Welcome to Imperial College Business School and welcome to South Kensington – the cultural and intellectual hub of London. The origins of South Kensington as a centre for learning and culture date back to the Great Exhibition of 1851 which took place in nearby Hyde Park – the legacy of which has been commemorated in the naming of Exhibition Road. Wishing to bring education and culture to the masses, Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert set out his vision of South Kensington as a cultural Mecca filled with museums and institutions promoting art, music, science, culture and history. The area coined the name ‘Albertopolis’ in the 1850’s and while Albert died in 1861 before his vision was fully realised, the Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens now watches over the area.

Home to the Natural History Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum, Science Museum, Royal Albert Hall, and of course Imperial College London, the area remains a hive of cultural and intellectual activity over 150 years after its first conception. 

South Kensington Farmers Market

Held on campus every Tuesday on the Queen’s Lawn, the South Kensington Farmers Market is a great place to grab some delicious street food at lunchtime. There’s a wide range of cuisines from all over the world and plenty of vegetarian and vegan options, all using fresh local and seasonal produce. You can also pick up fresh fruit and vegetables, jams and chutneys! Some stalls do accept card payments – the market runs from 09:00-14:00.

Discover South Kensington

To keep up to date on the latest goings on you can visit the Discover South Kensington website and sign up to their newsletter.

South Kensington is a great place to work and study and I hope you enjoy getting to know the area. Make the most of your time here at Imperial College Business School –and good luck with your programme and future careers!

We are very proud of the Dean’s Student Advisory Council who were recently awarded the Student Award for Societal Engagement at the President’s Awards for Excellence in Societal Engagement.

We speak to the Chair of the Council, Shaayann Khalid, about what they do and why future students should become involved.

Who are the Dean’s Student Advisory Council?

Launched in 2015, the Dean’s Student Advisory Council is the highest level of leadership in the Business School. It provides a platform for students to connect with Professor Francisco Veloso, Associate Dean of Programmes, Leila Guerra, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programmes, Edgar Meyer, and Student Experience Manager, Julia McShane, to improve the student experience in all facets of School life.

The Council is made up of the Chair, Advisor and five Deputy Chairs. Shaayann Khalid was elected Chair of the MSc International Health Management programme before taking over the role of Chair of the Council from Mobeen Iqbal.

The Deputy Chairs are a new initiative of the Council this year. Shaayann says:

We wanted to reformat how the Council was structured this year to introduce Deputy Chairs. Each programme already had a Chair and leaders of Academics, Careers and Socials. We wanted to put one Chair in charge of that respective role across the Business School.

From next year, The Council will also be introducing an additional Societal Outreach leader for each programme as we acknowledge the importance of engaging with our community.

What do the Council do?

The Council are trailblazers in the Business School, working tirelessly on projects to make the students’ time at Imperial the best and most enriching it can possibly be.

One of the most notable projects they have led is What The Tech?!, a digital literacy programme launched in mid-2017 to help elderly residents near our White City campus with their technology needs. Launched by Mobeen, What The Tech?! run weekly drop-in sessions with volunteers from the Business School.

The success of the project is demonstrated by its accolades. Mobeen received the President’s Outstanding Student Achievement Award and the Council won the President’s Award for Excellence in Societal Engagement.

One of the other major projects the Council has been working on is the handover between this and next year’s Council. Having sat on the Council for three years, Mobeen has a unique insight into the triumphs and challenges of this transition. He says:

Given our students are typically at the Business School for one year, it is difficult to keep the momentum going with the Council’s projects and sustain some form of continuity. Being new to the Business School means it can be challenging being Chair as you’d be unfamiliar with the best way to run projects and it would take time to figure out what the previous Council has done.

To remedy this problem, they established a new Advisor position to be filled by the outgoing chair. Mobeen was appointed the inaugural Advisor, and he oversees the Council and helps with the handover in a non-operational capacity.

