Session 28: Developing a business clinic approach: collaborative work and value creation

Abstract

In our joint session, we aim to integrate two complementary projects on the value and impact of business clinics in higher education, demonstrating their collective impact on community building, learning enhancement, and value generation. This integrated perspective underscores the role of business clinics in not only fostering academic excellence and real-world engagement but also in contributing significantly to the broader educational and community ecosystem.

Project 1 offers a comprehensive examination of Liverpool Business Clinic’s initiative in engaging students with external organisations to collaboratively deliver real-world project briefs. This approach is grounded in a holistic view of business education, emphasising the diverse types of value created through such engagements. The presentation will detail a process for conceptualising, mapping, and evaluating value from multiple stakeholder perspectives, thereby contributing to the LJMU’s strategy for place and partnership. The potential for transferring this value mapping process to other stakeholder and its implications for future collaborative research underline the broader applicability and significance of this model.

Project 2 presents a focused study on an educational intervention within the business clinic framework, highlighting the benefits of cross-level collaboration between senior and junior business students. Anchored in Vygotsky’s social constructivism, this project exemplifies the social dimensions of learning, where community building and collaborative experiences are central. By facilitating interactions that bridge the theory-practice gap and enhance consultancy skills among final-year students while broadening learning perspectives for second-year students, this initiative showcases the value of student-driven projects in creating a supportive academic community and improving learning outcomes.

Together, these projects illuminate the multifaceted benefits of business clinics in higher education, showcasing how holistic value creation strategies and targeted educational interventions can synergistically enhance student experience, community engagement, and organisational partnerships.

Developing a business clinic approach: collaborative work and value creation PowerPoint. Only LJMU staff and students have access to this resource.