The King’s Business School Consultancy Project has been developed and organised in partnership with Westminster City Council. It delivers mutual benefits by providing local SMEs with valuable support, while giving students an opportunity to test their skills and knowledge in the world beyond the university.
At the start of the inaugural programme in 2018, students were organised into groups and each spent a month working with local enterprises, examining their specific business challenges. Each project culminated in a final presentation to the group’s business partner, detailing their analysis and recommendations.
King’s undergraduate Aeman Junaid, who worked with gaming company Two Way Media, said, ‘I found the Westminster City Council programme a completely different experience to an internship. We were interacting with real clients and taking ownership over our roles. We organised our own meetings to present our ideas. It was great to work for a real company with inspiring entrepreneurs who gave us real insights into their working lives.’
Two Way Media’s chief executive, James Turner, added, ‘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 its attitude. The project unlocked our thinking about different approaches.’
Integrating London’s business communities into the learning experience is one of the ways in which King’s is delivering its strategic vision for the years leading up to the university’s 200th anniversary in 2029. Professor Stephen Bach, Executive Dean of King’s Business School, said, ‘Westminster Business Clinics are a distinctive way for King’s students to translate their knowledge into tangible solutions that local companies can use to grow and enhance their businesses.’