Innovation Field Project

Put your skills to work, tackle tough business challenges

Prepare for the next stage of your career through the Innovation Field Project. The MBA experiential learning project will pair you with a corporate sponsor to act as a consultant and identify critical business challenges and new opportunities. Full-time MBA students will provide recommendations and new ways to develop the company, all while gaining real-world experience to transfer directly back to your workplace.

Partner with leading corporations including Siemens Energy, American Express, Anheuser-Busch, and Land O’Lakes, Inc. to develop strong leadership skills and experience presenting recommendations within a team setting. Our students have worked in sectors like Cybersecurity Management, Health Technology, Business Continuity, Sustainability, Health Equity and Management, Operational Efficiency Strategy, and more.

Use data to solve complex business challenges in your MBA innovation project

Use rigorous data analytic methods and creative problem-solving techniques learned in the first year of the full-time MBA to evaluate a complex business issue for the Innovation Field Project. Harness the power of rigorous data analytics to provide innovative and insightful business solutions. Translate analytic findings and present innovative, data-driven, and actionable recommendations to the project sponsor. And develop strong leadership skills such as setting and working towards a shared goal, building a high-functioning team culture, and managing conflict.

Full-time MBA students work in teams, along with a faculty advisor, to solve a complex business challenge. Travel across the U.S. for three to five days to engage directly with your project sponsors and stakeholders.

Gain real-world experience with leading corporations

Project topics

Students work on projects in sectors such as technology, retail, banking, or manufacturing. A business problem might relate to product, service, operations, or strategy development. Projects might also encompass large-scale thematic issues facing contemporary organizations, such as an ethical dilemma facing leaders.

Full-time MBA students in the Health, Technology, and Innovation pathway will partner with organizations in the health industry. Organizations may include pharmaceutical firms, biotechnology firms, physician practices, hospitals, or public health organizations.

Course structure

Students visit project sponsors on-site to apply the tools and frameworks learned during the first year full-time MBA courses to a business challenge or opportunity at a partner organization.

Before traveling on-site, students work with the business to review the project scope, set goals, conduct research, and collect data. Students meet with the business and faculty advisors at least once a week to discuss their findings and receive feedback in individual team meetings. Faculty advisors from different disciplines counsel and challenge students on their approach and process.