MSc E-Business and Innovation: Practice-oriented learning through Industry Consulting Projects
Cisco 'cloud' computing project
Phil Dean of Cisco UK describes how Cisco worked with students from the MSc in E-Business & Innovation in 2009 on a project to see how cloud computing might benefit Cisco's pharmaceutical clients.
Dissertation consultancy projects are a vital component of the EBIN programme. As part of the dissertation, EBIN students have the option of working with a business to solve real-world business or technology problems.
Project Organisation
EBIN projects involve a team of students (typically three) working with a company on a real-world business or technology problem. Student teams act as consultants to bring in outside expertise into a company. Depending on the project, students work at the company offices or on-campus.
Each year the EBIN programme offers a list of available projects to students to choose from. Students indicate their preferred projects and are assembled into project teams according to their preferences, student experiences and business requirements.
Each student team is jointly supervised by Management and Computing academics. Additional technical supervision may be provided by a technical officer from the University’s Knowledge Business Centre.
Student-defined Projects
Each year one or two EBIN students choose to set up their own project and arrange for company contacts. Students who wish to define their own business projects can do so in collaboration with an academic supervisor. Student-defined projects may be individual or team projects.
Time Scale
EBIN projects run for 10 weeks. They start in early summer and typically end in August. They are followed by the academic component of the dissertation.
MSc E-Business & Innovation students outside InfoLab 21 while on their industry project
Companies
The EBIN team works with a wide range of local and international companies to provide a quality selection of industry projects. In the past, we have organised EBIN projects with
- BT – the largest UK telecommunications company (www.bt.com)
- Cisco - one of the world's leading communications companies (http://www.cisco.com/)
- Premier Farnell – a Fortune 200 company distributing electronic components globally (http://www.premierfarnell.com/)
- Belair UK Limited – an Internet firm offering business solutions and applications to medium and small enterprises (http://www.belair.co.uk)
- BCS – the British Computing Society (www.bcs.org)
- SITPRO – the world's leading trade facilitation body, located in London (www.sitpro.org.uk)
And a host of other organisations. To identify projects we work closely with InfoLab21, the University’s world-class research, development and business centre in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), and with the University’s Knowledge Business Centre (KBC), whose mission is to facilitate Knowledge Transfer and collaboration.
