Nottingham Consultancy Challenge

The appeal of the challenge was not to know who I was going to be working with forcing me to truly be adaptable, resilient and open to new ideas and angles I can learn from.

Cian McCafferty, 3rd year Culture, Languages and Area studies student

As team leader, [The Consultancy Challenge] tested my resourcefulness and ability to adapt. I thoroughly enjoyed the learning.

Andrew Navida, 1st year Computer Science student

The project I have worked on was completely new to me so that opened up my eyes to something that I have never done before. It was also unique and I am confident that the knowledge I have learnt will be able to help me connect with people in the future.

Cherie Chan, 1st year Nottingham University Business School

I just wanted to say a massive thank you for all the support you’ve given our organisation. I think it’s been fantastic working with the University and the students have always been extremely professional.

Ben Rosser, CEO at The Pythian Club

Both groups have done an excellent job, especially given the time available, and I will be using both sets of output. They all seemed genuinely pleased to have taken part in the challenge and to have learned a lot from the practical real life example - so wins all round.

Nick Mellors, Innovation Nottinghamshire

• Six to eight hours per week for six weeks over the spring term.

• Group meetings: Your success on the Consultancy Challenge will be reliant on your group’s good teamwork and collaboration, so you’ll need to be flexible and committed to finding time to meet your group once or twice each week. One of these meetings should take place on Mondays. 

• Client meetings: In addition to group meetings, you’ll meet virtually with your client approximately once a week and spend some time working independently on skills development and project work.  

• Three phases of the Consultancy Challenge: 

• • Week one: getting to know your group, meeting your client for the first time and researching your brief to make sure that you understand your task. 

• • Weeks two - four: work to fulfill your project brief, including meeting with your group and client. 

• • Weeks five - six: produce and deliver a group presentation along with a written report for your client 

The Consultancy Challenge is open to all current students, regardless of how much experience you have. You don’t need any specific skills or technical knowledge, but a collaborative and positive attitude is important. because of the strong group work element and the links with real-life businesses that invest time in creating a project and meeting with students. 

You’ll need to be:  

• Dedicated and reliable. The Consultancy Challenge has a strong group work element and you’ll be working with a real-life business that has invested time in creating a project and committed to meeting with you on a weekly basis. Good consultants don't let their team or client down!  

• Collaborative. You'll need to form a cohesive team with a small group of strangers and work together to achieve a result in six weeks. You’re not on your own though, support to develop skills in communication and conflict resolution is provided on the Challenge.  

• Proactive. This experience is designed to be a Challenge. You’ll work on a project that’s randomly assigned, so you can't rely on having pre-existing knowledge of a sector. Projects are diverse and across many sectors so specific training isn't possible; your group will need to use problem-solving skills to address your client’s needs.  

• Independent. The Consultancy Challenge is a formative experience for many, giving you the freedom and responsibility to arrange much of the workload yourself and with your group. The exception to this is a few pre-planned meetings for availability purposes. You can ask for help at any point, and the NCC manager provides lots of input via the skills development activities, but the onus is you and your fellow students to work through the obstacles as a group and complete the Consultancy Challenge. 

Each client has selected an issue or a problem that is important to them. They may not have the time, resources or expertise to address the issue, so are looking for your insight.  

Past projects have included: 

• seeking new market opportunities for a science company's unique technology 

• building a community hub for an arts organisation  

• developing a sustainability strategy for a natural health product company 

• creating a volunteer recruitment strategy for an international charity 

Remote working 

Remote, hybrid or blended working is now common among graduate employers. To reflect today’s workplace, Spring’s Consultancy Challenge will be fully virtual, offering the following advantages:  

• You can participate from wherever you’re based 

• You’ll be developing and demonstrating remote-working skills that are highly relevant to any future career 

• You’ll meet and collaborate with other students, which isn't always possible face-to-face  

• You don’t need any pre-existing expertise or experience working remotely: if you have access to a computer with a webcam and microphone and an internet connection, you can get fully involved. 

• There are no rooms to book or travel expenses to pay; you can collaborate with your group and your client from your home, or campus  

The NCC will be mainly delivered through Moodle, Microsoft Office 365 (including Teams) and over email, available to you via your university account. 

Each week will involve some time spent working collaboratively, and some time spent working independently.  Each group will need to be understanding of each other’s commitments whilst also being as flexible as possible to ensure you’re able to meet and make progress.  

Your average week will look something like this: 

• One to two group meeting(s) on a day / time that you all agree  

• One client meeting on a day / time that you and your client agree 

• Online communication with your group and (possibly) your client 

• Independent project work or preparing your presentation and report 

• Time spent on skills development activities

You will need to be proactive and independent on the Consultancy Challenge, but support is available throughout. The Careers and Employability Service help you to develop the skills you’ll need to succeed on the Challenge, and we ask clients to provide feedback on your output at the end. Support includes:  

• Opportunity to practice giving a remote presentation before the real thing  

• The technical side of delivering a remote presentation 

• How to work well as a group, including managing any conflict 

• Feedback from your client on your presentation, and how well you addressed their business need 

• Feedback from the Careers service on your ability to reflect on your experience and translate it to your future career plans (NAA students only) 

The Consultancy Challenge is open to University of Nottingham students of any year group or subject who are registered as current students for the entire duration of the Consultancy Challenge i.e. throughout the spring term. 

To allow us to widen access to this experience, students who have been offered and have accepted a place on the Challenge before are not eligible to apply again.

The Consultancy Challenge typically receives more applications than there are places available and where high numbers of applications are received, we may close the application window early. We also reserve the right to prioritise students who are in their final year of study and who will not have the opportunity to reapply to this opportunity