Twelve NIU students had a job with McDonald’s last fall – not cooking or taking orders, but acting as consultants to the world’s largest restaurant company.
McDonald’s “hired” the students through the Experiential Learning Center in the NIU College of Business and asked them to provide ideas on how to use new technology to promote the company and improve business processes.
Created in 2000, the ELC gives students an opportunity to act as consultants to companies, solving business problems while still in school. It’s an intense 16-week crash course that requires students to master skills in project management, communication, presentation, team-building and leadership. Past clients have ranged from small not-for-profit agencies to industry giants such as Caterpillar and WalMart.
The team was the largest and most diverse in ELC history. It included five business majors, a graphic arts major from the College of Visual and Performing Arts,and a corporate communications major and five media studies majors from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The media students not only participated in the consulting process, but also created a short documentary film about the experience.
That diversity created challenges at first, but ultimately allowed students to learn new skills and explore new interests. As one media student said, “I didn’t even know what a business case was. Now I’m helping to write one.”
After 16 weeks of brainstorming, researching, writing and producing, the team presented its ideas to a panel of 25 executives at McDonald’s headquarters in Oak Brook. The students drew rave reviews.
“They did real work that will make us better,” said Chris Millington, McDonald’s chief information officer. “What we got out of this is just huge. You can’t measure it.”
- Joe King, NIU Public Affairs