Gomero
Headquartered in Sweden, Gomero is a small digital technology company with an international client base. The organisation helps electricity network operators and related organisations to monitor and manage assets within the electricity sub-stations they own.
Background
With ambitions to grow and a keen interest in supporting student learning, during early 2023 the organisation’s Head of Sales and Business Development, Jasper Spencer, contacted Nottingham Business School to enquire about postgraduate student projects.
After a short online meeting with NBS’s Experiential Learning Coordinator, Angela Scott, two separate challenge briefs were agreed. These were assigned to two separate teams of Master’s students.
The first challenge tasked a team of five MSc students to consider the organisation’s international growth strategy and propose a set of metrics by which it should evaluate different geographical regions. The second project challenge asked a separate team of five MSc students to consider the merits of various partnership options.
Jasper said, “Our aim in setting these particular challenges was, firstly, to gain insights and also validate some of our assumptions. We wanted some fresh thinking that would assist us in our work.”
Approach and Impact
Each student team had approximately 6 weeks to define their approach, conduct their research, and report back to their client. This work formed an important part of their degree as they were to be assessed not only on their final analysis but also on their level of professionalism.
Tyler Hughey, one of the NBS students assigned, reflects on his experience working on one of Gomero’s challenges. “As a student of Management and International Business”, he said, “the project was highly applicable to my course”.
“Working with a real business meant it was really motivating,” Tyler continued. “Our team worked hard as we all wanted to offer good quality, constructive information, yet we also had to recognise that we’re not experts in the field.”
Ly Nguyen, who worked on the first of Gomero’s projects, a student of MSc Project Management, agreed: “The scope of the project and our team’s lack of familiarity with the sector gave us some moments of anxiety at first,” she said. “Our team had different ideas about how to tackle the challenge.”
Ly’s team decided that communication was the key to doing a good job. “Jasper was very responsive and helpful” she said. “He gave us detailed feedback and affirmation which helped us form a clear understanding about what approach would work.”
“For us”, Ly says, “having regular meetings with the client, and with each other, helped us stay on track, stay motivated, and to support and understand each other.”
Tyler’s team also discovered that clear communication was key to doing a job well. “Our team had lots of ideas and we decided to focus on suggesting a few of them in our final report; highlighting the benefits of each one and differences between them”, he said. “This way Gomero themselves could make a final decision.”
“It really did help!” said Jasper. “The students’ work reinforced some of our own beliefs and, importantly, also brought fresh insights.
“Having talented students carry out some of the research work freed up my time, and we learned a lot from their research which we’ve now applied to the business. It was great to watch them grow in confidence.”
Ly summarised the benefits she experienced during her consultancy project with Gomero, “By working on this project I have learned how to apply the frameworks and teachings found in textbooks and convert them in to practical solutions tailored to a company’s needs. I now have a much deeper understanding of international expansion strategies.”
“Also”, Ly continues, “Throughout this project I got a lot of valuable feedback and guidance from our Academic Supervisor about how to communicate appropriately with a client, give an impressive presentation, and think critically. All of these skills have been valuable to me as I develop my professional career.”
Tyler agreed: “The experience Jasper and NBS provided has proved to be advantageous to my future career, not just in terms of the topic covered but also the other skills it gave me including communicating in meetings, managing different schedules. I learned so much and got to work on a project with some amazing individuals from all across the globe.”
Impressed by their work, Jasper and his colleagues are again talking to NBS staff about setting future challenges.
Postgraduate Consultancy Projects
Postgraduate consultancy projects offer our postgraduate students a valuable opportunity to put theory into practice while working on a real business challenge. Please click on the link below to find out more, alternatively email NBSStudentProjects@ntu.ac.uk to find out about how we can support your business.