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How Lancaster University Management School Delivers Experiential Learning

Action-learning projects offer huge development opportunities

Wed Nov 23 2016

BusinessBecause
At Lancaster University Management School, MBAs carry out business-based consulting projects or internships for multinational corporations.

The tough summer challenges offer huge development opportunities — and sometimes lead directly to offers of employment.

“Students come out with additional skills and experience directly relevant to their intended career path. It’s just a massive win-win for all involved,” says Grahame Brown, corporate relations manager.

The “Corporate Challenges” are the fourth of LUMS’ action-learning projects, designed to pull together the learning MBAs receive during the duration of the program.

“The Lancaster MBA focuses on the concept of action learning throughout,” says Grahame.

“We give the students live, in-company exposure to complex consultancy challenges as the course progresses.”

Here are three examples:

  • Saatchi & Saatchi

Sharon Loh says her group of four was tasked by Saatchi & Saatchi with finding a way to better deliver value to a large supermarket’s customers.

They did this by determining the supermarket chain’s value proposition in the eyes of the consumer. And more importantly, what sets the company apart from its competitors.

“We conducted market surveys and interviews with industry experts, analyzed the data and came up with recommendations,” says Sharon.

The project was an opportunity to put the team’s MBA learning to the test. “We witnessed how it brought value to our client,” she says. The group delivered a final presentation to Saatchi & Saatchi. And it was well received. “They will be taking on board some of the recommendations we put forward,” says Sharon, whose team carried out the work in London.

LUMS students pay for their accommodation on campus and receive a subsidy when in the UK capital for the Corporate Challenge. Travel and accommodation costs during the taught element of the program are included in the fees. This gives The LUMS MBA a distinct advantage over its competitors, Sharon believes.

“This helped to ease the burden of the high living costs in London,” she says. “Undeniably, the value for money of the Lancaster MBA program is very high.”

  • EasyJet

The objective of the project was to create a framework that will allow EasyJet to better understand how its individual “change projects” contribute to its overall strategy, says Eric Afriyie.

To do this, Eric’s group of three had to extract information from the airline’s employees. He says he had to draw upon his global leadership skills — the LUMS MBA cohort is made up of 22 different nationalities. “It put those skills to the test.”

It also provided excellent exposure to EasyJet management, from project managers to senior board level executives, Eric says. 

Last but not least, it gave him a sense of fulfilment to create a framework from scratch that will have made an impact to EasyJet’s business: “They will use the framework that we created,” Eric says. 

  • Barclays

Ankita Srivastava’s team of four had to design and recommend new mortgage products for Barclays, to enable the bank to enter the lifetime mortgage market in the UK.

The group carried out market research and due diligence, she says. “The scope of the project was to analyze and evaluate this product’s origination, potential market, financial value, associated risks and relevant regulations.”

They delivered a report and a presentation on their findings to selected members of the mortgage council at Barclays.

“Our final client presentation was well received from all the attendees and we got encouraging feedback and comments from them,” says Ankita.

This gave the MBAs the opportunity to showcase their talent to a potential employer — and pick up new tricks along the way.

“Our project supervisor at Barclays, Bill McCabe, was really supportive and most importantly, he was really open to sharing his expertise and knowledge with all of us,” Ankita adds.

Student Reviews

Lancaster University Management School

Jesse

Verified

28/09/2018

An exceptional educational establishment in the North West of England.

This university has been a fantastic life experience as well as a great academic one. I first decided to go to Lancaster University Management School due to its exceptional business education facilities and have not been disappointed. I recommend the university to anybody that wants to put themselves in a strong position for a career upon graduation.

Student

Verified

24/11/2022

On Campus

Student Ambassador

Overall, the instruction is decent, however it also depends on your department. The people are friendly, in my opinion. The sporting events are enjoyable, and there is a good sense of community. Although the city is quite remote, it is nonetheless attractive.

Student

Verified

3/08/2020

Lancaster University honest review

The education system in the university is excellent especially that of the Management School. The campus has great facilities for students to study and live in a relaxed manner. The students can engage in various activities through the socities.

Student

Verified

17/06/2020

Great opportunities to think beyond

Lancaster University provides a lot of good opportunities to think beyond.There Entrepreneurship in residence program helps students to meet and seek guidance about entrepreneurship and the challenges.Their Work in progress program help to fabricate your startup idea and further to pitch to the potential investors.Apart from that there are lot of programs like Enactus, guest lectures and guidance from seniors to help and shape your career needs. They provide lot of opportunities to shape up your employability skills.

Student

Verified

9/10/2020

On Campus

A top university in the UK for management science!

If you’re interested in management science studies, Lancaster University is one of the top universities in the UK. The faculty is renowned and have a sterling reputation for research in management science. Candidates specifically interested in Forecasting would find the Centre for Marketing Analytics and Forecasting especially relevant to their field. Besides, the ROI is good as the overall cost compared to other universities is less.

Student

Verified

10/04/2019

Great university for academia – not great for 'entrepreneurs'

Please keep in mind that my review is nuanced by my expectations of an Entrepreneurship degree :) I came to Lancaster University because it was one of the top universities to have a course in Entrepreneurship. After 4 years in this degree, my most valuable experience has been my placement and not the actual course. The course is heavily focused on impractical elements, which is a bit odd for an Entrepreneurship degree. There are some modules that involve hands-on work but the faculty support for such things has not been great. My course also involved a lot of teamwork which has been fantastic and really prepared me when it comes to dealing with the diversity of opinions. In terms of career prospects, the management school does A LOT to host events, workshops and support sessions to help you build up your employability skills. Although, I wish there was more acknowledgement of SMEs/startups as a viable career option. The entrepreneurship team which is meant to support budding businesses is really stepping up their game with tons of guest speakers, workshops and pitching opportunities. The location is a concern if you're not in STEM, Law or Accounting and Finance. Business requires networking with the broader community. However, for Lancaster students, the best bet is a trip down to Manchester or London. On the flip side, living in Lancaster is much cheaper! Overall, if the purpose of your university experience is to receive top academic education and have great facilities at your disposal, Lancaster is a great choice. But if you want to be in business and entrepreneurship, I would look elsewhere.

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