UNNC Students Create New Value for Real Enterprises Through Consultancy Projects |?宁诺学子通过咨询实践为企业增值
Written by?(作者):?Troy Chen 陈震
Photos by?(图片来源):?UNNC 宁波诺丁汉大学
Nine students from The University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC) are currently taking part in an international consulting project which offers support to companies home and abroad to achieve a competitive edge in the ever globalised marketplace.
The initiative is part of the Baylor i5 program – short for “Immersion Into International Interdisciplinary Innovation”. As the flagship program of Baylor University in Waco, Texas, its goal is to create an environment for students to develop an insight into science and technology, whilst pairing this with business knowledge and global cultural competence. Nottingham University became i5’s exclusive partner in China in 2012. This year marks i5’s 9th event hosted at UNNC.
Nine UNNC students have been selected for the project, together with students from Baylor University. The international project team consists of students from a variety of disciplines including engineering, computer science, economics and business. This joint program looks at industries as diverse as health and senior care, tourism, automotive works, manufacturing, and information technologies.
The project team has nine weeks to produce a business plan which details how to help the commissioned company expand their international market or provide a solution to a specific problem.
Learning by Doing
Sherry Qihui Zheng, a year 3 student from Nottingham Business School (NUBS) China who leads Team Kem One and won the Most Wisdom Created Award, told us that it is an amazing opportunity to take part in the project. “Being a leader in a cross-cultural team has been both challenging and rewarding as it develops your leadership and communication skills in real working environment where you have to make tough decisions almost every day.”
Zheng’s team has completed a 150 page market research report including both a business plan and appendix. To aid them with their project, the team has made multiple visits the automobile industries both in Shanghai and Ningbo to carry out surveys and interviews. They have just presented their findings with other teams before a panel consisting of academics, business experts, angel investors and entrepreneurs
Zheng also finds it very helpful to have four experienced academics from Baylor University to supervise and guide everyone through this exciting internship.
Entrepreneurship Professor Marc Idelson, who has been coordinating the initiative, said: “The four keys to success in cross-cultural endeavors are awareness that culture matters, academic understanding of cross-cultural dynamics, practical cooperation skills and the motivation to address the issues.
“UNNC students are eager to engage in the kind of challenges that will hone their ability to become responsible leaders with a global mindset. Developing a combined grasp of the British educational tradition of critical thinking and contemporary Chinese culture in Ningbo make the value created for businesses served by the i5 summer program an original and appealing proposition.”
Idelson also revealed that eight other consulting programs, sponsored by the Nottingham Advantage Award credit scheme, are operated by NUBS during the autumn and spring semesters.
Stephane Monsallier, Managing Director of System-in-Motion, a European IT Solutions Company that operates out of Shanghai, explains his company got more than what they expected through participating this project. “I’m very happy and thankful about the result. They really got into it and raised their work to a very high standard. I’ve worked on other projects with other business schools but I have to say that I’ve never gotten this level of benefits.
“They provide a fresh look from outside the business. Actually half of the benefits have been delivered by them through challenging questions that we may have neglected when running our business. The other half is their thoughtful recommendations which are not only strategic but also very practical and executable given the local circumstances. We are considering hiring one or more of the project members if they are interested”.
Quality International Education
As the very first Sino-foreign University in China, UNNC is committed to delivering a truly excellent education. Our programs are designed to equip students with the skills and lifelong learning habits necessary to achieve their full potential for a career in a challenging, globalized working environment. The practical experience from cooperative projects like i5 better prepares students for tasks they’ll have to do in the real world. The emergence of collaborative education models are already starting to reinvent education.
Professor Sam Shen, Vice Provost of UNNC, said: “UNNC is active in research-led teaching, collaborating within China and internationally. We believe our approach to engaging students in their studies is innovative, develops an international perspective of the business world with local insights and encourages students to be interactive not only in the classroom but also in the real business world.”
According to the latest statistics compiled by University’s Careers Development Office, more than 98 percent of our graduates are employed within six months of graduation or move on to further studies at leading international universities.
