Having just finished an exhaustive spring term, MIM students waste no time diving into summer term with the introduction of capstone projects. These exit projects are composed of student teams, generally three to four students, who will meet with local business clients to conduct research and later present findings and recommendations. Students will work with these clients and a PSU faculty advisor from now until late fall, gathering information, talking to relevant business leaders, and keeping both the client and advisor up-to-date on the project completion. If students have a business contact they would like to work with for this project, they can pitch their idea for approval and potentially select their own team as well. However, most projects are sourced by PSU’s School of Business and range from start-ups to international corporations, both for profit and non-profit.
A few weeks ago we submitted preference forms for the types of projects we were interested in, but the final projects and team selection were announced last Monday. While some students groups had sourced their own projects, many of us waited with trepidation as Dave Garten detailed the general schedule and outline of capstone projects, and then finally revealed the list of projects and students at the end of his presentation. Immediately after the announcement, students began flocking towards their new teams establishing kickoff meetings and communications strategies. Within the next few weeks, these students will meet with their clients and advisors for the first time to discuss the full scope of their project. Although the general idea is the same for all projects, each will delve into different types of research and students will discover solutions for very diverse problems. Deliverables over the course of this project will also vary from group to group. While all teams need to turn in a scope document, teams may create marketing plans, supply chain documents or other reports based upon frameworks we have covered in our previous classes. This is where all of our learning comes together in a real world situation and many of us are excited to prove ourselves and build our resumes.
Juli Tejadilla
Juli Tejadilla is a full-time student in the Masters of International Management program. She previously graduated with two Bachelor of Arts in Marketing and Studio Art from Linfield College. While her interest in international business began as an undergraduate student, she has been traveling around the world since she was nine months old. She hopes through the MIM program to learn key insights to conduct business internationally and to establish herself as a global citizen.
Josh is a full-time student in the Master of International Management program. After graduating from the University of Oregon with a degree in Japanese, he taught English in Tokyo for 3 years, before moving to China and teaching at a university in the city of Zhengzhou. Inspired by his experiences in Japan and China, he was drawn to the MIM program because of its regional focus on Asia, as well as for Portland State University’s reputation as a leader in the field of sustainable business. He is studying Chinese in the MIM program, but tries to keep up his Japanese whenever he can.
