Our Master’s in Management (MiM) students have successfully completed their Capstone Project, marking the end of their academic programme. The project, conducted this year in partnership with leading retailers Deichmann and Snipes, took place earlier this summer in Essen, Germany.  

Capstone Project 

 The Capstone Project is a key component of the MiM curriculum, designed to bridge the gap between academic theory and real-world business practice. The project is structured in two parts:  First is the theoretical aspect delivered through courses such as Organisational Behaviour and Business Analysis, providing the foundations of management, which is followed by the practical application phase, in which students have the opportunity to partner with leading companies and consultancies to develop strategic recommendations addressing real business challenges. 

"This can be hard, but it is crucially important to practice 'transferring' knowledge in this way - seeing how to use theoretical ideas in new situations, without someone telling you what to do."
- Dr Heather Kappes, Associate Professor (Education) of Management

During their Essen stay, students got to work in groups to support Deichmann and Snipes with topics like: 

• Rethinking customer loyalty programmes 

• Developing market entry strategies 

• Innovating purchasing metrics 

• Enhancing digital customer service 

• Designing the store of the future 

• Leveraging AI for sustainability

"Possessing both core course knowledge and a broad range of expertise from elective modules within the team proved highly advantageous to the project... competencies gained from finance and accounting modules were instrumental in constructing detailed financial forecasting models, which served as a foundation for our business strategy recommendations."
- Luca Petrini, MiM student representative 2024-25

According to Professor Connson Locke, Deputy Head of Department and MiM Programme Director, The Capstone Project helps students transform classroom learning into ideas that have a real impact on a real business. “By working on a current business challenge, they find out that the theories and concepts learned in class have practical value. It can be a real eye-opener, especially for students who do not have previous work experience. The challenge of working in a multicultural project group is also part of the learning experience.” 

Student impact 

Immersing in a real-world consulting environment and experiencing first-hand the scenarios, changes and challenges an organisation faces, the students gained invaluable insight on what it’s like to problem-solve within a leading company. From theoretical foundations to skills like active listening, teamwork, and analytical thinking, this is what our students from the 2024/25 cohort gained after finalising the second part of their Capstone Project in Essen. 

Celine Madaghijan (MiM student representative 2024-25) shared that the Capstone Project significantly enhanced her professional development. "Working with an external client required adapting to their priorities, managing tight deadlines, and delivering value under pressure. This strengthened my ability to navigate ambiguous situations, make data-driven decisions, and communicate insights effectively to stakeholders.”  

According to Lucca Petrini, Capstone enabled them to “contextualise our project, engage directly with the company, and build valuable client management skills. It also required us to adapt to unexpected changes and developments - challenges that are common in the professional world.” 

Future-proof 

 While the curriculum teaches fundamental skills and knowledge that are timeless, the Capstone Project is updated yearly to reflect industry trends and current issues. The topics are decided with the partner companies, which ensures students are equipped with both timeless and relevant skills as well as up-to-date knowledge. 

"Industry trends inform the project topics that we offer, which are decided with the company and new every year. For instance, this year we had a topic on using AI tools to improve sustainability, and two years ago one on the metaverse; these kinds of topics are clearly driven by industry conversations."
- Dr Heather Kappes 

Dr Heather Kappes, explained that quite often, areas like AI, the metaverse, and Sustainability surface in conversations within organisations, but employees don't necessarily have the time to deep-dive, so “having a group of students do that and come back with tailored recommendations is really valuable”. 

As Celine explained: “I believe the skills we developed are not only valuable for consulting roles, but also highly transferable to virtually any career. I will certainly carry forward the teamwork, communication, and listening abilities I gained into any professional environment... The research and report-writing skills I gained will also serve me well: gathering information from diverse sources, building coherent narratives, and working effectively with ambiguity are all useful abilities for success in any field.” 

The experience is an invaluable opportunity to introduce students into real-life scenarios they might encounter once they graduate, helping them prepare them for the future challenges they’ll help solve. 

"The highlight of the entire trip for me is witnessing how much the students bond, their professionalism, and their commitment to delivering excellent project outcomes."
- Farhana Chowdhury, Programme Manager 

Friday 29 August 2025