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The University of Southampton
Southampton Business School

International Consulting Project Success in Spain for MBA students October 2021

Published: 22 November 2021
Business School students

The Southampton Business School’s flagship MBA programme had its international consultancy and industry immersion visit to Spain in October 2021. Led by Prof Peter Rodgers (MBA Director), Dr Swarna Prasad (MBA Programme Manager) & and Dr Rob Angell (SBS Director of Internationalisation), the 2020/21 MBA student cohort took part on a series of visits to businesses in Madrid & Barcelona to complete their Spain international consulting projects study trip.

This was the first post-covid international travel for the Business School and FSS and the consulting projects were split into two parts: Part 1 involved a two-week intensive hybrid consulting workshop in the summer where the MBA student teams worked with their clients virtually. Part 2 involved the study visit to Spain and meeting with business clients. At the beginning of the trip there were introductory lectures on the Spanish economy and talks by some of Spain’s successful entrepreneurs. The visits were an opportunity to network and engage with client companies from the printing, recycling, pharmaceutical and educational games sectors and all are looking to grow and expand their business internationally.

Professor Peter Rodgers (MBA Director) said:

"Taking the 2020/21 MBA cohort to Spain on a consultancy trip was a hugely rewarding experience for all involved after a tough year dealing with the pandemic.  After working tirelessly through the summer on virtual projects with their business clients, the visits to Madrid and Barcelona provided the perfect opportunity for the MBA student teams to meet their clients in person and see how their business plans were already, in some instances, being implemented. We were made extremely welcome in Spain and the feedback from our Spanish clients was hugely positive. I am incredibly proud of the levels of professionalism, dedication and agility displayed by the 2020/21 MBA cohort and huge thanks for our senior colleagues in SBS and FSS who helped enable this international experiential learning trip to take place."

Business School students

Genevieve Chima, MBA student said:

"The MBA program at University of Southampton has been an incredible journey! A major highlight for me, was our industry immersion visit to Spain (Madrid and Barcelona). Having provided a 2-week virtual consulting service to our Spanish clients, it was very rewarding to visit the beautiful city, our client and live out the Spaniard experience, through their exquisite cuisine, warm people, and incredibly rich culture. This learning and immersion visit has indeed enabled thorough and engaging student experience for all students. Muchísimas gracias!"

Rajat Gauba, MBA student said:

"This education trip to Spain was essential to my professional advancement since it introduced me to several different and distinct perspectives. It's another of the motivations I enrolled in the MBA programme at the University of Southampton; this journey turned into being very unforgettable for me! Because it was well-organized and included a variety of fun activities along with educative client meetings. The overseas travel experience was smooth, effective, and educational for me. The university were quite supportive both in advance of the trip and on the ground in the country we were seeing. I've been impressed with the university's ability to secure top-tier foreign business visits and create engaging cultural trips for our trip. I am grateful to all of the staff members for ensuring that students have a pleasant and enjoyable overseas travel experience."

Business School students

Sahar Ravanfar, MBA student said:

"Our industry immersion visit to Spain was an excellent experience for me, specially visiting some of our clients from consultancy project. visiting Aries company was very interesting to see their operation site, understanding their challenges and discussing what they have done to bring innovation to their organisation like the commitment to sustainable practice in their process. The second day business meeting was very informative and I enjoyed the first session with Aurora Luengo on innovation with fear. I had a chance to communicate with her and I got very good information on suppliers and distributors in skincare market. Our industry visit to Spain was a memorable experience and it was an absolute pleasure to be a part of it."

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