Denver Daniels College of Business students participate in the launch of one of the four Denver MBA Challenges. Courtesy photos
Mary Margaret Koch, a second-year MBA candidate, has just returned from South Africa, where she worked on an expansion plan for an escape room company in Cape Town. Her colleague Mitchell “Do” Jones was also in Cape Town, working with an engineering consultancy to modernize its business model.
It was no coincidence that they were in the same place: their entire group was with them in South Africa, where they presented plans and solutions to local businesses as part of the Global MBA Challenge, one of four challenges students complete as part of the University of Denver’s full-time MBA program Complete in the Daniels College of Business.
Denver’s 21-month MBA program is uniquely comprehensive in graduate business education. MBA students begin the program with an entrepreneurship challenge in the first quarter of their studies, where they work with a group to design and present a business pitch. Next is the Social Good Challenge, followed by the Corporate Challenge, where students work with a non-profit and an established corporation, respectively. Students are expected to spend the summer after their first year interning.
Put your skills to the test in the real world
Lowell Valencia Miller: “We want it to be rigorous. We want it to be challenging. We want them to succeed, and we want them to make an impact when they graduate from Daniels.”
At the beginning of their second year, students begin preparing for the global challenge, working in consulting groups for companies in the country in which they will then spend a week in the fall. This year’s global challenge was in South Africa; In past years the groups have worked with companies in Uganda, India and Brazil, to name a few.
“I think we’ve designed a great program that takes a student who really wants to own their education and gives them the opportunity to take it and succeed in it,” says Lowell Valencia Miller, associate dean of MBA programs and fellow. Professor V. Daniels who accompanied previous regiments to Denmark and France.
The experience of collaborating with global clients and working in another country cannot be replicated in the classroom, says Valencia Miller.
“The important difference with the Global Challenge is that it adds complexity, ambiguity, and uncertainty to what you’re going to be dealing with,” he says, adding that the program is ideal for people looking to learn outside the classroom: rather than waiting for a summer internship or post-grad job to apply what they’ve learned in a setting. Non-academic, students can use their new skills and knowledge in the real world before the semester ends.
“They need more than just theory, textbooks, and classroom concepts. They need hands-on experience, and that’s what the Denver MBA gives them. What you learn in class in the morning, you can apply in the conference room in the afternoon,” the professor says. Afternoon.”
As part of their global challenge, students in DMBA Cohort 7 split into small groups to engage with local businesses around Cape Town. The students mentioned above worked with HintHunt, an escape game company and the first of its kind in South Africa. Courtesy photo
“Make a really big impact in 10 weeks”
Students work in groups to complete each of the four challenges. Each group includes people with diverse professional and life backgrounds outside of the business world, explains Mary Margaret Koch. In challenges, students use not only what they have learned in class, but also the unique skills and knowledge they bring from their different backgrounds.
Jones had spent years working as an engineer and was familiar with the work done by his client Global Challenge, an engineering consulting firm in South Africa. He understands the different hurdles the company has had to deal with – but, he adds, approaching this work from a different perspective – “a business lens rather than an engineering lens” – has been eye-opening.
Koch’s background in nonprofit work came in handy during the Social Good Challenge. Each group of students works with a different nonprofit organization to design solutions to a problem the organization faces. Koch was the only person in her group who worked in a nonprofit setting, and she said she educated her groupmates on how nonprofits work and what they need to effectively achieve their goals.
Koch and Jones were in the same group in the Social Good Challenge. They worked with Dinosaur Ridge, an organization that runs a museum and guided tours at a dinosaur tracking site near Denver. Students helped the organization create an online gift shop and came up with other ways to raise and share Dinosaur Ridge revenue, such as a “Fossil of the Month Club.”
Jones says it’s been extremely rewarding to see the positive impact he and his colleagues can have by applying what they’ve learned in class in a nonprofit setting: “You’re working with a team of two to three people, and you’re just doing a really dramatic impact in 10 weeks, making Exposes the nonprofit to more business strategies and opportunities.
