For Schitij Kulshrestha (MBA 2019), The NUS MBA Consulting Project was where he experienced the most growth during the programme.
An immersive initiative where students can offer an external perspective to help companies solve business challenges, Schitij’s team was assigned a project with F&B franchise Guzman y Gomez.
Tasked with helping the restaurant launch its Indonesian operations, he saw how the franchise selected and set up new locations. “It gave me a perspective on the various aspects of scaling a business,” he said. Schitij also observed that the company benefitted immensely from the high calibre and skills of the students.
“It was a win-win for the company and students as and it gave the MBAs an opportunity to put their experience and classroom learning into action,” added Schitij.
Having gone through the MBA consulting project’s transformative experience, Schitij was determined to pay it forward.
Schitij's memories at NUS and Microsoft
Addressing a business need
After graduating, Schitij joined the team at Microsoft Asia Experience Center in mid-2019. With the Center’s lean team structure, he saw an opportunity to engage current NUS MBA candidates to help drive his team’s marketing strategy.
He put in a business case to his leadership team to sponsor the project, and it was quickly approved.
The first meeting reinforced Schitij’s decision to bring them in. “My strategy to manage the project was to lead with design thinking but it was refreshing to see the MBAs beat me to it. In our first meeting they opened by saying that they would be following the design thinking methodology which was half my work done,” he said.
Schitij also made sure the team could work more effectively by connecting them with various Microsoft stakeholders. “This open communication helped the team better understand Microsoft’s business and contributed to the project’s success,” he said.
The students analysed Experience Centre Asia’s business processes and were tasked to strengthen the Centre’s value proposition to stakeholders. “The team came up with multiple recommendations in order of priority and feasibility. The management viewed the students as very cohesive, comprehensive and structured in their approach to problem-solving and their suggestions were well-received by the global team. In fact, they are currently under consideration for implementation,” said Schitij.
Going beyond mentorship
Looking back at his time working on the project, Schitij was glad that he could pay it forward and become a mentor to his juniors. Schitij recalled the NUS MBA’s high challenge, high support environment and how his peers, alumni and professors were always ready to push him out of his comfort zone. Their guidance was crucial in shaping his MBA journey.
“The NUS MBA lasts only for a few months, but the professional and personal relationships forged during that time last a lifetime,” he said.
And it turns out that Schitij is giving back to NUS in another form – as a champion for the NUS MBA programme. One of his Microsoft colleagues reached out to him for advice on taking the NUS MBA. “I think I managed to convince her, and she might be joining an upcoming batch!” he said.
