Brooke Goudie is in the final year of her International Business Management degree. Instead of a traditional dissertation, Brooke explains about her choice to take part in the Undergraduate Consultancy Project (UGC) and how she’s getting to take her skills from the classroom into the workplace.
How did you first get involved with UGC?
I first saw the scheme advertised on the website, then shortly after I received an email about it during the summer. It seemed like a great idea for someone like me who needed more experience in the workplace. I had spent the second semester of second year undertaking a study abroad. I was really lucky that the College of New Jersey where I studied offered me the opportunity to stay there for my third year as a placement, however, I still wanted more work based projects to get involved in.
Could you explain a bit about what UGC is?
This is the second year that the UGC has been running and involves 25 teams and around 100 students. It was so successful last year that the numbers have grown significantly. It’s a great thing for the university to offer as instead of doing a traditional dissertation, you get placed with a company and a brief to work on. The project is really rewarding and is great because it acts as that bridge between academic study and working life after graduation.
Which company are you working with and what kind of work will you be doing for them?
Our group is called Apex Consultancy and I’m the team leader for the project. There are four of us in the team, all International Business Management students so we know each other well. We were given a brief at the start of the year and from there we stripped it right back to basics and discussed with the company what their problems were and what they wanted out from this. The company we work with is borehole drilling service DrilCorp. They are a family owned business and a fantastic company to work for, we’ve been so lucky to get this opportunity. Just last week we got to go to the site, meet the managing director and get to know the company a bit more.
We are planning to assess their current marketing material and adapt it in line with the current climate. Looking at their competitors and what they are doing will be part of this. As well as this, we will also be doing some primary and secondary research to uncover trends of the industry, along with new potential clients
How will you be assessed on your work?
At the end of April we have a final presentation. During this we’ll explain what we found, what we changed and our recommendations for the future. As well as the presentation, we also have to do an individual report which is more of an academic piece of work and will include a literature review. The feedback from DrilCorp will also be taken into consideration during our assessment.
What skills are you learning that are preparing you for the future?
There are skills which I’ll be able to take away from this process such as organisational skills due to being project leader and having to delegate different tasks. It has been really important to recognise the different strengths in the team and have an overview of what is being done. I’ve never worked with a client as big as DrilCorp before so it was a bit daunting at first but now we are further into the project it has definitely boosted my confidence.
What has your experience at Northumbria been like?
Coming to Northumbria I was passionate about wanting to do business as both of my parents have business backgrounds. I was excited to come to a university with such great facilities and opportunities like the UGC. Together with study abroad, I’ve gained a more holistic outlook.
The international business management degree covers a broad range of topics; collectively they have given me a great overall perspective of business management as a whole on a international level. Once I could see how the modules fitted into practice, I definitely found they aided me in my decision making and problem solving throughout the project.
What’s next after graduation?
I plan to go back out to America eventually but in the meantime I’m applying for graduate schemes and jobs. The UGC project has given me skills and experience that I’ll be able to use in application forms and during interviews. We’ve built good relationships with the company and it has all worked out so well for us. It’s opened up lots of new opportunities for example I’d have never thought about working in the engineering sector until I started the brief.
The UGC is open to business students at Newcastle Business School. The emphasis of the project is to showcase the work of final year students who, following an experiential learning approach, collaborate with a range of regional, national and international organisations to build sustainable and lasting relationships. Students are able to carry out tangible research and provide clients with solutions and recommendations that make a real difference to their business. Some of the other organisations involved are Gateshead Council, MediaWork, Carlisle City Council and Powered Bicycle.
For more information on studying business visit www.northumbria.ac.uk/nbs or email kumud.wijayaratna@northumbria.ac.uk for more information on the project.
Image caption: Brooke Goudie far right on site at DrilCorp