Another initiative is getting feedback from the current class and making sure it carries through to the next year. Shaayann says:

Feedback from students in recent years has been really important in shaping the student experience and, moving forward, the feedback from this year will be just as important. What we’re doing is closing the feedback loop – asking ourselves what the students want and what we can do to make it happen.

The Council held an open forum with students across all programmes to get their feedback on their experience this year – from what they loved to what they would have changed. The Council’s main focus at the moment is to make sure the incoming Council receive this and this feedback continues to improve the student experience. Shaayann says:

The Open Forum gave us so much valuable insight on how students felt about their time at the Business School, what student leaders can do to keep improving the student experience, and how we can best equip the Council with the tools to bring the student voice to life.

Putting the ‘Dean’ in Dean’s Student Advisory Council

With the ‘Dean’ front and centre in the title, it comes as no surprise that the Council members get to work closely with all the Deans of the Business School.

The Associate Deans are present at their termly meetings. All of the Deans and the Student Experience Manager also attend events with the Council where they get to mingle with them on a more personal level. Shaayann says:

Working with the Dean, Associate Deans and the Student Experience Manager is really a pleasure. Change isn’t easy, but when you’re able to work with a team that’s so willing to listen to and engage with students, it really makes the work we do that much more meaningful. We’re lucky to have leaders like them shaping the legacy of our school, and the Council is even luckier to work with them.

Getting to work with Francisco Veloso is incredible. The entire Dean’s Student Advisory Council went to dinner with him the other day and it was amazing. He’s such an inspiring guy and a cool person to sit down with and hear his stories. He’s also really engaged which is super important. As we move forward and engage with the students, it’s really important that the higher-ups are engaging with us as well so we have this really clean cycle of conversation and communication between every level of leadership.

The Council urge future students of the Business School to get involved and take on a leadership position. Not only does student leadership have huge benefits for your future career, it gives you the opportunity to contribute to social change on campus.

Meet the Dean’s Student Advisory Council

The Council is made up of the Chair, Shaayann Khalid, Advisor, Mobeen Iqbal, and the Deputy Chairs Daniela Fuerst, MSc Finance & Accounting, Hiba Mahmood, MSc Economics & Strategy for Business, Hassan Sheikh, MSc Strategic Marketing, Maya Skinner, MSc Climate Change, Management & Finance and Jonathan (Femi) Williamson-Taylor, Intercalated BSc (Management).

The MSc Management consulting project elective in the summer term gives students the opportunity to apply all of the skills achieved on the programme to a live client project.

Working in teams, students were assigned to work on a project for a company. For three weeks, students analyse the problem, integrating theoretical knowledge with practical skills relevant to industry.

They work closely with the company to ensure they understand the project scenario and ultimately deliver value to the client. Some of this year’s companies were Accenture, Automobile Lamborghini, EY, Capco, Deloitte, Johnson & Johnson and Mercato Metropolitano to name a few.

They worked on projects in areas including AI, blockchain, customer experience, client retention and replicating business models.

At the end of the consulting project, the teams presented their findings to a panel of judges made up of academics and the corporate representatives from their companies. They then write a final report that could be used by practising managers at the companies.

We speak to students and company leads from the Automobili Lamborghini and Capco consulting projects to find out about their experience.

Automobili Lamborghini

The team working on the Automobili Lamborghini was Marisa Chayavivatkul, Manchal Kumar, Saad Malik, Bowen Pan, Michael Reingruber and Calum Smith. They were guided by Matteo Cangelosi, Project Manager of Simultaneous Engineering Teams and MSc Management 2014-15 alumnus.

Student experience: Marisa Chayavivatkul

What was it like to work with Lamborghini? How was your experience visiting the Lamborghini HQ in Italy?

Working with Lamborghini was surreal. We felt really honoured to get the consulting case with Lamborghini after submitting our pitch for the project. Visiting the Lamborghini offices in Italy may have been the highlight of my time at Imperial. We felt really lucky to have been given this opportunity. We got to visit their manufacturing facilities as well as talk and present to some notable people. We were even able to squeeze in some good food and a quick trip to Milan with the team.

