UTS Shopfront Community Program is an initiative unique in Australia that matches resource-strapped community organisations with University experience and expertise. Running for over 15 years UTS-wide, students from UTS Business’ Management Consulting elective have been involved since 2006, and have delivered over $750,000 worth of consulting services. Their rewards? Real world experience, new friendships and deeper connections to the community, reports Lisa Andersen.
Since 2006 and over five semesters the Management Consulting course at UTS Business has delivered 29 projects and more than $750,000 worth of management consulting expertise to under-resourced community organisations; completing strategic reviews, developing business and marketing plans, and documenting important organisational knowledge.
These projects make a significant, long-term contribution to the sustainability of UTS’s community partners.
UTS Business’ Management Consulting course is a practice-based class focused on learning through testing and developing skills in client engagement. Working with community organisations through UTS Shopfront, the class captures the benefits of practice-based learning without the need for external placements and supervision.
For the past five years MBA student teams have applied their diverse sets of knowledge and skills to benefit the community. The students who worked on the community projects are a broad mix of local and international, full-time and part-time and the class has included cross-faculty enrolments. Their professional backgrounds include engineering, social work, information technology, marketing, public relations, risk management, human resources, finance management, operations and logistics and small business owners.
These genuinely cross-disciplinary engagements have ranged from working with locally based organisations — including Redfern Community Centre and the Tribal Warrior Association — to remote Australia with the Carpentaria Ghost Nets Program, to a Pacific environmental aid program, International Help Fund.
Based in Kolb’s experiential learning theory, Management Consulting emphasises reflective observation and abstract conceptualisation in the project teams as they deal with client relationships, project complexity, financial analysis, practical research, and presentation skills.
Projects are initiated by the community organisations and students are matched with organisations based on their personal interests and relevant experience. Once underway, each project has a fourteen-week process of client-student meetings, student group and academic supervisor meetings and ultimately the presentation and hand over of outcomes.
Assessment criteria focuses on methods of project design, client management and problem-solving; exploring professional responsibilities and ethics; and developing communication and interpersonal skills.
The community work-based learning method underpinning this subject is also ideally suited to the development of intercultural sensitivity and equitable approaches as graduate attributes.
At the end of every semester an email link to an online survey is sent to all the students and community organisations to evaluate their experience. This survey sits alongside other Shopfront evaluation processes including project tracking and troubleshooting during the semester and telephone or face-to-face feedback at the conclusion of every project.
OUTCOMES
Student
- Published and archived projects
- Referees from the community
- Appreciate community concerns and pro bono work as part of professional life
Academic
- Work with students in a range of organisational settings
- New networks and potential resources
- Opportunity to address ethical and equity issues with students
Community clients
- Increased resources
- Encouragement to engage with UTS
- Targeted planning strategies appropriate to needs
University
- Fulfilment of government community engagement directives
- Excellent public relations with community sector, government agencies and the public
- Developing graduates with ethical and equitable approaches to professional life
In their own words
Highly relevant to my career, a great experience. Helped develop great skills that no other subject teaches, like leadership, interpersonal skills, listening and client communication.
Student, NSW Reconciliation Council project
The team that I worked with was very efficient and each individual played a vital role in the project. We all brought our individual strengths to group, and brain storming sessions were vibrant and creative. I was fortunate to be involved in such a talented team, something that i had rarely experienced in the past.
Student, Global Food Relief project
I really liked working in a dynamic, and at times challenging, group environment while needing to work one-on-one with some members to achieve a desired outcome. I further developed my people management and motivational skills.
Student, International Help Fund project
We went through a lot together! The students taught us a lot about electronic communication. We also feel they learned a lot about making information accessible to people with disability.
Joshua Brock, NSW Disability Discrimination Legal Centre
It was an excellent way of helping me to learn some of the new generation technology, ideas and attitudes. It helped me think outside the square by introducing me to other ideas and opinions as well as modern ways of doing business. Also was good for them to work on a project that included a non-city sceanrio, indigenous cultures and the not-for-profit sector.
Riki Gunn, Carpentaria Ghost Net Program
The project has addressed an important issue for the organisation and drawn the attention of the key decision makers to this issue. The recommendations are well thought through and will prove to be very useful. Along the way the students were able to experience some of the issues facing NGOs as well as some interesting events.
Kathryn Knight, People with Disability Australia
What we did actually had a real outcome and was valued by the clients. We learned to roll with the punches… There were good, bad and the ugly, but a great experience.
Student, Carpentaria Ghost Nets project
It was great getting to know the client and understanding their business. … Also working with a mix of different cultures and being part of a team.
Student, Global Food Relief project
This is a fantastic means for students and NGOs to achieve collaborative goals that enhance provision within the community.
Peter Dirita, CEO, The Crowle Foundation
My academic supervisor was extremely supportive and was wonderful all through. He is the one who made me complete this project successfully! All thanks to UTS who gave me such a wonderful opportunity.
Student, FRANS project
Our lecturer, Ian is always took care of us, then even if I asked some question which were irrelevant questions for him or when we almost deviated from the track, he always made adjustments.
Student, People With a Disability project
I want to move into management consulting and after the completing this subject I fully realise what is involved to move into this line of work. After completing the MBA I want a career change and this will help me greatly. I would do an advanced subject of this if it were available as it would give me more useful skills that I would take into the workplace
Student, International Help Fund project