Nottingham MBA team wins PRME Innovation
Challenge
A team of three Nottingham MBA students won the 2018 - 2019 Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) Innovation Challenge.
This prestigious global competition gives students the opportunity to address an actual sustainable development challenge for a real company - the Manitou Group.
Students as innovators
The Manitou Group is a world leader in the design, manufacture, distribution and servicing of all-terrain,material-handling equipment for construction, agriculture, mining and industrial applications. They are looking to become sustainability leaders with objectives that include having 100% of new projects include eco design criteria.
PRME is always looking for ways to engage students to connect with both the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and with companies actively seeking solutions to their challenges.
PRME believe that companies are starting to see that students from PRME business schoolsare an important untapped resource when it comes to sustainability and more companies are looking to work with them to tap into the innovative ideas students offer.
The Nottingham MBA team - Mecia Petersen, Badr Elharradi and Abu Nuruzzaman - presented their final recommendations at Manitou's corporate headquarters in West Bend, Wisconsin, USA on June 7 2019.
Manitou's focus on sustainability and the work of the winning Nottingham team were featured in an article in Forbes on June 28 2019.
The Manitou challenge
The Nottingham team chose the 'Total Cost of Ownership' challenge of the two possible projects. Manitou asked the students to come up with ideas on how to change their customers' mindset from the acquisition price to a full cost of services approach.
Two final teams were chosen to work with Manitou on their projects between November and April and sent their final projects to the company in May 2019.
We competed for the winning spot with a team from Macquarie Business School in Australia. Our solution was based on creating a circular economy to decrease environmental impacts while increasing social impacts and creating a shared value proposition which would become the centre of Manitou’s approach and integrated marketing campaign. The project was focused on Manitou North America but our solutions are now being implemented for Manitou global.
Manitou's focus on sustainability and the work of the winning Nottingham team were featured in an article in Forbes on June 28 2019.
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