Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Advanced Studies student Troy Affolter shares his experience on the Business Practicum (BUSS1321/BUSS6104). Enrolments for the Business Practicum are currently open in Sydney Student.
What is the Business Practicum and why did you decide to get involved?
The Business Practicum is an elective unit offered by the University of Sydney Business School’s Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) Hub. I thought of the unit as a consulting project where you receive university credit and have the opportunity to work and interact with a real client on real problems that they are facing. The unit can be taken during either semester or in the intensive July session which is when I took it. The reason I chose to do this unit stemmed from a university club’s intern speaker panel which I attended. One of the speakers encouraged all attendees to find something that will differentiate them at the end of this pandemic, as he predicted a common interview question would be “What did you do during lockdown?” From this I chose to enrol in this unit, and it has been one of the most enjoyable subjects I have taken at University.
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| Troy Affolter, Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Advanced Studies |
Where did you work?
For this unit we engaged with the Business School themselves on an issue relating to student engagement. My group focused solely on the first year undergraduate mentoring program and how it can be run more efficiently with more positive outcomes and greater student engagement.
How did the Business Practicum help your career?
The Business Practicum allowed me to engage in real life problem-solving with a client. The unit also allowed me to expand my network with other students and academics. One connection that arose was with the lecturer, who would later be another lecturer of mine in the Self-Sourced Placement Program, also run by the Business School’s WIL Hub.
What was the best part of your experience?
The best part of the Business Practicum was being chosen as one of five groups to present directly to the Business School leadership team. From this selection, my group presented over Zoom to a panel of Business School leaders about our solution with a live run of the program that we designed. The presentation went successfully and we are currently working directly with the Business School team on the upcoming Semester 1 2021 mentoring program.
What was the biggest challenge and what did you learn from it?
The biggest challenge that my group and I experienced was breaking down the multi-faceted problem and applying it to relevant frameworks as part of the course requirements. Through this we were required to go through the process of design thinking which we did through liaising with course staff, interviewing peers and interacting with the clients to see what their actual goals and needs were. From this I learned and enhanced the skills of communication, teamwork, problem solving and creative thinking.
What advice would you give other students?
My one piece of advice for students considering undertaking the Business Practicum is to just go for it. If you have ever wanted to work in the corporate world, especially roles that involve a lot of client interaction such as Investment Banking or Consulting, the Business Practicum unit would act as a taster into what it is actually like engaging with problem statements and working to a common solution alongside the client, with the added benefit of university academics to guide and provide help when needed.
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