From Down Under to Deutschland
By Sam Shattock
Global Management Consulting is an intensive subject held over the university break, where student teams are assigned to various international companies and work through business-related challenges.
As the new year dawned, I embarked on the adventure of a lifetime - joining Dr. Medo Pournader and fourteen other Bachelor of Commerce students in the 2024 summer subject of Global Management Consulting (GMC), staged in the snowy winter of Munich, Germany.
To conquer the project assigned to us, we had to progress through three main phases: Introductions, Research and Delivery.
Phase 1: Introductions
As the departure date approached, participants were introduced to each other through online engagement activities, designed to break the ice and increase our understanding of a management consultant’s responsibilities. There was a collective enthusiasm to get the trip underway, despite the long journey ahead of us before reaching the so-called ‘secret capital’ of Germany. My friend Bryce and I arrived a day before the program was set to begin, allowing us to take in the incredible winter wonderland that awaited us, from the icy English Garden to the majestic Marienplatz.
My team was assigned to TNG Technology Consulting, which is situated in the commercial district of Arabellapark. We were given a warm welcome by the team at TNG, along with an introduction to the company and a briefing on our responsibilities.
Phase 2: Research
My group's first task was the establishment of the project’s scope. This was essential to our success as it allowed us to stay accountable for ourselves, our goals and the timeline agreed upon with our clients. It also allowed us to plan the steps required to deliver our final product, which we were due to present to key stakeholders in just under two weeks. After the planning was completed, we pressed on to collect data and perform the necessary research and analysis. Our work was supported by morning catchups with our in-company mentor, stand-ups with Dr. Medo Pournader and liaison with in-house experts throughout TNG, many of whom resided across Europe. This work brought my team and me closer together, as we were all on the same page with our responsibilities and worked superbly together to reach a common goal.
Phase 3: Delivery
After extensive work on creating a solution that we were confident in, we gave a 40-minute presentation to key stakeholders at TNG, including founding partners, relevant experts and our mentors. The presentation was followed by a Q&A session, where we discussed the broader implications of our recommendations.
We received extremely positive feedback from both the company and our mentor, and we were delighted to have completed the project after a challenging and fulfilling couple of weeks.
I thoroughly enjoyed my GMC experience. The program gives students a unique opportunity to work in a professional environment in an unfamiliar culture, which has fast-tracked my preparation for employment.
On behalf of my group, I would like to thank our host company TNG for the incredible hospitality and support that they provided us, and Dr. Medo Pournader for the supreme guidance and knowledge she imparted to us.
I highly recommend undertaking GMC to Bachelor of Commerce students interested in challenging themselves and learning more about management consulting.