‘This has been worthwhile for the company. The students deliver real value’

Several businesses have benefited greatly from TCD’s Strategic Company Project, including Dell, EY and Avolon.

They told us about their experience with the MBA students.

EY

For EY, this is their second experience with Trinity students and John Farrelly of EY said it has been an “interesting and very refreshing experience” thus far. “We are only half way through, they are with us over the course of about six months, and work under a tutor and an industry advisor,” he says.

EY were seeking help around digital innovation, focussing on tax and wanted a “fresh set of eyes”.

“Working within the Big 4, things move fast and we wanted people who have the time to do a structured analysis with a fresh pair of eyes. We already had a relationship with Trinity and thought about perhaps getting a couple of MBAs in to help us but then we came across the Strategic Company Project.

It's great for them to have access to industry leaders, senior people and they are seeing how stuff is done in the real world

“They are MBAs so they’re very engaged, they have industry experience and they bring a level of maturity to the job. Anyone they have engaged with say they asked insightful questions. It’s been a very good experience for them as they may not have time to do that level of analysis themselves.

“We are finding – even though we are only half way in– that they are validating a lot of what we’re thinking ourselves. I spend perhaps three to four hours per month with them but is time well spent. They are structured interviews with good thought-provoking questions.

“As for the students, they are getting real world experiences without the sanity check and understand why you must go a certain way from a regulatory perspective. It’s great for them to have access to industry leaders, senior people and they are seeing how stuff is done in the real world. There is a nice mix of gender and nationality among the team too, which is important to us.”

Farrelly also said that he would be very likely to hire from the pool of people, after graduation, and that the programme allows for “access to a great talent pool”.

Dell

Christian Krummel, director strategy and planning, EMEA partner and OEM Business Operations at Dell Technologies said of their experience:

“In November 2018, Dell Technologies partnered with the Trinity MBA to roll out a strategic project for students focused on the future of the Original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and Internet of Things (IoT) industry. Dell Technologies OEM and IoT division offers organisations the ability to unlock the full potential of IoT data and enable faster, more accurate decisions for those seeking to stay ahead of their competitors. Through the collaboration, seven professionals from the MBA programme have worked closely with Dell’s global operations, marketing, sales and strategy teams to gain new insights into the industry’s competitive landscape. Through the insights gained over six months and the development of their strategic planning techniques, the MBA professionals will make recommendations for change that could help our leaders to accelerate transformation within our own business. This has been a very worthwhile partnership for Dell Technologies with the students delivering real value back to the company.”

Avolon

Avolon, whose mission is to position Ireland at the forefront of global innovation said, ‘it’s been a pleasure to work with a team of Trinity MBA students as part of their Strategic Company Project. During the project, each team member was inquisitive and highly motivated to deliver interesting insights to benefit Avolon.”

Trinity has set about making a world class business school and now ranks in the top two per cent of business schools worldwide. Now amongst the fast growing business schools in Europe, its new facility opens on Thursday, May 23rd.