The MBA Corporate Challenge
A two-month employer-based consulting project or internship with a global company
For many students the final consulting project – the Corporate Challenge – is the climax of their MBA. It pulls together all the learning throughout the year, and can sometimes lead directly to offers of employment.
Taking place over two months in the summer, the Corporate Challenge is the third of the Lancaster Full-time MBA’s three client-based interventions, and builds on the two-week Consultancy Challenge with medium-sized companies and public sector organisations at the end of the second term and the first term’s New Venture Challenge.
The project period runs from June till August, and most Corporate Challenge projects are based in the UK. You will be expected to undertake all necessary research, then compile your findings and recommendations into a formal client report. The client pays all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the student and jointly agreed by both parties.
Projects with our corporate clients are found by our MBA Corporate Relations Manager, and vary from year-to-year because they revolve around real issues faced by the collaborating companies at the time.
To get an idea of the sorts of projects students have tackled and how employers have responded, see our Corporate Challenge video gallery.
Alternative options:
Internships
This popular option is particularly suited to those who already have contacts with particular companies and are able to arrange their own internship. This can be either in the UK or abroad.
Research-based dissertation
Similarly, it is also possible to do an extended piece of in-depth research, guided by a member of academic staff, on a topic of your own choosing. To do this, you will first need to write a formal research proposal.
Assessment
The assessment you complete depends on which form of final project you undertake:
- For the Corporate Challenge consulting project, in addition to your client report which will be assessed (40% of marks), you also write a substantial reflective piece on some aspect of the MBA or the relationship you have observed between theory and practice (60%).
- Those doing an internship write an extended reflective essay (10,000 words).
- With research-based dissertations (15,000 words), you will be expected to follow a more traditional model of academic dissertation.
