Mrs Jo Clark, Lecturer
Newcastle University Business School
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
What did you do?
Post graduate students from Newcastle University Business School (NUBS) delivered a Consultancy project, for an International Rail, Rolling Stock Manufacturing Company.
We worked with an international rail, rolling stock manufacturing company, to design and deliver an academically assessed project for masters in business administration (MBA), post graduate business school students. The project was designed to test students’ skills as business consultants and offer a real-life consultancy opportunity, and ideally deliver value to a client organisation.
A project brief and clear objectives were developed in conjunction with the rail company. A student project delivery team was agreed following consultation with university staff, students, and corporate representatives.
The rail company, led by their head of sustainability, and the agreed MBA student team worked together for two weeks on a Management Consultancy (NBS8130) module. Students explored the question:
“Social Value in UK Rail Procurement – how can the rail company compete successfully for public procurement contracts for rolling stock given the importance of Social Value? How can the rail company improve its Social Value position in comparison with its competitors?”
A supervising academic, and rail company staff coached the student team through the research and proposal development phases, on to the successful delivery of the project outcomes/assessment requirements. A final presentation and report were delivered to the client.
The project supervisor and the Management Consultancy module leader attended the final student presentation with the executive team at the rail company, in their Gosforth depot.
Who is involved?
Module leader Jo Clark, a project supervisor, NUBS MBA post graduate students, three nominated rail company representatives; the heads of commercial and sustainability and the commercial and legal business partner, plus the wider rail company executive team. The NUBS professional services (PS), external engagement, team were also part of the initial search for partner organisations for this practice-based module.
How did you do it?
The module leader and professional services (PS) colleagues contacted external organisations to source a range of suitable management consultancy projects. A variety of projects are needed to cater for the range of interests, values, and skills of the post experience MBA student learners. Projects are selected for their strategic scope and sustainability related themes.
External learning partner organisations (LPOs) were persuaded to offer their time to partner with NUBS for an intensive two weeks, during semester three. They worked with NUBS international post graduate MBA students by sharing their business problem and supporting the consultancy investigation. Understanding the requirements of the Public Services (Social Value) Act (2012) unlocked a commitment from one LPO, the rail company, to participate in this module. Explaining how the learning project, itself, offers clear Social Value benefit, as defined in the social value model guide to the Act, helped persuade the rail company to join as a learning partner organisation. Busy, commercially focused business executives set hard priorities, so it is important to clearly articulate the benefits of partnering with universities on such student facing learning projects. The Social Value Act offers a clear opportunity for corporates to realise value from university industry partnerships. Notably, this value is derived from applied pedagogy, in educationally focused learning partnerships, rather than the more commonly understood partnerships in academic research.
In discussions with the rail company commercial manager, who explained her challenges in tendering for UK public sector contracts, we realised we had a common goal that could be delivered in collaboration, through a student consultancy project. As a student project this fell within scope of the social value model, enhancing skills, and hence counts towards the rail company’s overall contribution to enhancing social value. Students were, coincidentally, set the objective of developing a strategy for improving Social Value delivered by the rail company in its UK contracts, as the rail company seek to become more competitive in the UK market, tendering process.
The Social Value Act requires organisations tendering for contracts in the public sector to demonstrate winning performance in the delivery of the tender work area. They must also demonstrate a strong and clear account of how they support delivery of Social Value, as prescribed in the act, in the delivery of their goods or services. Those in the public sector who commission public services are required under the Act to think about how they can also secure wider social, economic, and environmental benefits, social value, along with the contract value.
The classroom engagement began when the rail company, and other invited businesses, presented their project briefs to NUBS MBA students during a three-hour workshop. Students completed a webform indicating their top three preferred project choices and their own strengths for each project. The project preferences were then agreed between the module leader and partner organisations to select the best team for the job.
