With a background in food service, I never dreamed my professional career would lead to an academic position. Through a number of life’s closed — and opened — doors, I began teaching in higher education and now have taught marketing for the Indiana University Kelley School of Business in Indianapolis for close to 25 years. I love the interaction with students. I love how the subject matter has to be adapted to current trends. I also love guiding students through projects working with local businesses. The creativity, challenges and insights are always new and evolving.
Why would you — a business owner — want to get involved with a class of college students? It can be scary looking at those 60 faces expecting to hear life-changing insights.
The reason — beyond the fact you likely were one of those faces once — is what they can do for you, as well as what you can do for them. Have you ever wanted a fresh perspective on your business? Some “young” ideas to grow your organization? What about exposure to future employees or interns? If you answered yes to any of those questions, then a trip to the Kelley School might be a match in the making.
The Kelley School of Business on IUPUI’s campus offers a unique opportunity for companies to partner with our undergraduate students. Kelley is known for its “rite of passage” program I-Core (Integrated Core), a block of required courses in a semester-long team format for junior business students. I-Core students work with local businesses to determine new revenue-generating ideas that require a substantial capital investment and substantial change to operations. While many of the ideas may not be feasible, often a “nugget” of an idea or insight can trigger additional ideas for a company. As Christy Walchle, vice president at WordSystems Inc., says of her project experience with Kelley I-Core students, “We’ve never explored other applications for the product before, and we realized these student teams could give us insight we may not have considered.”
A variety of companies have partnered with Kelley’s I-Core program over the last three years, including tech startups like A+ Tutor and Rook Security, manufacturers like Wolfe & Swickard Machine Company and AI Innovations and service providers like Gallery Carpet Care, First Advantage Financial and The Ville Restaurant. IMMI in Westfield has signed up to work with Kelley students for a second time this fall.
Spot, Inc., working with an I-Core section this semester, found themselves in the enviable position of signing a new, large client. With this new client, they needed to hire a number of people immediately. Because of its access to Kelley faculty, Spot identified a number of applicants quickly — even before the semester began. According to Kiley Schmitz, Spot’s vice president of human capital, the company has many well-qualified applicants it intends to make offers to for internships or permanent positions. “The caliber of Kelley students is so high,” Schmitz said. “It’s made our decision-making process tough!”
For our students, working with a company allows them to see how course material relates to actual business situations. Anytime a student can apply what they are learning, the lessons will resonate more and will help with retention. As former I-Core student Kassidy Cooper McGowan told me, “I’m working on a complex business plan to secure some financing, so I broke out my I-Core materials to pull some fundamentals. You can let your class know that what they are learning will still be useful 10 years from now!”
If your company might be interested in collaborating with us, and if you are a for-profit organization that has been in business for at least three (preferably five) years, we would love to talk with you about the possibilities. For more information, or to request an application, contact Teresa Bennett at tkbennet@iupui.edu or (317) 278-9173.
Kim Donahue is a senior lecturer in marketing at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business on IUPUI’s campus.
