Nital Patel, Director of Leicester-based independent property and lettings company, Sky Blue Homes Ltd, needed insights to support his business, and asked to take part in the free, 12-week Executive Company Project (ECP) initiative with Leicester Castle Business School. The business has worked with ECP students in previous years, and this time wanted support to identify trends in the market and to gain a fresh perspective from someone outside of the industry.
MBA Global student, Jude Oghenevwogaga School, partnered with the company during this ECP. Jude was motivated to support the business in the research, which would enable him to apply the knowledge he gained during his degree whilst also developing new skills.
Of the project Nital said, “as with all businesses COVID-19 has dramatically changed the landscape and brought new, unexpected challenges…we found Jude’s research and reports beneficial, particularly when a company does not have the resources for a specialist Research & Development department.”
To support his research, Jude visited his host at the company premises to help his understanding of the business. Jude said “I enjoyed the fact that I was allowed to explore all my options and deploy my skill set without any restrictions in getting the job done. The experience taught me a new business in the rental market industry.”
Nital said “The student has suggested some areas that we were aware of, though they seem apparent from an outside perspective, and this has spurred us to push certain projects sooner rather than later…The experience has been beneficial and we have been taking part in the ECP for several years.”
Jude said “The experience helped me integrate smoothly into a different work environment, and this has helped me in my current job…it is a challenge worth taking as the benefits are enormous.”
Congratulations go to all involved in this project and in all the ECPs which have taken place so far this year. It is fantastic seeing students develop new skills and have a positive impact in the business world.
If your company can also benefit from free research, contact the team ecp@dmu.ac.uk.