Student-Led Consulting Projects

In the “real” world we are quite unlikely to encounter problems that look exactly like those we might solve in textbook exercises. While such exercises are valuable as learning tools, they confer knowledge. But, knowledge is only the beginning of a successful career: our consulting projects extend knowledge learned in the textbook by developing judgement, critically evaluated through three different lenses: an ethical, business, and societal perspective on each situation addressed. Judgment can only come from applying knowledge to lived experience and then reflecting upon it. This is why CIAM advocates high-impact learning.

Among our high-impact learning strategies are our consulting projects, in which teams of students work with live clients, principally from the small business and non-profit businesses in the communityies. It is very unlikely that you will find solutions to their exact problems and challenges in the literature. At some point in each project, a student will have to “dig down deep ” to imagine and develop a tailored solutions to their client’s specific problems. A student’s understanding of business ownership ad operating realities are enhanced by these applied experiences.