Places do fill fast, we recommend submitting your proposal as soon as possible |
| Step 2 (October - December 2022): Refine project scope with Academic Supervisor and/or Partnerships Team member | |
| Step 3 (December 2022): Agree on times for students to meet with key stakeholders (maximum 20 hours per week) | |
| Step 4 (December 2022): Sign and return the Industry Project Agreement | |
| Step 5 (January 2023): Prepare for the students to tackle the project. Students will meet with you up to one week before the subject begins, to further scope and refine the project | |
| Phase 2: Student Consulting & Presentations | |
| The Project 30 January - 10 February 2023 | Step 6: Day 1 - Welcome the team and introduce them to key project stakeholders; agree on preferred meeting times and methods; schedule the final presentation. |
| Step 7: Days 2-9 - Be available to the students throughout the consulting period. Meet with them daily to discuss the project and required data. | |
| Step 8: Day 10 - Attend the presentation, provide constructive feedback and ask questions. Please note: for ease of scheduling, presentations are permitted to take place in the following few business days after the conclusion of the formal two weeks. | |
| Phase 3: Wrap up | |
| March 2023 | Step 9: Opportunity to provide feedback |
| Approximately four weeks after the conclusion | Step 10: You will receive the final project report and recommendations |
Timeline: Semester 1, 2023
Semester 1 2023 - Business Practicum Semester-long (12 weeks)
| Phase 1: Getting Ready | |
|---|---|
| August 2022 - January 2023 | Step 1 (August - October 2022): Submit your project proposal. Places do fill fast, we recommend submitting your proposal as soon as possible |
| Step 2 (October - December 2022): Refine project scope with Academic Supervisor and/or Partnerships Team member | |
| Step 3 (January 2022): Agree on times for students to meet with key stakeholders each week | |
| Step 4 (January - February 2022): Sign and return the Industry project agreement | |
| Phase 2: Student Consulting & Presentations | |
| The Project 6 March - 28 May 2022 | Step 5 (week 1): Student team reaches out in the first week of the semester to re-confirm meeting times, introduce themselves via email and conduct an initial project meeting ( at the end of this week they must present to their Academic supervisor on their project strategies) |
| Step 6 (weeks 2 to 10 ): Students in consultation with partner organisation each week at agreed times, conducting research analysis and investigation | |
| Step 7 (weeks 11 to 12): Students to present findings to key stakeholders in the last weeks of the semester | |
| Phase 3: Wrap up | |
| June 2022 | Step 8: You will receive the final project report and recommendations |
| Step 9: Provide feedback | |
Timeline: Winter, 2023
Winter 2023 - Sydney Based - Business Practicum Intensive (2-weeks) 3 - 14 July 2023
| Phase 1: Getting ready | |
|---|---|
| March - June 2023 | Step 1 (March-May 2023): Submit your project proposal. Places do fill fast, we recommend submitting your proposal as soon as possible |
| Step 2 (May - June 2023): Refine project scope with Academic Supervisor and/or Partnerships Team member | |
| Step 3 (June 2023): Agree on times for students to meet with key stakeholders (maximum 20 hours per week) | |
| Step 4 (June 2023): Sign and return the Industry Project Agreement | |
| Step 5 (June 2023): Prepare for the students to tackle the project. Students will meet with you up to one week before the subject begins, to further scope and refine the project | |
| Phase 2: Student Consulting & Presentations | |
| The Project 3 - 14 July | Step 6: Day 1 - Welcome the team and introduce them to key project stakeholders; agree on preferred meeting times and methods; schedule the final presentation. |
| Step 7: Days 2-9 - Be available to the students throughout the consulting period. Meet with them daily to discuss the project and required data. | |
| Step 8: Day 10 - Attend the presentation, provide constructive feedback, and ask questions. . | |
| Phase 3: Wrap up | |
| Late July 2023 | Step 9: Opportunity to provide feedback |
| Approximately four weeks after the conclusion | Step 10: You will receive the final project report and recommendations |