Students are making a strategy for IBM

- It is very exciting and challenging to be allowed to work with such a big and interesting company that has so many employees all over the world and that creates so many innovative solutions, says Magnus Jessen.

He is studying International Sales and Marketing at Cphbusiness, and this week he and the rest of the students from the second semester are working on IBM’s social business platform IBM Connections.

IBM Connections is a tool that companies can use for communications optimisation across departments and borders.

- Perhaps one of these brilliant young persons comes up with some ideas or experiences that we can use. That is what I am looking for, says Mona Prior from IBM.

The aim is to make the most of human resources

The case cooperation with IBM is part of a course about implementing strategies. The students have to look at pros and cons of IBM Connections and assess how to implement it the best way and how IBM can make revenue from it.

- I think that the students can use the project to open their eyes for some of the challenges that companies have with making a lot of people with diverging goals walk in the same direction and use specific tools to find the glue that you need to make it work, says lecturer Martin Pors Jepsen from Cphbusiness.

- The central question in the assignment is how to make the most of human resources. It is exciting because companies state that the obstacle to successful execution of strategies is most often people, he says.

Challenging and fun

As a student Magnus Jessen is looking forward to the assignment.

- I think it is going to be challenging and fun to work with a different type of product. It means that you have to think differently than before and I think that is going to be rewarding, he says.

Lecturer Martin Pors Jepsen is also excited.

- IBM is an obvious choice for this project because they deal with the labour market of the future. They work on products that adapt and the fact that they work digitally and in the business to business-industry makes them relevant for our students, he says.

As a lecturer he looks forward to experiencing what the meeting between IBM and the students leads to.

- I expect the students to put in a big effort and that they can challenge IBM by looking at the assignment with critical eyes. Furthermore I hope to be pleasantly surprised, that the students use their digital skills, and that they surprise IBM in a positive way with something that they had not expected, says Martin Pors Jepsen.

The students will present their solutions for IBM on 28 October.