What attracted you to participating in Global Management Consulting and what did you hope to get out of the experience?
Our company was focusing on a new sector. When I read about the Global Management Consulting program, I thought the new sector might be a good platform to engage the students to work on. We were mainly hoping to get a fresh perspective of this new business.
What are the benefits of participating in Global Management Consulting?
It helps to have young and open minds looking at a different industry through fresh eyes. While they need guidance, they are bright and hardworking enough to meet our expectations.
What kind of personal qualities or skills do you think a student needs in order to be successful in the Global Management Consulting program?
Students need to be able to think out of the box and to work independently on research. Students also need to show a lot of initiative and drive to research new business industries and models in a foreign country.
Do you have any advice for new students doing Global Management Consulting?
Do not be disheartened if your initial findings or research do not support an outcome. The important fact is to work on what the research findings support. The process is more important than the outcome. Lastly, there is a steep learning curve, so learn as much as you can and have fun!
Do you have any memorable moments from your involvement with Global Management Consulting?
One of the most memorable moment was introducing our students to our local culture by taking them to have local ‘kaya’ (coconut jam) toast with coffee and teaching them how to order coffee like the locals do. We taught them to tell the difference between ‘kopi siew-dai gao’ (thick coffee with milk and less sugar) and ‘kopi’ (a standard coffee with milk).
Will you be putting any of the findings you received from the students into practice? If so, what are the next steps?
Yes we will be. The students came up with a name for the corporate identity which we have already adopted. Moving forward we will be working with joint venture partners to see the fruition of setting up this new business model.
Rachel Teo is a past president and ongoing member of the University of Melbourne Singapore Alumni Association, having graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Commerce in 1991, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Economics in 1992.
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