Jo Clark with her students (Left to Right: Rabiat Asipita Suberu, Jubulee Nayak, Gokul Girish Kumar, Samuel Sony, Jo Clark and Ayodeji Adeniyi)
Students selected for the rail company project were invited to visit the depot in Gosforth to learn more about the rail industry. Students met with company representatives, the client, to present their understanding of the brief and receive feedback on their initial proposal and work plan. The objectives and plan of work were agreed, and students continued with two weeks of intensive research and project update meetings with rail company’ personnel. Students explored academic and practitioner sources to understand how similar organisations deliver social value in their business.
The students’ final assessed presentation was held in the rail company offices in Gosforth. A group of senior commercial, finance, HR, operational, sustainability and legal representatives welcomed the 30-minute presentation, and actively engaged in a question-and-answer session.
Why did you do it?
The Management Consultancy module, learning outcomes require students to develop skills in consulting, such as client interaction, effective questioning, and presentation skills.
NUBS holds the prestigious triple accreditation, a mark of quality business schools world-wide. This accreditation from the three bodies, Association of MBA (AMBA), American Association of Certified Schools of Business (AACSB) and EFDM Quality Improvement System (EQUIS), requires NUBS programmes, including the MBA, to include engagement with live businesses and their issues in the curriculum.
Developing students’ skills, adding authenticity and contemporary relevance to academic theory is achieved through this learning in action, applied pedagogy (Morley and Jamil, 2021). Such learning in action is an essential, not simply a nice to have, in a triple accredited business school such as NUBS.
Developing students’ skills through work with LPOs is seen as a desirable learning benefit and is included in our measured, module learning outcomes. MBA students demand a learning experience that embeds real life case studies and company interactions as a means of sharing their prior knowledge, experience and developing their skills further. The success of skills enhancement is, in part, understood and measured through employability outcomes for students, for example, in the Office for Students’ key performance measure 6. Arguably, there is the potential for further, unmeasured, synergistic benefit to the LPO resulting from the students’ contribution in delivering project outcomes through applied pedagogy. These LPO projects are now common practice in business schools, and other departments, across UK universities.
This process of university business engagement, simply by engaging in our learning partnerships supporting students with an in curricular project, means the rail company are thereby delivering Social Value as defined in the 2012 Act. Explicitly stated in the Social Value Model, within the legislation, is the support of United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UNSDG) 4, Quality Education. Specifically mentioned in the act is support for activities, such as, careers talks and curriculum support. This applies equally to any other larger or smaller organisation wishing to tender for public sector contracts, so affords academics more opportunity to deliver an applied pedagogy, linking teaching and assessment with external learning partner organisations.
The rail company understood the benefit to be gained from our collaborative project. Regardless of the quality of student output against deliverables, the rail company derive measurable benefit from having engaged with us, as defined in the legislation.
Does it work?
As explained above, by engaging with university students in the pedagogy of modules, LPOs who are engaged in public sector tendering, implicitly benefit under the definition of the Social Value Act, from such educational related activity.
It can also be seen that multi layered benefits were achieved in this, and similar applied pedagogy, project work.
Firstly, management consultancy module learning outcomes were achieved with students’ performance on the module graded at a high level.
Secondly, MBA students welcome the applied pedagogy elements of their programme commenting, positively:
“Module leader, Jo, a pivotal force in our MBA journey, orchestrated invaluable networking events, hosted seminars with top-tier companies, and facilitated hands-on business learning via consultancy projects with renowned firms. Her guidance was instrumental in bringing out our best during this journey.” (MBA student, 2023)
Students presented findings to the rail company executive team who were delighted with the quality of research and breadth of understanding of the issues. The application of the recommendations applied to the client context was also commended by the LPO.
In post-project reviews, LPOs state satisfaction with their experience and deem the effort worthwhile, as indicated by repeat engagement with the management consultancy module over several years.
Finally, NUBS maintains its triple accreditation status and in a recent accreditation visit the Association of MBAs assessors commented:
“The employers the panel met were overwhelming positive around their engagement with students, especially via the consultancy exercise and industry-based projects.” (AMBA panel, 2023).
The Graduate Framework
This case study demonstrates the following attributes:
- Socially responsible
- Curious
- Collaborative
Further Information
Sources explaining the Public Services Procurement (Social Value) Act 2012.