How did it feel to be presenting your project to a panel of industry experts? How did you prepare for the presentation?

Initially, I was very nervous. Before we presented to the project management team in Bologna, Italy, we all stayed in our Airbnb practicing the entire day, even practicing our lines on the cab ride to the HQ. However, once there, our practice and late night sessions paid off and we were able to come together and deliver a good presentation. This helped us not feel nervous the second time when we presented at Imperial. I think the best thing to do to prepare for a presentation like this is to not memorise the presentation. We all knew the information very well so that helped us a lot.

Do you feel like you’ve made a real impact with the project?

Coming into it, I didn’t know how much value we would be able to deliver, but after we presented to the project team at the Lamborghini HQ in Bologna, Italy, we all felt as though we made a real impact on the project. The feedback we received from the project management team, especially the Head of Project Management Department, Massimo Fumarola, was something we did not expect. We were told that they’d like to adopt one of our recommendations and see it come to fruition. Massimo as well as Matteo, the Project Management Coordinator, said we had done an excellent job.

Client experience: Matteo Cangelosi, Project Manager of Simultaneous Engineering Teams

How was the team’s presentation at the Lamborghini HQ?

The students visited the Lamborghini HQ the week before the presentation. They presented to the department Director, who is part of the board of Lamborghini, and the whole project management department. They presented for 40 minutes about their project and then we had a one hour discussion where we exchanged ideas. We were really happy with their ideas and presentation. The team were the strongest we have had in the three years of doing the consulting project with Imperial.

Did you enjoy working with Imperial students on this consulting project?

Throughout the project, we had weekly calls to update and review their project. That was really enjoyable because we could see the project was slowly taking place and getting its structure. They were really listening to what I told them. Every week, they sent me their reports which updated me on the project. We would review and discuss it together. They explained to me how they researched things and came up with results. I was trying to guide them in the direction that the company actually wanted to go in so we can actually work on it.

Also, they are young students coming from London, which is a city that has continuous movement and innovation. We’re from a small town in the middle of the countryside in Italy, so there is not as big a culture of innovation. It’s always good to have an insight for projects on innovation and new technologies with students from Imperial.

Do you see long-term implementation of the work that has been done on the project?

We have a new boss this year and he’s really keen on product changes and innovation. He said some of the project ideas were really good. After we receive their final report, we will share their findings and some of their ideas may be developed and implemented with the new branding department. It was a good base to start with because it was a project on the sharing economy, which is something that we were unaware of and it has given us good background knowledge to use in the future.

Capco

The team working on the Capco project was made up of Jacqueline Burks, Aidan Curran, Georgie Davies, Michael Miceli, Alexander Reed and Taylor Yu. Their project lead was Alex Lawson, Associate Consultant at Capco and MSc Management 2014-15 alumnus

Student experience: Alex Reed

How did you benefit from working with Capco on the consulting project?

Working with Capco allowed us to understand more about innovative technologies in the context of London’s financial services industry. We were able to identify, analyse, and solve problems, providing solutions surrounding disruption from industry-transforming revolutions. Being based in London meant that we were able to interact with some of the biggest brand-name companies when carrying out extensive face-to-face research. The project had a very niche focus which really allowed us to drill-down our analysis.

How did you apply learnings from your MSc Management to the project?

Having developed business acumen throughout the Master’s, seeing improvement in our presentation skills and having experience of case studies in the classroom, it was possible to apply learned theory to the real-life situation of our client with complete confidence. Having a holistic understanding of practical knowledge and being able to integrate these abilities to the client situation really allowed us to see our studies pay dividends in the form of successful client interaction and project execution.

What was the most enjoyable part of the project?

The teamwork aspect of the project has proven to make the consulting experience incredibly enjoyable. In fact, being able to see an improvement in each and every member of the team, in comparison to the beginning of the academic year, is really quite something and it makes you realise the huge steps that we’ve made over the past year due to the growth opportunities that we’ve been faced with.

Client experience: Alex Lawson, Associate Consultant, Capco

How did you find working with Imperial students on this consulting project?

