Consultancies challenge students to design the ultimate company

Consulting firms from seven different European countries have joined forces to launch an international student competition. Students are challenged to, in teams of three, design the “ultimate company” of the future. Students have up to the 1st of July to sign up, with the winning team provided, besides the privilege to visit Paris, the support to prototype their blueprint.

Digital technologies have in recent years developed into a key enabler of market change and innovation, transforming the business environment. New business models, new propositions and new ways of working are changing corporate ecosystems, re-defining customer relationships and challenging corporate cultures. The new digital environment is also giving rise to new rules and new expectations, with innovation and agility taking precedence. 

In addition to the transformative conditions formed by the convergence of technologies, the rise of the millennial generation and the strong values that they bring with them, are also sending waves through traditional corporate employment structures, from diversity and remuneration to leadership and work-life balance. 

In a bid to unravel the DNA of future-proof organisations, eight member firms* of Nextcontinent – a network of management consulting firms with operations in 20+ countries – have turned to the bright minds of the next generation. Students from across Europe are invited to participate in ‘Design the ultimate company’, a competition that seeks to develop concrete prototypes that could be implemented in companies. 

The participating students are challenged to unleash their imagination across three areas: Leadership, Digital Organisation or Collaboration. What are the qualities of a leader that effectively encourages their engagement? What are organisational structures that attract them, and how do they fit in with their wider social values? What kinds of collaborations, internally and externally to corporates, improve outcomes for their wide array of stakeholders?

The engagement is open to all European students. Student are encouraged to create multidisciplinary and diverse teams in a bid to reduce group-thinking, including a mix of qualitative and quantitative skill sets and thinking forms. The team then selects where they would like to present their prototypes, with offices available in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brussels, Frankfurt, Lisbon, Paris, Rome and Stuttgart.

The first step is to send in an around 5 minute presentation to pitch the idea, in a format that effectively, or otherwise, communicates the idea to a jury. The following step involves pitching the idea in front of the jury at the selected office. The ideas that come through the jury’s due diligence, deemed interesting to the corporate world, will be invited to participate in a final round in Paris. In the French capital, students will work with experts from a range of subject areas – designers, hackers, consultants – to rapidly prototype the idea for potential implementation.

The deadline for submitting ideas is July 1st, with the presentation at an office on July 6th and the Paris hackathon event on July 20th and 21st. Students that want to participate can send their questions and/or entries to challenge coordinator Audrey. 

* Consultancies affiliated to Nextcontinent taking part in the event are Eurogroup Consulting (France, Portugal, Italy and Germany), Magnus (Netherlands), Arch (Belgium), P3 (Germany) and Nexe (Spain).