Every year in October, Cambridge MBAs begin their Cambridge Venture Project (CVP), the first live team project where students use the skills they are learning in their Management Praxis course to deliver solutions for real-world clients.
Over the next five weeks each MBA team will look into avenues for growth, marketing strategies and competitor analysis for their respective clients, before delivering recommendations which clients can subsequently implement.
This year a number of projects are focussed around big data, and how it can be harnessed for various applications. This year’s companies include bioinformatics cloud platform Genestack, consultancy Cambridge Data, and Geospock, who study big location data.
Students are working with ARM on two projects, one of which will research new avenues of growth for the chip manufacturer after their recent acquisition by Japanese company SoftBank. Another group of students are working with ARM Geomerics to find alternate markets for their CGI lighting technology, Enlighten.
And while many students are taking advantage of the large number of healthcare and life sciences companies located in the Cambridge Cluster, working with companies such as Cambridge Robotics and Heartfelt Technologies, some will be working with Founders4Schools, a project which puts schools in contact with business leaders and entrepreneurs to raise children’s aspirations.
In keeping with the “Cambridge” element part of the CVP, which aims to connect some teams with local companies, one student group is working with Cambridge News to help them gain greater market reach for their media. There are some sports focussed projects too – one team is working with Cambridge Rowing and another with Cambridge United Football Club.
We also connect teams to the local start-up scene – some teams are working with ventures founded by Cambridge MBA alumni, giving them a taste of what the future might hold if they decide to embark on the entrepreneurial pathway. These include Smartbell, a technology which allows farmers to monitor the welfare of their animals, and Entomics, a company which transforms food waste into sustainable, renewable resources.
Current MBA student Sarah Leavitt says:
Getting the opportunity to work on a real-life project with people with all different backgrounds is great. The CVP was a huge reason for me choosing to do an MBA at Cambridge.
Another current MBA, Aurelia Kassatly, adds:
There’s a lot of preparation that goes on via the Management Praxis course. We’re really well-equipped to make the most of the experience and give our best work to the client.
Project client Wheatley Solutions say:
We’re really looking forward to working with the Cambridge MBA team on what the future holds for competition in the water industry, and defining what will the likely requirements of asset management from this changing sector look like. It should be an exciting project.
The students are currently working in groups on the challenges they have been set – brainstorming, setting up focus groups and undertaking market research to form strategies for successful recommendations.
The Cambridge Venture Project is evidence of the ongoing partnership between Cambridge Judge Business School and the businesses within the Cambridge Cluster.