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Students making an impact on local businesses

31 May 2018

Learning business skills in the classroom can sometimes seem light years away from the real world. But a scheme that provides the opportunity to apply and develop expertise in local businesses is inspiring students on Business Management and Economics & Management courses.

18 final year students from both King’s Business School BSc courses took part in this year’s Business Consultancy Initiative, run in partnership with Westminster City Council, which involved students being paired with a small business based in the Westminster area. They worked with them for over a month to provide analysis and recommendations on a set of live business questions facing their partner, culminating in a final presentation of their recommendations to the business.

In a small business, it’s easy to be sucked in by the day to day rather than strategy. But this has helped the business to shift the attitude. It would have been difficult for any of the company’s own staff to have the headspace for this. This project unlocked our thinking about different approaches.– James Turner, Chief Executive of Two Way Media

As well as giving students the opportunity to work in a real-world situation, the initiative also provides free of charge support to the local business community, meaning benefit for both sides.

The organisations involved in the initiative included an e-commerce company, a beauty salon, an events company, a games company, and an eco-friendly design company.

We encourage our students to engage with their local communities, applying knowledge from their degree, to assist local businesses. This is somewhere that we can really make a difference while providing our students with valuable experience which will serve them well when they start their careers.– Dean of King's Business School

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