Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q) offered a new opportunity for business administration students to learn and connect across continents. A new innovative consulting course brought together 12 students – six from the Qatar campus and six from the Pittsburgh campus – to collaborate on real-world projects with companies based in Doha.
The course was co-taught by Hussein Fadlallah, assistant teaching professor of management at CMU’s Qatar campus, and Oliver Hahl, associate dean of undergraduate programs and associate professor of organization theory, strategy and entrepreneurship at CMU’s Pittsburgh campus.
The course emphasized experiential learning and cross-cultural collaboration. Three student teams were each assigned a client who presented a business challenge. The teams developed recommendations and solutions and presented them at the end of the course.
Dudley Reynolds is the senior associate dean for education at CMU-Q. “Experiential learning courses like this one provide students the opportunity to apply their knowledge in a real-world context,” he said. “This is an integral part of the CMU learning experience, and I am so pleased to see students from both campuses working together on these projects.”
Oliver Hahl noted the unique opportunity that Carnegie Mellon offers students in business administration: “We can leverage our campus in Qatar to give students a truly global experience. Skills in cross-cultural communication are critical for today’s business leaders, and this course provides an excellent learning space for the students.”
The participating companies have operations in several countries, including Qatar. Students met in person with their clients in Qatar during the first week of the semester, and presented their solutions at the end of a final intensive week in Pittsburgh.
“The students are incredibly talented and motivated, and they delivered innovative and impactful solutions to their clients,” said Fadlallah. “We believe this model of global, collaborative learning will become increasingly important in preparing future business leaders.”
Business administration students at CMU-Q learn quantitative decision-making, Carnegie Mellon’s pioneering approach to undergraduate business education. CMU-Q also offers undergraduate programs in biological sciences, computer science, and information systems.
