YOUR STRATEGY. YOUR EMPLOYABILITY.

June 3-5, 2022
June 17-19, 2022

2022 'Impact' Consult-a-thon

Investing in Students' Employability through Impact-driven Consulting Cases

Organizations are looking for talents that “fit” their cultures and competitive strategies. They do not mind newcomers if they “fit” the organization at personal, social, professional, and excitement levels beyond the CV-based level. Graduating students as newcomers must find a way to establish and demonstrate such a “fit.”

2022 Summer Direct Study with Dr. Ivy provides Northeastern University’s graduate students to serve as Case Consultants to perform consulting cases for local organizations with socially driven challenges and visions. These local organizations serve as Case Clients. Using the BE-EDGE Consult-a-thon framework allows them to connect at four levels: the personal level of meaning behind the challenge, the social level of connection and trust, the professional level of generated value, and the level of shared excitement. The experience incorporates mindfulness and design thinking frameworks, market and industry analysis, and stakeholder management and resource-based views on strategy.

WHY BE-EDGE CONSULT-A-THON?

OVERVIEW
The IMPACT Consult-a-thon serves as a Practicum in Case Consulting as an Employability Investment. It consists of four sections, the introduction and the finale. Each section refers to a different level of synchronization between the strategic goals of global talents and of the organization of their market-entry interest. These levels are E (personal connection), D (social connection), G (professional connection), and E (excitement-based connection), resulting in BE (investment in Boutique Employability). Each section combines individual and teamwork, in-class, and virtual activities.

What is here for students as BE-EDGE Case Consultants? 

MAKING AN IMPACT
Students receive first-hand experience in making an impact at the strategic level of company operation: revealing a challenge, conducting field research, making a company case, and conducting design thinking for solving the company’s challenge
INVESTING IN YOUR PROFESSIONAL PORTFOLIO
Students perform a Consulting Case for a business relevant to their interests, learn new things for the industry, explore social entrepreneurship, and craft the edge of their personal strategy.
GETTING READY FOR PROFESSIONAL INTERVIEWS
Students receive a ready-to-present portfolio piece, supported with a recommendation letter, as well as a ready-to-share communication pitch for sharing their case consult experience.

What’s in it for business partners as BE-EDGE Case Clients?

THE COMPANY CASE
Case clients will receive a company story, shaped around their vision and challenges in a pathway for growth and service. 
PATHWAY FOR SOLVING A CHALLENGE
The company will receive a pitch that describes a pathway for solving the challenge that the company currently faces. This value will be generated by a multidimensional group of talents and vetted by a professional mentor.
CONNECTING WITH TALENTS
They’ll connect personally and professionally with driven and educated people from around the world. 

What’s in it for the Community and City?

FOR THE COMMUNITY OF BOSTON
They’ll invest in an inclusive economy. Synchronize the personal passions and professional interests of Boston’s residents, enriching the diversity and vibrancy of local businesses. And Extending a ‘blanket of love” across the city.
FOR THE CITY OF BOSTON
The project directly contributes to the goal of “Enhanced Neighborhoods”, indicated as one of the three areas of growth and enhancement. Specifically, the project contributes to the following: “Improvement of the public realm and contextually sensitive development, paired with anti-displacement policies, will improve neighborhood vitality, services, and affordability while affirming each neighborhood’s distinct identity” (Imagine Boston page 24). The project will not only contribute to this effort but also provide a collection of inspirational real-life stories (cases)  about cooperation between ethnic communities and graduate students and  for a better Boston

OUR TALENTED CASE CONSULTANTS

MEET THE BE-EDGE CASE CLIENTS

FOUR-STEP PROCESS

Using the BE-EDGE Method, the case consultants will traverse through four sections. Each section refers to a different level of synchronization between the strategic goals of global talents and the industry or market of their market-entry interest. They each will have its learning objectives, activities, and deliverables.  This is the schedule.

Week 1: Personal and Social Levels of Connection between Case Consultants and Case Clients

Week 1 - Personal and Social Connection

Personal Level of Connection: Introduction to the course / Meet and greet with your team and other case consultants.

Personal Trust: Meeting with Case clients / Collecting and working on the data for the company case.

Social Level of Connection: Rigor and Methodology / Constructing the plan in getting the market and industry data 

Week 2: Learning the Background Information. Making a Company Case

Week 2 - Learning the Case

Professional Trust: Company case hands-on / Market and Industry Research  / Case analysis

Week 3: Professional and Excitement Levels of Connection between Case Consultants and Case Clients

Week 3 - Professional and Excitement Connection

Professional Level of Connection: Ideation for solution / Meeting with a mentor / Team’s idea for a solution

Professional Level of Connection: Generating value / Working on prototype and testing / Create a PPT for case client

Excitement Level of Connection: Exciting Stakeholders / Presentation of Generated Value

Week 4: Capitalizing on the Experience. Making Your Voice Sound

Week 4 - Experience

Getting ready for connecting with stakeholders beyond this experience

Reflection: Consulting Case as my stepping stone

Case Brief for a professional portfolio

Communication piece for emails to potential employer

``IMPACT FOR EMPOWERMENT`` Grant from DMSB

The grant ‘IMPACT FOR EMPOWERMENT” from Dean Emery Trahan was dedicated to support the final level of connection between our Case Consultants (students) and Case Clients (companies) – the level of “we did it”, a shared joy and passion of the impact, that the implementation of the proposed solutions could make. As Dr. Ivy indicates, this grant would also make a meaningful contribution to students’ employability in the market and industry that they target. This is especially important for international students who strive for hands-on experience and personal relationships with US organizations and their executives.

Join BE-EDGE Consult-a-thon
Gallery of Case Brief