Bluetree Studios, an online fair trade shop in Syracuse, wants to make shopping as
easy as possible for its customers, and Syracuse University
School of Information
Studies (iSchool) graduate student consultant Bhawana Bhatnagar is helping the
company accomplish this goal.
Bhatnagar G'10, a second semester M.S. in Information Management student, has
been offering recommendations for improving Bluetree Studios' Web interface and
"making the online experience for customers enjoyable, easy and seamless," she says.
"It is important to have a simple, user-friendly and appealing Web interface."
"[Bhawana] has proven to be professional, knowledgeable and accessible throughout
the process," says Christiana Kaiser, owner of Bluetree Studios. "She also brings
knowledge of my business type and an enthusiasm to assist me in developing
business solutions that I find to be an added value, above and beyond my
expectations." Kaiser says that she hopes to implement Bhatnagar's
recommendations into a new website by May.
Bhatnagar is one of six iSchool students selected to participate in the school's new
joint program with the South Side Innovation Center (SSIC). The program, called
iConsult, matches up iSchool graduate students with entrepreneurs in the SSIC
business incubator to provide one-on-one consulting services.
Born from a discussion in August 2008 between Monica Hughley, director of the
South Side Entrepreneurial Connect Project at the SSIC, and iSchool professor Dave
Dischiave, director of the M.S. in Information Management program, iConsult is
proving to be mutually beneficial for all involved. The program gives students
marketable experience while helping small-business owners grow their businesses.
"Many iSchool graduate students are heavily recruited by major consulting
companies," Dischiave says. "It seemed to make sense to leverage the same talent
pool to give the students consulting experience in a way that would also benefit the
community."
Recent iSchool graduate Monil Sundesha G'08, co-founder and program manager of
iConsult, oversaw the hiring of Bhatnagar and the other five student consultants-
Aditya Udas, Ambika Kutty, Aman Tiwari, Hemant Gupta and Shreyansh Singh-
with assistance from iSchool alumnus and Instructional Technology Manager
Anthony Rotolo and Career Services Coordinator Kathy Benjamin. More than 60
students applied for the positions, and Sundesha says his team had to make some
difficult decisions: "When you have such a large pool of talented students to pick
from, it's never going to be easy." The student consultants were ultimately selected
based on their analytic, communication and leadership skills.
Before beginning their work with the real clients, student consultants received some
basic lessons during a lecture, "Best Practices in Consulting," by Arthur Thomas,
iSchool professor of practice. The lecture covered such topics as the consulting
relationship and consultant tools. The program also requires students to take a one-
credit class, funded by the iSchool, called "Internship in Information Management"
(IST 971).
The students were then matched to a local entrepreneurial business with the aid of
Hughley. She identified the seven local small businesses that are receiving the
consulting services: Funk 'n' Waffles, BD Trauma Scene Clean, Bluetree Studios, The
Luxurious Hair Boutique, Mitchell's Construction Solutions, FYM Logic and New York
Wind & Sun. Most are resident businesses of the SSIC, which provides office space
and other business support to local start-up companies. Hughley says she appreciates
any opportunity to partner with SU, and she is excited about working with the
iSchool on this project.
This semester, students are paid through an Enitiative grant awarded by the
Kauffman Foundation. Dischiave hopes to establish a long-term partnership with a
corporate partner that can help support the students in future years. "We have
reached out to a number of consulting companies requesting additional funds as well
as time from their management personnel to act in a mentoring role," he says.
"Imagine having to report to a manager at a major corporation that your consulting
engagement isn't going as planned?"
Bhatnagar said that she hopes to become an IT consultant after graduation and
appreciates the opportunity to work in the field while still in school. "The iConsult
program is giving me the ideal experience and helping me build a strong base and
skill set for becoming a good consultant," she says. "Being a part of this program is
giving me hands-on experience in IT consulting and a stepping stone towards my
career goals."
In addition to the real-world experience, iConsult helps students intellectually bridge
the experience to the content delivered in their academic courses. "Ultimately, the
students' experiences will spill over into the classroom through courses like 'Systems
Analysis' (IST 552), 'Principles of Information Management' (IST 614), 'Project
Management' (IST 645) and 'Database Management Systems' (IST 659)," Dischiave
says. "Students will learn the realities of consulting by engaging in the classic
consulting work environment. They will also learn a great deal about what it is like to
be an entrepreneur."
iConsult is still in its beginning stages, but Hughley is optimistic about the program's
future success. "It's a great beginning, and I hope to see it continue and become a
great success story for the students and entrepreneurs," she says.
The program enables the iSchool to promote Scholarship in Action and to place
students and entrepreneurs in a mutually beneficial situation. "This experience will
expose our students to working in an entrepreneurial environment, and, hopefully,
the students will leave the program with an appreciation of entrepreneurship,"
Sundesha says. "I think this is just the kind of opportunity students look for in a great
graduate program."