It’s excellent to get a fresh perspective from a group of genuinely very intelligent and enthusiastic students who have training from a world-leading institution. It’s a wonderful position to be in to have the sustained attention, enthusiasm and engagement of these individuals and I’ve been very impressed with them. I’ve found it incredibly interesting to watch how their approach has changed as they got stuck into it and watching how they adapted to different challenges the project threw their way.

The consulting project was far and beyond the most incredible part of my MSc Management programme. I remember really relishing the amount of free reign they gave us to really use the skills we had learnt up to that point. It was a real highlight and I was excited about getting stuck in with this project.

How have you benefited from working with Imperial students?

From my perspective, something which I wouldn’t understate is how useful it is to be the client for a change. I work as a consultant and it’s a really helpful lens to have. It certainly gave me the occasion to pause for a bit of introspection of how I deal and engage with my clients. That was something I wasn’t expecting which was very useful and interesting.

Do you see long-term implementation of the work that has been done on the project?

The question that I posed to them has some very specific strategic impact for the direction of Capco. I was very impressed by how considerate and well-structured some of their observations were. I hope I can provide them with a wider platform at Capco at the end of the project so they have the opportunity to disseminate their findings more widely for the benefit of the company. From what I have seen, the project should be taken very seriously.

Marking the anniversary of 20 successful years of MSc Finance, over 160 alumni, students and faculty on the programme congregated at a special event at the London Stock Exchange.

Over the last 20 years, the finance industry has faced a period of uncertainty and disruption, driven in part by the revolution of technology. Despite the ever-changing industry, our MSc Finance has continued to equip students with the skills that will be relevant to the industry today and into the future.

MSc Finance is ranked 12th in the world by the FT and has the highest application rate on a postgraduate programme at Imperial College London. This year we are very proud that MSc Finance has achieved gender parity with 50% female students for the first time in 20 years.

The London Stock Exchange was abuzz with excited chatter as alumni reminisced with their former classmates and caught-up with the faculty members who guided them through their degrees. Students had the opportunity to network with, and get advice from alumni, as they embark on their career in finance.

Networking was put on hold for the main event of the night, Professor David Miles in conversation with the Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney. Professor Francisco Veloso, Dean of Imperial College Business School, opened the talk with a warm welcome.

This was followed by a speech from Dr Lara Cathcart, Academic Director of MSc Finance and MSc Risk Management & Financial Engineering. Lara has been with the programme since day one and was an integral figure in the launch of the MSc Finance 20 years ago. She reflected on the early days of the programme:

I cannot believe it has been 20 years since we launched this MSc Finance. I can still remember the conversation we were having at the time. Would there be enough demand for such a degree in finance? How many students would we be able to attract? Needless to say, whatever doubts we had about the viability of such a Master’s, they were dismissed very early on.

Lara attributed the success of the programme to the experience and foresight of previous Academic Directors, the great finance programme team, world-class faculty and the students and alumni, who she said are our greatest ambassadors.

We spoke to alumni, Advisory Board members and students about their experience on MSc Finance and the anniversary event.

Meet five of our new Student Ambassadors from the Global Online MBA class of 2017-19. These students come from diverse industries from medicine to maritime, oil and gas, engineering and more, and join Imperial College Business School from all over the world. Find out more about these student ambassadors and what they are most looking forward to on the Global Online MBA programme.

In the summer term, students on our MSc Strategic Marketing programme worked on live client projects during the consulting project elective, which helps them prepare for their roles post-MSc.

Acting in a consulting capacity, students apply knowledge from the Master’s programme to come up with a solution to a real business issue. They work with a corporate partner who presents a challenge facing their business.

This year, students were assigned projects for companies across multiple sectors and sizes. From IBM to automobile groups Bentley Motors and Lotus Cars, Johnson & Johnson and food giants Arla Foods and AB InBev, to name a few. There were also projects with startup e-commerce businesses including Little Tummy and Vênoor Living.

