Consultancy Launches UNSW Branch

Global Consulting Group (GCG), a pro bono consulting service has launched a branch at UNSW Business School. GCG trains undergraduate students and connects those students to professional advisors (from industry) to then work with not-for-profit clients.

The first program of its type at UNSW Business School, student consultants work in teams on real-world projects for not-for-profits. The work undertaken will have a direct impact, helping clients to support communities in need and solve social problems. The chosen participants will work in a range of functional business teams including Events, Marketing, Sponsorship and Human Resources.

The professional advisors come from consulting backgrounds from firms such as, Boston Consulting Group, Deloitte and PwC. The advisors act as group mentors for the students, helping to build knowledge and providing guidance, training and support to specific projects.

“This initiative allows us to provide real opportunities to our students to develop skills that they’ll need when they enter the workforce full time. They’re able to apply the technical skills they’ve learnt, in a meaningful way and for a community-focussed organisation, and they also develop the teamwork, communication and soft skills that are key to graduate employability” said Andrew Roe, Student Opportunities Manager.

The program was piloted last year with a not-for-profit organisation, The Reach Foundation. Throughout the semester, students had several client meetings to better understand Reach's situation and met with their professional advisors (mentors), who advised on strategy. The results of the pilot project meant that students had developed and mapped out a suitable 5-year strategy to address the growth objectives of the client (The Reach Foundation) from Victoria into the NSW market.

Current President of GCG UNSW Branch, Chris Chan says the program has several distinguishing features, “The client-facing nature of the projects offers the opportunity to work alongside a ‘real client’ for the duration of the engagement. Secondly, whilst GCG equips project teams with fundamental consulting skills, it also advocates a 'dive into the deep end' mentality meaning constant learning and professional growth. You’ll also gain access to an alumni network with industry connections in reputable consulting houses. Above all, it was an opportunity to contribute and deliver a tangible impact to the community.”

For Semester 1 of 2017, 15 student consultants will make up three project teams. In addition, each team will be assigned a professional advisor from a consulting industry, who will act as an aide for the duration of the project.

Media contact: Ibrar Khan: 02 9385 9887 | ibrar.khan@unsw.edu.au