In conjunction with our corporate partners, we provide our students with the opportunity to put their business education to work through a live consulting project during the first year of study. This innovative approach provides both real-world experience and an opportunity to combine the knowledge and skills learned in their first year classes with their pre-program professional experience.
At the start of the integration project, students meet with corporate executives of the integration partner company to discuss the company's challenges and how the students can offer assistance. The students are then assigned to teams and work intensely with the partner company over the course of the semester to find solutions to those challenges. At the end of the semester, the students meet with corporate executives to present their recommendations in an oral presentation and written report.
By taking their business skills out of the classroom and into the corporate boardroom, UConn MBAs realize the practical applications of their coursework immediately, without having to wait for a summer internship to put their knowledge to work. The integration project also mirrors the corporate world by allowing students to incorporate all of their course work into one project, thereby realizing the synergistic impact that classes in Finance, Marketing, Accounting, Management, Operations and Information Management provide. Integration project partners have included: Pratt & Whitney, Xerox Engineering Systems, Cigna, SS&C Technologies, General Electric, Aetna and Hamilton Sundstrand.
Examples of Past Integration Projects
Spring 2005: Aetna
- Aetna Workers Comp Access: Network Development
- Aetna Workers Comp Access Operation Re-Pricing
- AWCA Operations Business Flows
- Flexible Spending Accounts: Strategic Marketing Plan
- Marketing to the Uninsured
- Flexible Spending Accounts: Process Improvement
- Consumer Fund Products: Strategic Marketing Plan
- Student Health: Vital Savings Discount Card
Spring 2004: The Hartford Financial Services Group
- Strategies for Legal Counsel Cost Reductions
- Human Resources Workforce Planning Implementation
- Improve Vendor Selection & Evaluation at The Hartford
- Improving the Efficiency of the Claims Handling Process
- Metrics for Human Resources Staffing
- Optimizing Operational MIS Workers' Compensation Claims
Spring 2003: Hamilton Sundstrand
- Shared Services Center
- Change Request Process Improvement
- E-Business Supply Change Management
- Analysis of Earned Value Management Systems
- Air Management System Investment Model
- Human Resource Employee Center
- Expanded Supplier Report Card
- Proactive Procurement Methodology
Spring 2002: General Electric Employer Services Group
- Create Capacity Planning Model for ESG
- Analyze Management Effectiveness of Long-term Disability Claims
- Improve Sales Close Ratio
- Measure & Benchmark Short-term Disability Unit Claims Costs
- Strategies for Increasing ESG’s Overall Sales by 20% in Five Years
Spring 2001: General Electric Card Services
- Service & Cost Improvements in Consumer Customer Services
- Labor & Cost Savings in Collections – Inbound Calls
- Enhancing & Digitizing the Consumer Remittance Process
- Reduce Delinquency & Increase Coverage in Commercial Cards Division
- Provide Methodology for Customer Acquisitions
- Analyze & Improve Staffing Capacity in Skip Tracing Department
- Analyze Proposed Digitization of Procurement to Payment Process
Spring 2000: Pratt & Whitney
- Spare Parts Logistics and Inventory
- Moving the STAR Alliance Towards JIT
- Engine Overhaul Location Issues
- Forming an Independent Subsidiary
- Engine Overhaul Operations and Efficiency
Spring 1999: Xerox Engineering Systems
- Finished Goods Inventory Management Analysis & Improvement
- Cost Reduction of Vendor-Supplied Parts & Components
- Distribution & Cycle Time Reduction
- Reduce Costs of Service Parts Inventory
- Improvement Strategy for Service Spares Inventory
Fall 1999: SS&C Technologies
- Reorganization of Current Management Structure
- Develop Internet Business Unit for SS&C
- Opportunities and Strategies in Outsourcing