The event was developed to answer one question: “Have you ever wondered where else a STEM degree can take you?”
In Week 2 of Semester 2, UWA IET On Campus held its very first event in collaboration with UWA Consulting Society, 180 Degree Consulting WA and Ernst & Young.
The event was developed to answer one question: “Have you ever wondered where else a STEM degree can take you?”
Often many STEM students choose a career path that is aligned with their specific degree. As an engineering student myself, I used to think that engineering is the only way to go. However, STEM students tend to disregard the career possibilities in other sectors. One such rising trend is management consulting. The stigma is that you need a business degree to do business-related things. In Consulting, having a STEM degree actually provides the sought-after diversity in terms of background, experience and way of thinking that is essential in consulting projects.
We had EY Senior Advisory Consultant, Eric Li, come down to say a few words about his journey as an engineering student working in a firm most well-known for accounting. He, along with four other representatives from EY, proceeded to support the main segment of the event. The Guided Case Study was created and facilitated by UWA Consulting Society and 180 Degree Consulting and was designed to provide a simple, but typical example of consulting work.
The Profit-Loss case revolved around a decision to buy a patch of land to grow natural resources and how profitable said decisions are. In groups, students would work step-by-step with the help of facilitators with insights offered by the EY representatives to give a real-life flavour to the activity. I had many comments in the networking segment afterwards telling me that they’ve learnt something new and was interested in how STEM actually fits into consulting. In the end, it was the ability to deliver value to our audience that made this first event an extreme success in our books. And we extend our thanks to our collaborators who helped UWA IET take its first steps.
Gary Iwansantoso
Co-President
UWA IET On Campus
