Business Project Kick-Off: An exciting start to Summer Semester 2024/25
On Wednesday 19 February 2025, CEMS students embarked on the next exciting chapter of their academic journey with the launch of the Business Project (BP) for the summer semester 2024/25. This year, 7 corporate partners came together to present their business challenges to 38 CEMS students, including 25 home students and 13 incoming students.
About the Business Project
The Business Project is a consultancy-style initiative that serves as a key component of the CEMS Master in International Management programme. It strengthens collaboration between universities, students and businesses by giving students the opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world business challenges. This practical experience is a core part of the CEMS curriculum, enabling students to work on projects that have a tangible impact on both their professional development and the corporate partners involved.
Throughout the project, students are mentored by both academic and corporate supervisors. Project outcomes are assessed through written reports and oral presentations, which are produced as a team.
Students benefit from
- Gain insight into the business world
- Sharpen their analytical and problem-solving skills
- Apply research methods and frameworks
- Put theoretical knowledge into practice
- Learn process management and project delivery
- Improve their social and teamwork skills
- Network with potential employers and refine their career goals
Student Expectations
The Business Project offers students the opportunity to take responsibility for their work and contribute to solving real business problems.
Students are expected to:
- Take ownership of their project
- Strive for excellence and high quality results
- Collaborate effectively and share the workload equally within their teams
- Communicate regularly with their tutors and business partners to ensure smooth progress
Topics for Summer Term 2024/25
This term, a wide range of business challenges have been introduced by leading companies from a variety of industries.
The topics are as follows:
- ASAHI: Benchmarking & Optimization of Commercial Capital Investments
- HILTI: Customer Loyalty in the Construction Sector – How to Steer Pricing to Strengthen Customer Trust and Build Partnerships
- HILTI (x-border): Improving OPEX Management through an Optimized Purchase Cycle
- L’Oréal: E-commerce Acceleration in the Beauty Business
- Plzeňský Prazdroj: Next-Gen Beer: Attracting Young Czech Beer Consumers
- Rockaway Capital: European Venture Capital Strategy
- Škoda Auto: Using AI Robots to Streamline Dealer Processes at ŠKODA AUTO
- Škoda Auto: Analysis of Current Trends and Students’ Attitudes in the Automotive/Automotive Retail Areas
- Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield: Westfield Rise – A New Era of Shopping and Leisure Experiences
These topics cover a range of sectors, from consumer goods to automotive and real estate, ensuring that students are exposed to a variety of challenges and industries. Each project provides a unique opportunity for students to make a meaningful contribution to some of the world’s most influential brands.
As the Business Project officially kicks off, students are eager to dive into these exciting and impactful topics, ready to hone their skills and make lasting connections that will shape their professional futures.
