National Corporations impressed by student talent at Scheme Launch.
Representatives from regional and national companies from a wide range of industries joined graduates on the MSc in Value Chain Management programme at Kent Business School on 23rd September to participate in an Open Day for the new Student Implant Scheme.
The innovative pilot scheme is a first for Kent Business School and for the university, and offers students as a business resource to companies for the duration of their study (September 2011 to August 2012). The students will use their value chain expertise to research and deliver solutions in a real-world business and will write a dissertation and business report based on the project. In return they will receive invaluable workplace experience, corporate mentoring, and the chance to network and share their academic and work experience. Scheme Co-Ordinator Kasia Senyszyn was impressed with the calibre of students on the scheme:
“This scheme is a great opportunity for students to showcase their talents, and engage with companies before they even graduate. The students on the scheme have a range of backgrounds and can all offer something unique to the projects, and the Open Day allowed them to discuss their ideas with the companies directly – it’s been an exciting but tiring day!”
The Open Day began with an introduction from KBS Director, Professor John Mingers, who expressed his enthusiasm for the scheme, and for its links to the university’s employability strategy and to KBS’ commitment to utilising our talented student resource to the benefit of our corporate partners. MSc Programme Director, Dr. Marian Garcia, then explained how the scheme grew from the applied research ethos of the Business School’s Centre for Value Chain Research, and how it would add value to the academic content of the course.
Student Implant Scheme partner Debbie Welsby of Vimto praised the scheme and was keen to meet the graduates at the Open Day:
“The student implant scheme open day provided a great opportunity to meet the students and present our project.
The format of the day consisted of an overview of the scheme, company presentations and individual student interviews. The day was a real success and we were matched with our first choice of student and to our delight he had also selected our company as his preferred project. We are looking forward to welcoming him to the team and working with him over the coming year.”
For further information on the Student Implant Scheme, contact Scheme Co-Ordinator Kasia Senyszyn at kbsbusiness@kent.ac.uk