Beacom Launches Student-run Business Consulting Program to Help SD Businesses During COVID-19
The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has left businesses in uncharted territories and often struggling to stay afloat. In addition, business students are missing out on crucial opportunities to gain real-world experiences as their internships and summer jobs are getting delayed or canceled. The Coyote Business Consulting Group will enable students, with the guidance of faculty advisors, to help businesses solve critical problems for their organizations. The consulting service will be offered at no charge to businesses, and students will have the opportunity to receive academic credits, financial support and real-world experience.
“Real-world experience is vital to our students’ education, and we don’t want them to miss out on that opportunity because of a canceled internship,” said Venky Venkatachalam, Ph.D., dean of the USD Beacom School of Business. “This new initiative is a great opportunity for students to work with businesses to address some of their challenges in order to survive and grow during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, and it requires limited resources from the business.”
How to get your business involved in the program:
- Businesses will need to complete a project proposal form outlining the scope of their project by Friday, May 15, 2020. Proposals may focus on any business need. (Examples - not a complete list: Marketing plans, e-commerce recommendations/solutions, product development cost life cycle analysis, target market analysis, human resource management plans, job descriptions, emergency preparedness plans, supply chain management strategies, financial strategies, survey development).
- A select number of projects will be chosen, and businesses will be notified of their acceptance into the program before Friday, May 29, 2020.
- Businesses will be paired with a student consulting team and faculty advisor.
- The projects should take 4-8 weeks and will be completed by the end of July 2020.
To learn more about the program or to submit a project proposal form, visit www.usd.edu/CBCG for more information. The website includes sample proposals and other resources to help businesses prepare.
