Extraordinary, life changing, transformative, unforgettable … just some of the superlatives used by our MBA students on returning from their week’s International Consultancy Challenge in Athens. In partnership with Alba Graduate Business School, the students were given the opportunity to collaborate with Boroume, an incredible NGO whose mission is to reduce food waste and food insecurity in Greece.

Since 2012, this not-for-profit organisation (whose name means ‘we can’) has saved and offered more than 80 million portions of food with a value of €120 million (€1.5 per portion). Working with over 650 charities across Greece, this currently equates to a staggering 35,000 portions of food per day. They approach the issue of food waste and the fight against food insecurity holistically through a number of programmes, one of which is Boroume at the Farmers’ Market. This involves volunteers visiting the various farmers’ markets each week, collecting the donated produce and then handing it over to a local charity, with all activity coordinated by Boroume.

Following a Design Thinking workshop with Professor Nikos Mylonopoulous, and a workshop entitled ‘Do stakeholders care about Environmental Social Governance (ESG) and CSR?’ with Professor Pavlos Vlachos, the students worked in groups, each visiting a local market so they could experience what is involved first hand. This was followed by a full day’s design thinking sprint, before each group presented their ideas both for expansion and for streamlining current processes to Anna Kabouropoulous, Program Manager at Boroume.

The groups focused on various areas including education, logistics, inventory management and supply chain, technology, data management, people management, community engagement, business collaboration, recognition and reward, and sustainable practices.

‘This hands-on experience enhanced my understanding of design thinking and underscored the power of collaboration and community in tackling real-world issues,’ said Mostafa Elghobashy, an Operations Manager from the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare sector, who is just completing his MBA at Kent. ‘Working in diverse groups, we dove deep into the design thinking process. We created personas to understand the various stakeholders involved, crafted points of view to pinpoint specific needs and generated ‘How might we’ questions to spark creative solutions.’

Full-time MBA student, Siddhi Chavan posted about her experience on social media, saying ‘This experience not only honed our business acumen but also deepened our understanding of the crucial role NGOs like Boroume play in creating a more sustainable world.’

Fellow student, Debarshee Sen agrees, writing (to Boroume) ‘Words cannot express how inspiring your work is.’ The experience appears to have had a profound effect on him, as he continues, ‘This challenge has ignited a passion for creating positive change through ethical business practices. The lessons learned about cultural sensitivity, social responsibility, and innovative problem solving will undoubtably shape my future career and personal growth. I’m deeply thankful for the connections made, the knowledge shared, and the inspiration gained. This experience has reinforced my belief in the power of collaboration and the potential of business to address critical social issues.

But is not all work and no play! As you might expect, the MBA International Challenge also includes some cultural visits, including a trip to the Acropolis Museum and the Acropolis Hill with a professional guide. With the temperature over 30 degrees, the climb up is no mean feat! The previous evening the whole group enjoyed a welcome dinner at a rooftop restaurant with stunning Acropolis views, so they were delighted to get up close.

Two other highlights are the team building cooking experience which takes place in the beautiful Kropias Gi Botanical Park courtesy of Vouryia and the sunset farewell dinner at Flisvos Marina. What a perfect way to end such an action-packed week. Part-time MBA student and Business Development Manager, John Benfield sums the whole experience up perfectly declaring, ‘This trip will stay with me forever.’