The course brings a CEMS corporate partner and CEMS students together to pursue an international business project, which provides students with real-life insights from corporate practice.

Teams of CEMS students solve a real-life business, strategy, and/or management challenge in the area of international business that the CEMS corporate partner is currently facing. Acting as management consultants and tutored by the CEMS corporate partner and university faculty, the student teams should:

1. Perform a systematic investigation of the complex international business challenge. 
2. Provide a structured in-depth analysis of the current state.
3. Design alternative evidence-based solutions to the challenge – these solutions should be feasible under the corporate partner’s organizational and financial constraints.
4. Define and communicate a suggested way forward based on the current state analysis, the available potential solutions, theoretical considerations, and the collected evidence.

Both corporate partner and university tutors support the students throughout the international business project. The course’s academic tutors are Univ.-Prof. Dr. Florian Zapkau and Ilaria Gallegati, M.Sc.

The CEMS corporate partner is zeb (https://zeb-consulting.com/en-DE), one of the leading strategy and management consulting companies for financial services in Europe. The specific international business challenge that zeb is currently facing will be communicated at the outset of the course.

Upon completion of the course, students:

• Gained insights into corporate practice and understood the complexity of zeb’s international business challenge from a holistic consulting perspective.
• Designed a substantiated evidence-based solution to a complex practical business challenge and formulated feasible ideas based on appropriate theories, methods, and techniques commonly used in consulting and international business.
• Demonstrated professional and social skills to collaborate effectively in diverse teams.
• Demonstrated communication skills by presenting and defending their suggested solutions in front of an academic and corporate audience.

The course relies on personal interactions between students and corporate partner/university tutors. Therefore, presence in the course sessions is mandatory. As an exception, students may miss up to two sessions. Students must be present in the kick-off session and in all sessions in which their group is supposed to present or a course assessment takes place. Please communicate your absence beforehand to your fellow group members, the corporate partner, and the university tutors.

The course's didactic approach rests on three pillars:

1. Students’ interaction with the CEMS corporate partner (zeb): students work hand in hand with the corporate partner to understand the international business challenge and develop potential solutions tailored to the corporate partner’s requirements.
2. Students’ interaction with the university faculty: students receive input (e.g., on project management and basic consulting concepts) and feedback from the university tutors during the business project.
3. Group work: students work in teams during the whole course. The majority of work happens within the teams.

The overall course grade is based on three assignments:

1. Mid-term presentation (group assessment, 30% of final grade): students are required to hold and hand in a presentation (content: see above under mid-term session).
2. Final presentation and report (group assessment, 40% of final grade): students are required to hold and hand in a presentation as well as the final report (content: see above under final session).
3. Peer-review (individual assessment, 30% of final grade): students evaluate themselves and others on their contribution to the team effort.

• Enrollment in the CEMS program.
• Course registration.

• Basic knowledge in project management and consulting methods is a benefit.

E-Mail:

• Univ.-Prof. Dr. Florian B. Zapkau: florian.zapkau@wu.ac.at 
• Ilaria Gallegati, M.Sc.: ilaria.gallegati@wu.ac.at 

Please also approach us before, during, or after classes.