I teach a M.Sc. class called “business development and innovation management”, and challenge students to write Harvard-style cases about real companies experiencing issues within these areas. The results are always fun and provide learning opportunities for the students: You may not provide the answer for the company, but you get a chance to really learn about one company or one industry and dive into the complexities and intricacies of their situation. That knowledge, in itself is valuable when you are hitting the job market.

Here is a (fairly anonymized) list of this year’s papers:

• disruption in the analytics industry: One group is studying SAS Institute and how their closed software and architecture model is being challenged by open-source developments
• disruption in the consulting industry: One group wants to study a small consulting company and how they should market some newly developed software that allows for automated, low-cost analysis
• establishing a crypto-currency exchange: One group wants to study strategies for establishing a payment and exchange service for crypto-currencies
• marketing RPA through a law firm: One group wants to study how a large law firm can market their internal capabilities for RPA (robotics process automation) in an external context
• fast access to emergency services: One group wants to write a case on Smarthelp and how that service can be spread and marketed in a wider context
• using technology to manage sports club sponsorship: One group wants to study how to develop strategy for a startup company that helps participation sports clubs with gain corporate sponsorships
• electronic commerce and innovation in the agricultural equipment sector: One group wants to study how a vendor of farm equipment and supplies can extend their market and increase their innovative capability through ecommerce and other digital initiatives
• machine learning in Indian banking: One group wants to study how machine learning could be used to detect money laundering in a large Indian bank
• social media analysis in consumer lending: One group wants to study an Indian startup company that uses digital indicators from users’ online behavior to facilitate consumer financing for online purchases

Al in all, a fairly diverse set of papers – I am looking forward to reading them.