Change. Experience it. NYU Stern Undergraduate College Seniors Get Hands-On Experience in “NYC Consulting Capstone” Course
NYU Stern Undergraduate College students at The Microsoft Garage in NYC’s Soho neighborhood, down the street from NYU’s Washington Square campus.
For NYU Stern undergraduates, NYC serves as a hands-on learning lab with some of the world’s most recognizable brands. With this iconic global hub as a resource, Stern has become synonymous with experiential learning. In fact, to date, more than 1,000 Stern seniors have partnered with top brands through the Undergraduate College’s new “NYC Consulting Capstone” course.
The required semester-long course is taken by all BS in Business students in their final year. As a capstone, it allows them to bring what they’re learned in all of their courses, internships, and club experiences throughout their time at Stern to bear on real-world challenges. Faculty-led student teams are paired with corporate partners across various industries to explore some of today’s most complex, pressing, and relevant global business challenges.
During the fall 2024 semester, Clinical Professor Matt Statler’s teams collaborated with The Microsoft Garage, which offers programs and experiences that drive collaboration, creativity, and experimentation to Microsoft employees, customers, and partners. Stern students were specifically charged with exploring the aesthetics and ethics of AI.
According to Mike Pell, Director of The Microsoft Garage - NYC, “We have always learned a great deal from working with university students over the years in The Microsoft Garage. Being in NYC and working with NYU Stern School of Business for the last several years has given me a great impression of the quality of education here. The opportunity to collaborate with Professor Statler and Stern undergraduate business students on such a timely topic was the perfect storm of possibilities, challenges, and exploration. We’re incredibly excited to be part of this year’s course.”
Mike Pell, Director, The Microsoft Garage, speaks to NYU Stern Undergraduate College students.
Pell continued, “We get so much energy from interacting directly with students that isn’t found anywhere else in our business. It’s electric and very fun for us. And we love sharing with them what we’ve learned about accelerating the innovation process with AI, and in turn we get a chance to listen carefully to what parts resonate with them. It’s always a breath of fresh air filled with exciting new ideas to discuss and explore.”
NYU Stern Undergraduate College students on the roof deck of The Microsoft Garage in Soho with Mike Pell, Director, The Microsoft Garage.
When asked to describe the experience working with Stern Undergraduate College students, Pell said, “Beyond all my expectations, which are high after working with so many students around the country over the years. This particular class has not only taken up the challenge, but also started to define a whole new way to view the foundational principles and identified some very promising focused implementations. What an excellent collaboration it’s been for us and hopefully the Stern students as well.”
Learn more from Stern Undergraduate College senior Amélie Murphy (BS ’25) on her experience working with The Microsoft Garage.
Amélie Murphy (BS ’25) with Mike Pell, Director, The Microsoft Garage, and Professor Matt Statler.
Tell us about the real-world challenge you worked on as part of the NYC Consulting Capstone.
We were challenged by Microsoft to determine whether they should develop an artificial intelligence tool that has aesthetic and ethics judgment capabilities and, if so, to develop a specific use case. We delivered a pitch to the firm halfway through the semester and will do so again at the end. It has really been interesting to consider the implications of innovation in the tech industry from a philosophical and moral perspective.
What was it like to work with The Microsoft Garage, present to the clients and receive real-time feedback?
Presenting at the Microsoft Garage shifted my perspective of the experience from an academic assignment to a project with the potential to make a real-world impact. Mike Pell, the director of The Microsoft Garage, gave us a tour of the office space and walked our class through the ideation process his team uses with clients. This simulation helped my teammates and me hold our capstone project to the standards of some of the most creative minds in the tech space, and made us even more excited about the project.
What surprised you about this experience?
I appreciated how direct the feedback from our client was. There were several Microsoft employees who listened to our mid-semester presentations, each with different expertise. It was so productive to receive unfiltered feedback from the group, and it set my team and me up for a stronger final presentation and deliverables.
What has been your most memorable Moment?
The most memorable moment at the Garage was being on the rooftop and looking out at Soho and the rest of the city. After four years of going to school in NYC, it can be easy to take for granted our proximity to major global companies. The fact that The Microsoft Garage office sits just a few blocks from NYU Stern reaffirmed my gratitude for being a student at NYU!
What will you take away from the course experience to your future career?
I will take away the art of making an argument. Of course, having sufficient research and data is necessary, but the ability to turn my work into a compelling story that resonates with the audience is a skill that I will carry with me throughout my career.
To learn more about sponsoring an Experiential Learning NYC Consulting Capstone project, please connect with NYU Stern here.