Marketing Fellowship and New Consortium Will Help Create Academic Corporate Partnerships and Develop Consumer Behavior Research
Real-world projects provide the base for an accomplished MBA education at the Jenkins Graduate School of Management in the NC State University Poole College of Management. The program continues to build a strong reputation with projects in supply chain management, entrepreneurship and biosciences. Catering to this trend, Jenkins is launching a new Consumer Innovation Consortium to extend marketing research from the Jenkins MBA program with a focus on consumer behavior. Additionally, Jenkins will be offering a marketing fellowship beginning August 2012.
Langdon Distinguished Professor of Marketing, Dr. Stacy Wood, is behind these efforts and says the Consumer Innovation Consortium will be an academic-corporate partnership serving to “disseminate cutting-edge consumer research knowledge and develop new insights through research partnerships.” The selected fellow will help develop the consortium by offering Dr. Wood additional research support. “Our hopes are this will provide a new generation of uniquely trained business graduates who combine strategic consumer behavior knowledge with innovative research techniques,” she says.
What Jenkins Looks For
Currently one marketing fellowship is being offered with applications becoming open in the spring and with hopes of additional fellowships offered in the following year. Candidates can come from a variety of backgrounds (not necessarily marketing), but must be dedicated to an understanding of consumer-centric processes, she says. "The fellow must be a full-time enrolled student in their first or second year of their MBA studies. They should combine creativity and initiative with a strong knowledge of consumer behavior."
Associate Dean Steve Allen says the new consortium and fellowship are part of a series of efforts to expand the Jenkins MBA programs marketing concentration. While it is too early to offer any details currently, he says marketing is a growing area of interest for Jenkins, in addition to its technology, supply chain and finance focus. “We are excited about this new fellowship and consortium and know that partnering with local and national corporations will deliver excellent knowledge and insights into consumer behavior. This will benefit our students, faculty and, hopefully, local businesses too.”
Details about the consortium are in process. Those interested in applying for this fellowship should contact Jen Arthur, assistant director of the MBA program.
Debbi McCullough contributed to this article.