The fundamental idea in the MSc in Strategic Management programme is that no matter what the business is, it has to have a strategy concerning objectives and plans to achieve them. To get a real grasp of what this actually means, all MSc in Strategic Management students take part in the Praxis Stream Project, a real-life consulting project.

 In this project, groups of three are assigned to a small to medium sized company to conduct a strategic consulting session, the aim being to provide students with the opportunity to apply existing knowledge and develop new skills in dealing with practical strategic assignments.  Each team has to follow a specific strategic-analysis model, learnt beforehand in the Entrepreneurship class. This helps the students identify a particular business challenge and provide possible solutions.  Each group familiarises itself with the company's field of activities; identifying its mission, values and core competencies.  Parallel to that, the groups analyze the business environment, study competitors' activities, discern particular trends and forecast possible market changes. 

 After processing all the  relevant information, they are able to crystallize certain areas of concern and provide concrete strategic propositions. As with a real business situation, each team is required to submit a final written report on their findings and conclusions, which is then presented orally to the company manager.

 This year's Praxis Stream project included a multinational group of students Dorthée Michaud (French), Alberto Diaz Perez (Spanish) and Mantas Armonas (Lithuanian), who worked with an audiovisual rental company that provides a full range of installation and maintenance services for public and private events. The company had been experiencing constant growth and had become a successful and reputable player on the market. Naturally, the company's managers had been thinking about further development possibilities and thus requested that the EDHEC students explore growth opportunities, such as geographical stretch and service range expansion. 

 The students's proposal included a safeguard of the company's market position as well the exploitation of new growth opportunities. They recommended tighter cooperation with certain partners through creating specific alliance-based relationships and relied on the knowledge acquired in their Mergers & Acquisitions class.  According to the company manager, the EDHEC students' work has helped him find novel insights and he is now ready to apply some of the recommendations into practice.

 Since most of the students in the MSc in Strategic Management course plan to relate their careers to consulting, the Praxis Stream strategic consulting mission  proved to be an excellent opportunity to apply acquired theoretical knowledge as well as gain hands-on experience. The programme has certainly facilitated students' understanding of practical business issues and helped prepare them for future challenges.