One of the most memorable student experiences at Ivey, the Ivey Field Project (IFP) gives both HBA and MBA students the opportunity to work with companies of all sizes and sectors on real-world business problems.
During the fall term, teams of six students complete over 600 hours of strategic consulting on their project, working closely with their client who provides them with information and insights.
One of this past year's teams was tasked with improving their client’s customer relationship management (CRM) system and collaborated with their client to identify gaps, increase the adoption rate, and enhance the efficiency of the CRM software. Team members included Christian Del Giudice, HBA ’24 candidate, Mila Gracic, HBA ’24 candidate, Carina Li, HBA ’23, Jackson Posner, HBA ’23, Jahnavi Sheth, HBA ’23, and Iain Smith, HBA ’23.
Reflecting on their IFP experience, the team shared some key learnings, standout moments, and the benefits of working on a real-world business problem.
What did collaboration with your client look like?
“Our working experience with the client was incredibly positive. Through weekly touchpoint meetings, they actively provided valuable feedback on our work, demonstrating their commitment to the project's success. Their polite and receptive attitude, combined with their willingness to learn from our ideas, fostered a collaborative and supportive environment. Their prompt responsiveness and continuous praise for our work further enhanced our working relationship, creating a mutually beneficial partnership.” – Carina Li, HBA ’23
What were some key learnings from the experience?
“One of my key takeaways was the importance getting the right information into the right pair of hands. Decision making in such a large company with lots of different departments requires a lot of collaboration and information sharing. Making sure that everyone has the relevant information is key to a project’s success.” – Iain Smith, HBA ’23
“The project taught us the significance of adaptability and flexibility in the consulting field. As we encountered unexpected challenges and changes in the business environment, we had to quickly adjust our strategies and approaches to deliver the most valuable and impactful solutions for our client.” – Jahnavi Sheth, HBA ’23
What were the benefits of working with your client on a real-world business problem?
“The main benefit of working with a client on a real-world business problem was experiencing the accomplishment of providing actual value to a company. It feels incredibly rewarding to help a company achieve its goals whether that be cutting costs, enhancing operational efficiency, or improving consumer/customer satisfaction.” – Jackson Posner, HBA ’23
“This experience provided a space for us to apply both the technical knowledge and relational-based skills taught to us in HBA1 in a very practical way. Through our tried success and failures, our group learned first-hand about ways to maintain a positive client-service relationship, how to organize and facilitate client meetings, and how to best serve a client. It’s an experience that most students only receive once in the working world, but we were fortunate to have experienced it sooner – and the learning outcomes will undoubtedly be applied once working.” – Christian Del Giudice, HBA ’24 candidate
What was the highlight of participating in IFP?
“My IFP highlight was the final presentation where we saw our work come to fruition. Each team member grew as an individual from the start of the term to the end of the project; and seeing the growth and expertise that each individual acquired was rewarding.” – Mila Gracic, HBA ’24 candidate
Is your firm launching a new product? Trying to identify new markets to enter? In need of a structured employee recruitment strategy?
Ivey Field Project (IFP) works with firms of all sizes to provide real value through a structured, time-tested approach while providing an incredible student experience.
