# Free business insight offered to charities

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2022/10/20/free-business-insight-offered-to-charities/
- Published: 2022-10-20T09:07:00+01:00
- Author: Melanie May

**Heriot-Watt University’s Edinburgh Business School (EBS) has launched a student
Consultancy Boot Camp and is encouraging charity leaders to come forward for free
support to solve their business problems.**

The Boot Camp is open to charities and businesses, and successful applicants will
work with a group of business students and academics who will use their skillset
to find solutions. This will include developing an actionable strategic roadmap 
prepared under the guidance of the academics, who provide students with ongoing 
support in the form of independent business consultants.  

All Boot Camp students belong to undergraduate and postgraduate programmes offered
by the School. They are handpicked by [the EBS](https://www.hw.ac.uk/ebs/index.htm),
based on their performance in the course and, in return, gain real-world experience
to help them in the next steps of their career. 

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Dr Tom Pfefferkorn, Assistant Professor of Business Management and co-lead of the
Consultancy Boot Camp, said:

> “It is fantastic seeing the enthusiasm, commitment, and professionalism of our
> students solving real business problems for real business clients.
>  
> “These pro-bono projects are overseen by experienced mentor consultants providing
> our students with professional guidance. We develop future change agents for future
> markets.”

The Boot Camp recently completed its first consultancy project with the German-based
reforestation company, ClickATree.com. Students were tasked with developing a viable
system to qualify new customers in the UK while increasing the customer conversion
rates. They pitched their recommendations to the CEO in a 10-minute video presentation
and handed over a client report.

Dr Luciana Blaha, co-lead of the Consultancy Boot Camp, said:

> “The bootcamp is an invaluable learning experience for students, and an excellent
> way for businesses to give development opportunities for young people, while getting
> tailored work in return. Our most recent consultants have found the experience
> to not only lead to follow-up work, but also to inform their future career aspirations,
> from consultancy to corporate law.”

Charities can find out more about a free Consultancy Boot Camp or apply by emailing
Dr Tom Pfefferkorn on  [T.***********@***ac.uk](https://fundraising.co.uk/2022/10/20/free-business-insight-offered-to-charities/T.***********@***ac.uk)

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