Working with Local Companies to Solve Real-Life Problems
Midland University’s MBA capstone experience is an opportunity for students to use the skills built throughout the program to work alongside our capstone corporate partners.
Students will use what they’ve learned thus far and then apply that knowledge to solve real-life business problems.
The capstone experience is beneficial for a career in any industry for a variety of reasons.
The first is the idea of understanding how to turn a theory, a concept, or a strategy into something that is actionable and applicable to anyone with leadership aspirations. In my experience, it’s really easy to come up with a strategy, or an idea, but what is really difficult is knowing how to turn that idea into something that will move the needle and our capstone teaches students how to do that.
Another reason the capstone experience is beneficial for students is by allowing them to bring in a project of their own choosing. For example, if there’s an organization you’re interested in working with or a type of scope that’s applicable to a career that you’re interested in, we can help you get a project that aligns with those sorts of avenues that allow for career growth.
Last but not least, the capstone experience teaches students how to work well in a team environment because work is rarely done as an individual. Therefore, our capstone experience helps students gain the leadership skills necessary to work well in that type of dynamic environment.
Benefits of Our Capstone Experience
- The repeatable process allows students to learn how to break down a complex problem into incremental deliverables. Projects like these are what move organizations forward and if you can show the ability to do that it’s going to be extremely beneficial in your career.
- Students can gain exposure to other industries they may not have had the opportunity to try before.
- We help our students partner with local organizations to find a project that aligns with what our students are looking for.
Examples of Capstone Projects
Midland’s MBA capstone experience works with a wide variety of companies and industries both in the Omaha area and nationally on all ends of the industry spectrum.
From a healthcare provider like Mosaic looking at merger and acquisition analysis, to Venture Capital which evaluates startups for funding, to agricultural organizations like Claas who want to know how they should handle fabrication and insourcing versus outsourcing; our students have the opportunity to experience all kinds of industries, or disciplines.
How Do Our Partners Get Involved?
The relationship between our partners and our students is extremely beneficial for both sides of the table.
For example, the organization has the opportunity to get a lot of work product and the students benefit from working with the leaders and organizations in a critical, time-sensitive way to solve a business problem.
Our partners are looking for high-quality work and they’re going to challenge students to provide that and that’s how we grow through those difficult opportunities and seize that opportunity. It is truly a great opportunity for students to challenge themselves and see what they can do.