Students work on their consulting projects for six weeks, working closely with the client from their assigned company to gain feedback along the way. At the end of the project, they present their findings to their company representatives and a panel of industry experts who provide feedback on the proposed solutions.

We speak to the students and client, who worked on the Johnson & Johnson project about their e-commerce business, on how both parties benefited from the consulting project.

Client Experience

Petros Kalkanis, Johnson & Johnson

Have you benefited from working with Imperial College Business School students on this project?

Yes very much so. It was a project that was asking them to focus on our e-commerce business as if they were consumers, which they did very well. The thinking process was very thorough. They followed a strategic framework to come up with their analogies and recommendations, which are very useful to us.

Do you see long-term implementation of the work that has been done?

In some areas, absolutely. From the project, I can see one or two areas that they can focus on and improve in the short term and long term, in pricing, for example.

The Executive Committee

The club maintains a small, focused executive committee which is made up of:

• Ivan Kovynyov, President and Founder (Weekend MBA)
• Umberto Kone, Vice President, (MSc Management)
• Daniel Chew, CFO (Weekend MBA)
• Julia Yu, Marketing Director (Weekend MBA)
• Sthephany van Oordt, Director of Programmes & Services (Weekend MBA)
• Jerry Chen, Director of Corporate Partnerships (MSc Investment & Wealth Management)
• Izak Nel, Master’s Programmes Ambassador (MSc Business Analytics)

From left to right: Umberto Kone, Izak Nel, Ivan Kovynyov and Daniel Chew

We speak to some of the members of the executive committee on why they joined the club and what they are hoping to achieve in its first year.

Umberto Kone, Vice President, (MSc Management)

Why did you join the Imperial College Business School LGBTQ+ Careers Club?

When I was deciding to join Imperial, I was wondering whether Imperial College Business School had an LGBTQ+ club and had a student look into it for me. Then I found out in May that Ivan was setting up the LGBTQ+ Business Club. Now that the whole September cohort has arrived, it is really exciting.

What are the benefits and challenges of starting a new society?

The benefit is that you can structure it the way that you want. I feel a lot of pressure because the first event will set the precedent of how the society will be. The downside is that all the eyes are going to be on you and there is pressure. I founded the LGBTQ+ club at my last university, so I done this before and I like the challenge. This time I have the Imperial platform and brand – companies are really attracted to working with us. I think we can do something really big and nice for the LGBTQ+ society.

What are you hoping to achieve as Vice President?

Since I’m doing my MSc Management, I have more exposure to the Master’s students and I’m trying to get more MSc students involved. That’s something that I’m aiming to achieve. I also want to set the level for the next years to come so that more students are eager to join in the future.

Jerry Chen, Director of Corporate Partnerships (MSc International Health Management)

Why did you join the Imperial College Business School LGBTQ+ Careers Club?

I have always been very involved with LGBTQ+ initiatives in both academic and professional settings – I chaired the Boston College LGBTQ Leadership Council and was involved with the LGBTQ Affinity Network while working at Goldman Sachs. I believe people, regardless of their sexual orientation, deserve to feel comfortable and confident being who they are whether in school or at work.

What are you hoping to achieve in your role as Director of Corporate Partnerships?

I hope to promote awareness around workplace inclusivity. As well as promoting opportunities of corporate-level recruiting initiatives to identifying members.

Izak Nel, Master’s Programmes Ambassador (MSc Business Analytics)

Why did you join the Imperial College Business School LGBTQ+ Careers Club?

I want to be actively involved in creating a space where LGBTQ+ and allied students can connect with diverse and inclusive prospective employers. Inclusivity is non-negotiable and while many companies are already embracing diversity, we need to ensure that this is the standard across all industries, and in all companies. I want to make sure no LGBTQ+ student feels unsupported in building their career!

What are you hoping to achieve as Master’s Programmes Ambassador?

The club originated within the MBA cohorts, so we wanted to have a dedicated ambassador to the MSc programmes. As more Master’s students are first-time job seekers, we want to give them, as well as returning job-seekers access to employers where their careers will excel and their diversity will be celebrated.