As the MAA focuses on encouraging students to bridge the gap between their studies and career in a productive way, we’re here with an aMAAzing opportunity for dutch-speaking students interested in consultancy!
Introducing SOLVE Consulting: a student association who’s currently providing dutch-speaking students the opportunity to become a student consultant! Their main focus as a consultancy association is on enhancing the corporate social responsibility of NGO’s and for-profit companies all around the Netherlands. Although founded a short 10 years ago, they have already: completed over 100 client projects; expanded to Amsterdam, Utrecht, and Rotterdam; obtained affiliation agreements with several Dutch research universities; and secured partnerships with companies such as Deloitte and Berenschot. Needless to say, they are established.
As an association created by students (and for students), they anticipate your needs and provide accordingly; whether it be opportunities for personal growth, or the need for a work/life/study balance – they’ve got you covered! As a student consultant for SOLVE, you participate in consultant trainings and workshops from top consulting firms. During those instructive sessions, you learn a wide array of information useful for your professional career. “The trainings and workshops teach things such as consultancy methods, management training, and communication styles.” explain the board members of SOLVE. You then use those learnt skills and apply them to a real-life consultancy case. Although this may seem demanding, SOLVE ensures that you never work more than 8 hours a week on these projects. In this way, you get a sense of what being a consultant is like, while still being able to enjoy life as a student!
The consultancy cases differ in content as well as duration. The length of a project can vary between 6 weeks and 15 weeks, depending on the complexity and requirements of the case. Yet, as a student consultant, you can choose to only contribute to projects that appeal to your areas of interest, allowing you to acquire knowledge and expertise in your desired field. Recent examples of SOLVE’s projects include working with Verstegen (think: your favourite spices and sauces!); wherein they collaborated to find ways in which the company could improve their corporate social responsibility. They also worked with Universitair Asiel Fonds (UAF) – an organization focused on finding suitable employment for refugee students and professionals – conducting an impact analysis on their campaign and its influence on their popularity.
These aren’t the only benefits of joining SOLVE, though. “While working on real cases, our consultants gain a lot of personal and business-related experience. They develop key competencies such as communication and analytical skills,” explain the board members, “SOLVE also helps orient students in the labour market, giving them the chance to find out if a job in the consultancy industry suits them.”
Like the MAA, SOLVE cultivates a prime networking hub, allowing you to meet ambitious students from all disciplines, and hence establish a solid foundation for future career opportunities. “Our consultants consist of second and third year bachelor’s students, and master’s students, coming from all different study areas;” say the board members, “ we maintain a strong community by organising activities where consultants have the opportunity to connect with each other.” The driven nature of SOLVE’s student consultants is evident through their alumni, who are all pursuing fruitful careers – many of them in consultancy. “Some [alumni] work for big consultancy companies such as EY, PWC, Deloitte, and others work for smaller organisations.” affirm the board members.
Suffice it to say, SOLVE Consulting is an all-encompassing stepping stone for students, guaranteeing both career and personal development. If you would like to gain experience in consultancy and work with motivated students from different study backgrounds, apply to become a student consultant for SOLVE by sending your CV, motivation letter, and grade list to hr.amsterdam@solve-consulting.nl before 7 October!
