• Identify and formulate a research question in response to a corporate problem
• Select, define and apply appropriate research-based tools and analytical methods
• Identify and present the firm implications – challenges as well as opportunities – that may be derived from the analysis.
• Suggest decisions and actions that may help the firm in question to address challenges and benefit from opportunities.
• Design and implement a project plan and comply with the related deadlines and deliverables.
• Manage the relation with the company partner, including, for example, communication flows, and company partner expectations

The Business Project aims to provide the students with a real life learning experience. International student project teams solve a real business problem as a one-semester part-time activity in consultation with the partner company and an academic advisor in parallel. The Business Project is a consultancy-like project that aims to make a contribution to the partner company with analytical results and advice.

Even though the Business Project course includes a number of fixed deliverables and a tight schedule, students have full responsibility to manage the project process, the analysis, reach conclusions and present these in a clearly communicated way. The students are dedicated to work with a company and will be assigned a company contact person and an academic advisor from CBS.

The implementation of the Business Project will therefore help students develop a range of competences, in terms of analysis, communication, project, and process management – in other words, competences that are in high demand in the corporate world.

The Business Project forms a substantial part of the workload in the spring semester, and each student is expected to allocate approximately 400 work hours to the project.

The main part of the Business Project consists of the student group’s project work process and the group’s interaction with the case company.

The project team will work on a business problem/challenge/opportunity, as provided by the company partner.

It is the responsibility of each project team to establish an internal project organization and structure to be able to handle the process of coordinating tasks, communicate efficiently and effectively with the company partner, and ensure that the milestones and deadlines in the process are met.

The kick-off for the CEMS Business Project is scheduled for Friday 7 February 2020. The kick-off will be held at CBS, where the company presents the case and meets the student project team for the first time. The aim of the kick-off is to:

• Create an initial understanding of the topic and the situation in the project team
• Establish a shared understanding of the project task
• Set out the framework for the work process towards the first deliverable, the Briefing Note on the project approach

Before the kick-off students are assigned to specific company partners. It is expected that the students prior to the kick-off have done some initial information search, e.g. via the company partner’s website, annual reports, or through consultation with other sources for industry insights.

The kick-off and the following initial project work will lead the project team to produce the first deliverable in the Business Project, the Briefing Note.

Re. A: Briefing Note

The Briefing Note must be submitted to the group’s academic adviser at CBS and to the company contact person. The purpose of the Briefing Note is to outline the project’s purpose, the reseach question, research-based foundation, methodology and expected outcome at an early stage of the process.

Re. B: Mid-term evaluation

The project team must arrange one mid-term evaluation meeting with the company which is the second deliverable in the Business Project. While the mid-term evaluation meeting is mandatory, the format for the meeting is flexible and the most convenient format for the specific project may be determined by the project team in consultation with the company partner. 

Re. C: Reporting findings and conclusions

The content and structure of the report will naturally vary according to the company case and management question investigated. 

Prior to the submission of the report the company must present the preliminary results to the company. At this stage, the project team must orally, on the basis of a supporting slide presentation, communicate the main activities, findings, conclusions and recommendations.

The final report submitted for the exam consist of two elements:

A) An executive summary (maximum of 5 pages)

B) A slide presentation reporting main activities, findings, conclusions and recommendations. In addition to the content already included in the company presentation, this submission must include information and reflections on the methodology applied and on relevant academic/theoretical concepts.

There is no general course curriculum, as each project is expected to select and draw on a more specialized portfolio of readings that relate to the project’s topic and research question. The student project team is expected to consult with their academic adviser in order to identify relevant academic literature. For example, projects may draw on diverse literatures in strategic management, operations management, marketing, etc., or a combination of these literatures.