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A Management Without Borders project team from 2017

Every fall Dalhousie University's Faculty of Management offers an innovative graduate class called Management Without Borders (MWB). Each year, students are asked to work on group projects with partner organizations across Nova Scotia. This exercise provides students with the chance to apply the theory and skills they learn in class to real-world challenges. For partner organizations, this is an excellent opportunity to have creative, bright and determined graduate students take on a project that would benefit your organization.
 
Jenny Baechler, course coordinator for MWB, is now recruiting organizations that would be interested in partnering on these annual student projects.

As MWB students are all in graduate management programs, the intent is to provide them with the opportunity to develop and hone technical management skills and/or explore topics at a level appropriate for graduate students. Each project team is composed of students from a diverse set of programs (business administration, information and library studies, public administration, and resource/environmental management); consequently, appropriate projects are those that require the mobilization of multiple skill sets and benefit from multiple perspectives. A list of potential project topics includes (but is not limited to):

• program evaluation
• policy recommendations
• marketing & communications plans
• feasibility assessments of future programs, initiatives or business ventures
• general research, synthesis and recommendations
• workshop development
• usability assessment of online resources
  

Projects begin on the first day of class (September 3) and must be wrapped up when the term ends on December 5, 2018. Expressions of interest by partner organizations can be submitted to Jenny via email (jenny.baechler@dal.ca) no later than Friday, June 28, 2019.
 
An expression of interest should include the following information:

• Contact information: Name, email address and phone number for the person who will be responsible for working with our Course Coordinator to develop a full project description (ideally this will also be the person working directly with the students).
• Introduction to your organization: Please tell us a bit about yourself – what is the primary work being undertaken by your organization?
• Proposed project overview/purpose: Briefly describe the issue or challenge facing your organization and an overview of what the proposed project might accomplish. Why does this project need to be done? What value or impact will the project provide to your organization? A clear statement of purpose should be highlighted (i.e., The purpose of this project is to undertake/conduct/develop…).
• Preliminary expectations of the final report: What key questions do you want answered? If you were thinking about major sections or headings in the final report, what might they be?
• Sources of data/information: Based on your prelminary understanding of your proposed project, what information will the team need to access in order to complete the project? Do you expect they will have to complete primary research (i.e., consult people through surveys or interviews)?