The recently founded Consulting Club at MIT (CCM) held a Case Competition on Aug. 8, awarding prizes to two teams of students who excelled at solving a business case with the help of several top firms.
Ten groups of graduate students spent several hours on the assigned case -- based on the format often encountered during interviews for consulting positions -- and worked with firms such as the Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey & Company, and Liberty Mutual. The CCM, which aims to help graduate students make the leap from an academic career into management consulting, came up with the idea as a kick-off to the club's activities.
"Although the non-MBA focus and style of the event were quite novel and untried, we thought this would be a great opportunity to expose a large group of students to the fun challenge of solving a business case and to meet consultants at top firms," said Saurabh Tejwani, an event organizer for the CCM.
Taking first place in the competition was a team comprised of graduate students Karthik Mohan, Kandarp Bhatt, Leonard Francis and Nisheeth Gupta. The team of Jun Shi, Kawin Setsompop, Kurt Weiss and Ratnadeep Bhattacharya came in second, with the competition giving out $750 in prizes.
Since its launch last April, the CCM has been putting together presentations and seminars for those graduate students who are debating if a career in consulting is right for them. For those students who plan to apply for jobs in consulting, the CCM has provided career development events such as alumni-led case practices, resume and cover letter writing workshops in collaboration with MIT's Career Office, and various networking opportunities.
The event was sponsored by the Office of the Dean for Graduate Education, the Student Activities Office, the Graduate Student Council and the Boston Consulting Group.
