Smith Business Consulting
The Smith Business Consulting (SBC) program is OEL’s newest initiative. This unique program gives students of all levels at the University of Maryland the opportunity to provide hands-on, pro-bono consulting work within a team for B-Corporations, non-profit organizations, and for-profit organizations in various industries.
The program deadline is February 9.
Current Clients
E4USA
e4usa provides a standardized curriculum for pre-college students to learn and demonstrate engineering principles, skills and practices. The curriculum incorporates an authentic, design-based experience and affords students the opportunity to earn college credit at participating colleges and universities. Our students explore the impact of engineering on society, build professional skills that will serve them well in their future careers, and engage in hands-on design experiences that focus on addressing real-world problems in their communities. To date, e4usa involves 91 participating high schools with over 5,000 students. SBC will help design viable business strategies going forward that will promote their mission. This can entail helping them navigate the landscape of funding opportunities, implementing growth plans with new high schools and universities, and fostering community involvement.
Montgomery County
SBC is collaborating with Montgomery County to work towards its tenacious Climate Action Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2027 and achieve complete carbon neutrality by 2035. SBC’s project will focus on delivering a detailed roadmap for the adoption of renewable energy sources in Montgomery County. This involves identifying viable sources, assessing infrastructure requirements, and proposing an implementation plan to accelerate the transition to clean energy. SBC students will also explore innovative and impactful ways for Montgomery County to invest in projects that directly contribute to offsetting carbon emissions and propose strategies for minimizing waste, promoting recycling, and creating a circular economic ecosystem within the county through extensive research.
Past SBC Clients
Medifast
Medifast (NYSE: MED) is the health and wellness company known for its habit-based and Coach-guided lifestyle solution OPTAVIA®, which provides people with a simple, yet comprehensive approach to help them achieve lasting optimal health and wellbeing. OPTAVIA®which provides people with a simple, yet comprehensive approach to help them achieve lasting optimal health and wellbeing. OPTAVIA’s lifestyle plans deliver clinically proven health benefits as well as evidence-based tools, including scientifically developed products and a framework for habit creation reinforced by independent Coaches and Community support. As a physician-founded company with a 40+ year history, Medifast is a leader in the U.S. weight management industry. The company continues to innovate and build upon its scientific and clinical heritage to fulfill its mission of offering the world Lifelong Transformation, One Healthy Habit at a Time. The company is looking to partner with UMD’s student team to research potential opportunities to expand into new customer segments and demographics. The student team will be tasked with helping roster the unique needs of Xillenials, Millenials, and Gen Z (those born between the late-1970s to early 2000’s) in their health and wellness journeys, with specific focus on ways that OPTAVIA can better reach, win, and monetize these consumers.
OpenBarre
SBC is working with OpenBarre, a UMD alumna-owned barre fitness studio located in downtown College Park. OpenBarre serves both the local and university communities, with an emphasis on UMD employees. SBC's project will focus on delivering a detailed marketing plan OpenBarre can use to target their programming and advertising more directly to UMD employees. SBC will be identifying on and off-campus events where OpenBarre might be able to have a table, donate packages, hold teambuilding classes, and otherwise directly connect with university employees. OpenBarre offers the employee community a warm and welcoming space to connect with one another outside their usual scope of work, and a chance to build confidence and strength. As a small business serving College Park, OpenBarre hopes to continue to help employees feel more connected within the city, turning it from a place they pass through on their way to the office into a place where they feel home. Learn more about OpenBarre.
Life Prep Foundations
Approximately 60% of the United States young adult population (ages 21-35) are not launching into young adulthood successfully. Identifying and explaining basic psychological skills will increase the chances of decreasing dependence on primary caregivers and potential future employers and governmental support systems in young adults, through our expertise and clinical work. The Life-prep foundations curriculum consists of 8, 45-minute sessions geared at specific skill acquisition, development, and real-world application. It is currently intended as a program being instructed as part of an educational curriculum (e.g., middle school, high school, or college; ages 13-22, but has many wide-reaching applications. The Life Prep Foundations Program was developed by Dr. Johanna Kaplan, an adult and child clinical psychologist and Director of the Washington Anxiety Center of Capitol Hill and Old Town, Alexandria. She has successfully clinically treated young adults (ages 21-35) who have failed to gain social, financial, housing and employment independence. This is a team’s opportunity to build a plan from the ground up by learning about the education and mental health industry while building a sales plan to grow revenue.
SBC Frequently Asked Questions
Any UMD student studying any major from undergraduate, master's, and MBA programs.
SBC iterations will launch Fall 2023 and have recurring iterations in coming terms.
Applications for the spring are coming soon.
This is a great opportunity for students to be coached by top faculty at Smith in the consulting field and have access to network with industry professionals and top UMD students alike.
SBC is a 10-15 hour per week time commitment for students and approximately a 2-hour commitment for partner organizations.
Contact the Office of Experiential Learning at smithoel@umd.edu with any questions.