The Flagship Enterprise Center (FEC) has provided $20,000 to fund the 2009-2010 Anderson University Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) Consulting Program. Now in its sixth year, the consulting program pairs teams of students with local businesses over the period of several months to aid the companies in the areas of marketing, accounting, web design, and more.
Each year, five teams of five SIFE students work with growing local businesses housed in both the FEC and Anderson Business Incubator. Senior Michael Parker, SIFE’s Vice President for Entrepreneurial Impact, says that the partnership between students and local businesses has had truly outstanding results in the past.
“In working with local companies,” he notes, “we get the opportunity to influence community business decisions, improving and expanding local businesses to have a very real impact on the economy of Madison County.” Parker continues, “The projects we work on are often those that a small company may have too few resources to do by themselves, so having SIFE consulting as a resource is crucial for the timely growth of these businesses.”
DeWayne Landwehr, Executive Director of the FEC, has seen the success of SIFE Consulting in the past. “This is one of those relationships that just works for everyone,” says Landwehr. “The students gain some real-world experience working with a company that has a legitimate issue or problem that needs resolution, and the company wins because the teams develop a workable solution that solves their problem.”
Landwehr adds the program’s influence extends beyond those directly involved. “The Flagship benefits because we are able to help our client,” he explains, “and the community benefits because these exercises result in better health for up and coming businesses. It doesn’t get any better than this.”
Looking over the next year, Parker is excited about the consulting program’s potential for success. “We have retooled the structure of the consulting program to provide an enormous amount of incentive for students to perform well on their projects,” Parker explains. “Our teams are specially designed for each project with the companies, giving our program a high degree of quality and professionalism. I am very optimistic about this coming year,” he concludes, “I expect it will be one of the best to date.”
Anderson University is a private Christian university of 2,800 undergraduate and graduate students in central Indiana. Anderson continues to be recognized as a top Christian college: in 2008, U.S. News and World Report ranked Anderson University among the best colleges and universities in the Midwest for the fourth consecutive year. Established in 1917 by the Church of God, Anderson University offers more than 65 undergraduate majors and graduate programs in business, education, music, nursing and theology. Falls School of Business is one of Anderson University’s largest academic departments offering eight undergraduate majors as well as MBA and DBA programs. The school is accredited by the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) and is a member of the Christian Business Faculty Association (CBFA).
