College of Business

National research, employer feedback and individual stories all confirm that some of the most significant learning happens when we work with others on exciting projects that solve problems. Faculty, students and external partners work shoulder-to-shoulder to identify the problems, apply business solutions and then implement the solutions. Some recent examples:

• Three business students teamed with six mechanical engineering students in developing a business plan for a newly engineered prototype and submitting it to business-plan competitions for funding.
• During the past five years, hundreds of business students have conceived and implemented projects to help get meals to local residents through the University's Campus Kitchen initiative.
• An MBA student, faculty member and Small Business Development Center staff member collaborated to help write a market analysis for a new start-up.

The project possibilities are unlimited. The dream is to have the collaborative work space, support and resources to help provide these types of real team-project experiences to all College of Business students and faculty.

What your donation will do: Help teams solve problems.

Our new Center for Sales Excellence wants students to understand and experience professional sales well before they graduate. Our students, faculty and the region will benefit from a Center for Sales Excellence that dedicates resources to the art and science of professional sales and produces well-trained sales professionals for businesses.

A state-of-the art Sales Laboratory outfitted with videocapture technology will provide students and others with the environment and resources to develop those skills and confidence. These dedicated spaces will help prepare students for national sales competitions and sales-specific internships. Spaces to host sales speaker panels, events and competitions will help make the College of Business one of the few in the region that studies, teaches and partners with others to elevate how we practice and think about professional selling.

The Center will host sales conferences and provide sales workshops that share best practices and will be used by businesses to give intensive support and training for sales staff. It also will benefit entrepreneurs preparing to make their pitch to investors or nonprofit leaders wanting to share their big ideas with community partners.

What your donation will do: Elevate the art and science of selling.

College of Business faculty are now designing and piloting a cutting-edge experience for undergraduate students. We will be one in a small-but-growing group of business programs in the world to offer an integrated business experience that combines introductory courses in marketing and management, and, supported by other key functions like accounting and finance, breaks down the silos in business education.

We have designed this experience while learning from international experts and business professionals about what classroom experiences they believe are transformative for students. Our integrated business experience will have student teams envision, plan, secure funding and implement a business start-up, with the profits benefitting a local nonprofit. It will be an entrepreneurial experience for undergraduate students, no matter their major.

Designing, piloting and expanding such an intensive experience will require different kinds of learning spaces. Some of those spaces will include break-out rooms for students to work together in teams on their projects. Also needed will be larger spaces for faculty and industry experts to teach students about the aspects of starting a business, working in teams and selling the business concept to others.

This curricular change for the College of Business will make it possible for all business students to say on graduation day, "I had the opportunity to be involved in a start-up venture and make a difference in the community!"

What your donation will do: Build a bridge to the real world.

The Maverick Student Investment Fund is a big idea that finished its inaugural year in 2010-11 at Minnesota State Mankato. The Minnesota State Mankato Foundation provided the start-up money, and students, under the guidance of faculty and practicing professionals, researched and made the investment decisions.

This type of real-world experience is what many students desire and need to help them feel prepared for the world of work. No matter the discipline or the problem, funding and investment are needed to take most big ideas into implementation and solution.

What is needed to take this great idea to an even higher level for students, faculty and other financial professionals in the region is an Investment Fund Laboratory. As found in other premier business schools, this laboratory will be outfitted with the technologies, databases and resources to support great investment research, thinking and decision-making.

The development of the Maverick Student Investment Fund, along with establishing a resource-rich Investment Fund Laboratory, will be transformative for many students, faculty and investment professionals. And how exciting it will be for students to have the opportunity and resources to make big investment decisions with real outcomes.

What your donation will do: Make the investment world real.

Many students don't seek study-abroad experiences because they don't know how they can afford it. One solution is to develop a suite of global study/internship scholarships for students to help them pay for their travel. This type of support could make the difference between a business student having a life-changing experience–or not.

International experiences introduce them to people, places, markets, industries and cultures that will undoubtedly help them be more global in their thinking. And just as important, the experience will help them grow in confidence, maturity and self-awareness.

What your donation will do: Change lives by going global.