The course starts with a kick-off session on Monday January 9th at 10:15-12 at T2 - C105 hall. Attendance is mandatory.
Overview and learning objectives
In this course you will solve a practical business problem for a company, which involves analysis of market characteristics, assessment of business potential, or identification of value for customers or partners for a new business, product or service. So you act as a team of “consultants” to the company.
After taking the course you should have learned the following:
- How to translate a real-life business question or problem into a systematic study?
- How to identify and apply relevant methods for studying the question or problem?
- How to generate relevant data and analyse them to help solve the problem?
- How to devise recommendations based on the analysis that are likely to solve the business problem?
- How to work in teams, solve upcoming problems, and give constructive feedback on the work of others?
The course is targeted at DIEM/Tuta bachelor students and it is recommended that the course is taken during the 2nd year. "TU-2010 Introduction to Strategic Management" is a prerequisite for the course. Other students interested in taking the course should contact the course staff before the start of the course.
This is a project course done in groups
The course primarily consists of group work. Groups must consist of 4-5 students. Please start forming your groups right away using the tool available in Project groups section. During the second session we will fill up the teams / form groups of the students who are still looking for a group.
Each group will work with a company to solve its real-world problem. Please see the Project topics section (will be published soon!) for more information about available topics.
You will receive guidance by a course instructor for the group work. Additionally, there will be three sessions before the work starts that provide you with relevant information about how to conduct the project, how to set up the study, how to generate and analyse data so that you can draw valid conclusions and valuable recommendations for the company, and how to structure and present your findings. You will also act as “opponent” for another group, which involves giving feedback and providing constructive criticism.
During the course you will:
- Find a client company (yourself or from the topics provided by the course) and agree on carrying out a project for that company
- Set the project objectives and scope
- Collect primary data
- Analyze the data
- Develop a business solution for the company
- Write a report for the company
- Present the report in class
- Provide feedback on the work of one other group
The total expected workload of the course is 135 hours (5 credits), which consists of 3 initial sessions, project work, opponent work, and final presentation.
For any questions about the course, please use the discussion board below, or if you have a personal question, be in touch with the course teachers Kimmo Karhu or Kaarlo Väisänen (firstname.lastname@aalto.fi).
Welcome to the course!