More Daniels College students participate in one of Denver’s four MBA Challenges. Courtesy photos
Ability and confidence grow as the program progresses
Valencia Miller says Daniels College wants students to leave with an understanding of business beyond profit margins. The school emphasizes the “triple bottom line: people, planet, and profit.” Through the Social Good Challenge, students see firsthand how business knowledge can be used to support social and environmental progress.
Jones and Koch were in the same group at the Corporate Challenge, held in the spring quarter of their first year at Daniels. They worked with a large Colorado-based manufacturing company. They both say it was the hardest part of the MBA program so far.
“A lot of times, the hardest part of these projects is just knowing what actual problem the client has that they want you to solve,” Koch explains.
“Over the course of 10 weeks, we probably spent six weeks before we had a good understanding of the problem we really needed to solve,” Jones adds. They both say that ultimately, the difficulty and uncertainty they dealt with during this project made it all the more satisfying when everything came together in time for the final presentation, which took place in front of about 30 people from the company. It was especially gratifying that their group received positive feedback and appreciation for their work from company executives.
Jones says he became more capable and confident during the first three challenges. “I was definitely uncomfortable and out of my depth for the first two challenges, and I had never been in an advisory role before,” he says. “But I think with them stacking on top of each other and progressing, I now feel very comfortable in this role for this challenge.”
Students experienced the customer experience by completing HintHunt’s “Amazing Race” challenge. Over the following days, they interviewed clients, developed business strategies and conducted market analysis. Courtesy photo
Designed for those “who aren’t 100% sure about their next step”
Koch and Jones admit that challenges are called that for a reason: They require a significant amount of time and commitment, and balancing them with other categories can be difficult. But both students feel that the lessons they have learned and the skills they have gained from the experiences make it worth it.
Valencia Miller adds that the difficult nature of the four challenges is a feature, not a bug.
“We want it to be strict,” he says. “We want it to be hard. We want them to succeed, and we want them to make an impact when they graduate from Daniels.”
Before joining the Daniels School, Koch spent her career in politics and nonprofits. The opportunities provided by the four challenges – working as a consultant for an actual organization and getting real-world experience in different industries – are things she feels are particularly valuable for students who have not had much exposure to the business world, and who want to explore their options.
“The Denver MBA is really designed for all students, but it’s specifically designed for people who aren’t 100% sure about their next step — the challenges give you exposure to all kinds of different things and you can experience them in a very low-risk environment,” says Koch.
Daniels College students during MBA challenges in Denver. Courtesy photos
Exposure to a wide range of career options
Jones is also making a major career shift, from engineering and construction management to business. He says the challenging model is also what attracted him to the Denver MBA – and he agrees that the program is well-suited for those looking to change their careers.
“The basics will remain the same no matter where you are, but facing challenges and getting to know customers in different areas helps point you in the right direction,” Jones says.
The Denver MBA provided Koch and Jones with a wide range of career options that helped them figure out what to choose to focus on during their second year of the MBA program — and what to do with their MBA programs once they graduate. Jones says he changes his mind “all the time,” but he turned to mortgage financing. Koch will be turning to risk advisory accounting — a field she didn’t know existed before attending the Daniels School.
“If you know you don’t like what you were doing before, you want to do business, but you don’t know exactly what line of work you want to be in next,” she says, “I think an MBA in Denver is a great place to grow and try new things.” In a really supportive environment.
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MBA students at Daniels College in Denver are no strangers to facing challenges head-on. With a rigorous academic curriculum and a competitive business environment, these students are constantly pushed to their limits both academically and professionally. The Daniels College of Business prides itself on producing graduates who are adaptable, resilient, and ready to tackle any obstacle that comes their way. From case studies to real-world consulting projects, MBA students at Daniels College are equipped with the skills and mindset to take on the challenges of the business world with confidence and determination.