Eller Business Consulting Partnership With W.L. Gore Is Nothing Short Of A Success
In the fall of 2020, the Business Consulting team in the Eller College of Management began a partnership with W.L. Gore & Associates to create a cross functional class for graduate students who were looking to take their studies and solve a real business problem.
The project consisted of bringing together two teams of students with different professional backgrounds to get them to research and do a market analysis. The goal was to utilize Gore materials to propose new product ideas.
The first team—comprised of two MBA students, one MIS student and one marketing student—was tasked with researching and analyzing the market for in home dialysis market.
The second team—made up of one MBA student, two MIS students, a biosystems engineering student and two PhD students—had to come up with suggestions on product ideas for sustainable agriculture.
Both teams, with the help of the Gore experts, made suggestions about possible products and in developing different markets conduct a market analysis. Gore is a technology-driven enterprise that focuses on discovery and product innovation all while focusing on sustainability.
After that, the teams delivered presentations on their products’ marketability and potential market size.
“It was a great opportunity for the students to learn how they will be interacting with executives and the people that they will be in contact with once they are in the work force,” says Sandy Kenny, executive director of Eller Business Consulting.
Representatives from Gore took particular interest in the sustainable agriculture project and are now considering pursuing the product idea further.
“The recent Fall 2020 programs were extremely useful,” says Ed Cully, enterprise core technology at Gore. “The process was evidence-based, fast and efficient and will allow us to quickly move ahead with the most promising opportunities. We look forward to partnering again with Eller Business Consulting in Spring 2021.”