Contest shows students real life

By MELISSA M.L. WALKER

"I think that the contest gives students a rather unique opportunity to see what a consulting company does,"Timothy Hight, Chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, said.The contest is put on by Anderson Consulting, one of the largest consulting firms with offices in over 50 countries. This year the contest will be held Oct. 8-10. In the past two years, Andersen has worked closely with the faculty and staff at SCU to organize the weekend, which allows juniors and seniors to experience the real business world.

Alexa Baird works in customer relationship management at Andersen Consulting and takes special interest in helping out.

"I graduated from Santa Clara in 1998 with a major in marketing," Baird said. "I think the weekend is a tremendous experience for students."

Only 30 to 40 students can participate in the contest due to facility limitation and planning logistics. Hight has been a part of the contest for the past three years and has seen the kind of work that this type of project demands.

"The logistics of putting this on are considerable," Hight said.

Students who were interested in participating filled out applications that were reviewed by Andersen employees. The students who were chosen after going through the selection process were placed into groups. The groups are made up of six people with different majors and skills."We try to formulate teams that are well-rounded," Baird said.

According to Baird, the students meet with senior executives from this company and try to formulate a solution to a company's hypothetical problem. After additional seminars, the students are expected to formulate a plan and present it to judges who will then choose the top three group ideas. The top groups win cash prizes for their efforts.

Students who have participated in the contest in the past say the weekend is extremely helpful in showing how business works. Assistant professor of OMIS Andy Tsay has worked on the Business Integration Contest since the beginning and has heard first hand how students feel about the experience.

"I've had students testify it's one of the best things they've done [at Santa Clara]," Tsay said.One of the reasons it has been so successful among students is the opportunity to work with students from other departments within Santa Clara.

"Students like the opportunity to act closely with people from other parts of the campus," Tsay said. "They meet students they haven't met before."

Hight adds that the contest gives students an important opportunity.

This weekend the students who were chosen to participate in the contest will be working hard to solve a problem they might face one day. A problem they will be ready for.

"There is no other project that simulates real life with this detail," Tsay said. "It's an interactive experience with no parallel."