STERNBUSINESS Magazine | Stern Solutions

Real-world projects with NYU Stern partner companies prepare MBA students for life in global business

By TED PRZYBOCKI

NYU Stern's proximity in the center of the world’s business hub provides incredible opportunity for students to learn by doing. In fact, Stern has been growing its network of partner brands, organizations, and nonprofits since 2001 through its Office of Student Engagement.
 
In recent years, the number of applied learning opportunities has increased significantly. Recently, Stern formally elevated its commitment to experiential learning, and the Stern Solutions brand was born.
 
Stern Solutions matches students with faculty to help an organization solve a real business challenge in real time—an approach that better prepares students for today’s dynamic business environment, says Jamie Rose Tobias, assistant dean of student engagement and Stern Solutions leader.
 
“We integrate the rigor of our classrooms into the classroom of the real world,” says Tobias, “and in doing so, we develop people who can help employers better position themselves to innovate for the future.”
 
With Stern Solutions, everybody wins

Student, faculty, and corporate participants agree—the Stern Solutions approach provides incredible value for all involved.
 
Stern Solutions helps students build a portfolio of real-world experiences that enable them to stand out and provide lessons learned that benefit them in their careers.
 
They access data and engage companies in a way that transcends a typical case study, and they build their network of industry contacts in the process.
 
Companies benefit greatly from engaging with Stern Solutions—essentially teams of three to five students, many of whom have prior work experience, who apply skills and knowledge from their rigorous Stern training. The teams are led by Stern faculty and tap into industry practitioners who bring diverse knowledge and a fresh perspective.
 
Stern MBAs have opted into engagements with companies ranging from Diane von Furstenberg to Mastercard, HBO, the NBA, and more, with student participation growing by more than 130 percent in the past two years alone. Six hundred Stern MBA students completed Stern Solutions projects in the past academic year.
 
In the process, companies build their brand within the ranks of Stern and create a talent pipeline of future leaders they can tap into as needed.
 
“The formula is working,” said Roxanne Hori, associate dean, corporate relations and career services. “I’m extremely proud of the cadre of professionals we send out into the world with every class. They have the real potential to make a positive impact, and the business world has responded very well to our brand of real-world education.”