在刚刚结束的为期三个月的i5咨询项目中，宁诺多位学生展露头角，通过严谨、全方位的市场调研，帮助国内外六家企业，开拓国际市场，增强市场竞争力。在最后的展示会议中，他们通过自信得体的谈吐和深邃的调研洞见，征服评审，包揽团队奖和个人奖项。
i5为美国德克萨斯州贝勒大学同宁波诺丁汉大学联合开办的暑期管理咨询实训项目，英文意为“浸入式国际化跨专业创新”项目，旨在给参与学生提供一个国际化职业平台，培养商业领域的科技创新思维，锻炼跨文化沟通能力，培养全能型国际人才。诺丁汉大学早在几年前就跟贝勒大学合作，2012年签署正式合作协议并开展活动至今已举办九届，为很多宁诺学子提供独特的机会，参与跨校、跨国的产学研合作项目。
国际版的“非你莫属”
项目共选出9名宁诺学子和贝勒大学的学生组成六支国际化队伍。队伍除了文化背景多样之外，他们分别来自不同学科：诺丁汉大学商学院（中国）、计算机科学系、经济系、法律系和工程系。而他们的雇主，六家跨国公司也分属不同行业，从汽车制造到高端养老和护理，从医疗旅游到制造业，从信息技术到管理咨询，不一而足。
这六支队伍，不是从事普通的三个月实习，他们将接受高强度的培训和实战调研，根据不同企业的要求，在项目结束时拿出一整套的商业计划，有的要拓展亚太或欧美市场，有的则专注企业自身某一问题，提出解决方案。
真知出于实践
商学院大三学生郑启慧，担任Kem One咨询团队的项目经理，并在昨天的展示会上夺得了“最具智慧贡献奖”。她说这是一次难得的刺激经历：“作为一个多元化团队的组织者和领导者，我的领导力和沟通技巧都得到了前所未有的提升，在一个新的环境你不但要迅速适应，还要带领你的团队有效组织工作，在短时间内找准要害，为企业解决实际问题。这既充满收获，又富有挑战，因为几乎每天你都要做艰难的决定。”
在项目结束时，她的团队一共起草了一本足有150页的商业计划书，他们为了完成调研，跑遍了上海和宁波的汽车相关企业，设计问卷，回收并分析，做跟踪采访。谈起过去的三个月，她感慨万千。昨天下午做完最终陈述，在茶歇间隙，轻松下来的郑启慧和来自美国的小伙伴热闹的自拍。而来自各行各业的评委给了他们很高的评价。要知道这些评委很挑剔，除了两所大学的资深教授之外，还有天使投资人、企业老总、媒体观察员等等。
郑启慧感谢Kem One企业领导层给他们的信任和支持，同时还特别感谢来自贝勒大学的五位教授的悉心指导，他们同样功不可没。
本次两校项目的主办负责人，诺丁汉大学商学院中国的创业学助理教授马克.伊德尔松说：“在跨文化的商业机构中，成功有四个前提：要尊重和善用文化、扎实的学术功底、实操中的团队协作和解决问题的主动性”。
“宁诺学生的表现，让我看到了他们善于迎接挑战，并有足够的耐心磨砺自己的意志，他们具备未来领导者的素质。他们的竞争力来自于中国现代文化的先天优势和宁波诺丁汉大学英式教育下批判思维的有机融合，这也是为什么贝勒大学会选择我们作为合作伙伴的重要原因。”
作为六家企业的赞助者代表之一，System-in-Motion科技公司的执行董事史蒂芬道出了他们此次收获“超乎想象”的原因：“我对今天的结果非常的满意，并充满感激，他们高水平的调研成果让我惊讶，我们也跟别的商学院合作过，不过从来没有达到这么好的效果。”
“首先，效果的一半在起初就已经达到，他们视角新锐，问了很多我们可能忽视了的问题。其次，他们提供的解决方案不仅有前瞻性，很战略，同时有配套的可执行、可操作性很强的计划，这和他们对本土文化的洞见密不可分。我们甚至准备在他们中间招聘一两个我们需要的人才”。
高质量国际化教育
作为中国第一所中外合作大学，宁波诺丁汉大学致力于提供高质量的国际化教育。我们的课程设置，不仅要让学生在竞争和挑战日益激烈的今天，增长知识，更要培养他们终身学习的能力和习惯。类似i5这样的实训项目能够让我们的学生提前做好准备。而这种跨校、跨国，企业学校联合的项目正在给高等教育提供新的可能。
主管对外关系事务的副校长沈伟其教授在接受采访时说：“宁波诺丁汉大学从创立之初就一直注重科研指导下的教学，我们十分看重国际、校际的交流与合作。我们相信通过充满创意的手段与学生互动教学，包括类似的实战训练，对于培养学生的国际化思维，加深本土文化理解和运用至关重要”。
宁诺类似的合作实践课程还有很多，在就业办和各学院的共同努力下，已经开设了很多门诺丁汉卓越奖的学分课程。更多资讯，关注就业办和Moodle相关网页。
最新消息请关注宁波诺丁汉大学官方微博 weibo.com/unncweibo
官方微信帐号：Nottingham-Ningbo
如需进一步采访，请联系宁波诺丁汉大学新闻办公室陈震。
Troy Chen
is an award-winning digital communications and marketing professional with experience in higher education. He is currently working in Communications and Marketing in UNNC, specializing in communications, graphic and web design, photography and social media. You can reach him at troycz2008@hotmail.com.
陈震，传媒从业者，在诺丁汉和成均馆学习传媒并获硕士学位。现供职于宁波诺丁汉大学，主管网络与新媒体。有丰富的跨国公司与媒体从业经验，曾供职于上海惠普、埃森哲咨询、大连广电中心和大连出班社。通晓汉、英、日、韩语言，爱好旅行、摄影、阅读、羽毛球。扫描二维码查看领英主页cn.linkedin.com/in/troychen/