MBA Students Help Maryland Companies Go Global

In the fall of 2021, Maryland Smith’s Center for Global Business partnered with three Maryland companies on the Maryland Global Consulting Program. This program is an opportunity that offers Maryland-based companies the chance to work with a team of the school’s MBA or undergraduate students to address challenges companies are facing in entering the international market. Three teams, consisting of four, five, and nine MBA students, applied their classroom learning to real-world consulting projects ultimately helping them to build their resumes and gain a competitive advantage in their future careers.

Silvec Biologics, a biotechnology company providing RNA-based solutions for long-lived plants based in Rockville, Md., worked with four students on a market prioritization and market entry landscape to roll out their RNA vaccine internationally. After a semester of research and data gathering, the team recommended four countries that would be ideal market entry points for Silvec.

Haystack Solutions, a cybersecurity company that leverages IP for a cognitive testing-based approach to cyber-talent identification, collaborated with five students on an in-depth go-to-market strategy for the U.K. and Australia to sell their Cyber Aptitude and Talent Assessment. The team of MBA students conducted interviews to understand customer profiles and then provided final recommendations on how to reach their target customers in these countries.

Get Real Health, a digital health solutions company based in Rockville, Md., received consulting from a team of nine students on a high-level market assessment based on each country’s healthcare market and their ability to work well with the Get Real Health platform. Throughout the semester, the group ranked markets against indicators of success deemed by Get Real Health to recommend two new markets and a regulatory and competitive analysis.

Christian Lopez, MBA ’22, says the program helped him develop professionally. “In consulting, the first project may be scary, but as you continue to work on several projects it starts to become easier,” says Lopez, a second-year student in the full-time MBA program. “Having the ability to work on different types of projects will help me be more adaptable and knowledgeable.”

Each of the clients indicated they intend to follow through with their team’s recommendations – and a few have already begun to implement certain actions. Robin Wiener, president of Get Real Health, said she was extremely impressed by the results from the program. “The research was substantial and we learned more about a few markets that we did not before,” she said. “We are currently having meetings around how we can take the information we’ve learned from the students and apply it to our 2022 marketing strategy.”

Maryland-based companies interested in the Maryland Global Consulting Program can visit the website or contact smithglobal@umd.edu. The center is now welcoming inquiries for the summer iteration of the program.

The Maryland Global Consulting Program is sponsored in part by CIBE, a Title VI grant administered by the U.S. Department of Education.

–By Marina Augoustidis, associate director of the Center for Global Business at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.