Students have established a handful of new clubs at UNMC in the past year or so of interest to graduate students. These include the Bangladeshi Student Association, Bioinformatics Club, Harm Reduction Advocates, Muslim Student Association and UNMC Consulting Club. Please reach out if you have interest in any of these organizations.
Today, let’s learn more about the UNMC Consulting Club.
Consulting is potentially a rich career field for PhDs looking to specialize outside of academia. PhDs are prized for their ability to solve problems and, in consulting, to apply their scientific expertise to business challenges. A consulting club allows graduate students another opportunity to explore using their training in another way, and perhaps in a career field they had not previously considered.
Aaron Jensen, the club’s vice president of internal development and training, said other institutions have had similar consulting clubs for decades. These clubs have served as pipelines between PhD programs and industry.
Liz Bierlein, club vice president of communications and outreach, has already secured a consulting position at a life sciences company thanks to her UNMC training — and, in part, to her hands-on experience through the Consulting Club.
Jensen credits club president Suyash Deodhar, PhD, now a scientist at Bristol Myers Squibb, with coming up with the idea for the club. Keshore Bidasee, PhD, professor of pharmacology and experimental neuroscience, signed on as faculty advisor. The concept was unfamiliar at first, Jensen said, but when explained, a UNMC Consulting Club made a lot of sense.
While they appreciated career development programs and presentations, students and faculty realized there was an unfilled need within graduate studies for more emphasis on consultation as a potential career track.
UNMC Graduate Studies agreed, giving the club and its members consulting work. The club does work on “mock” or sample problems. But UNMC Graduate Studies has engaged the club in a real consulting project on how graduate studies can better engage students in peer mentoring, said Karen Gould, PhD, assistant dean for graduate student success.
The club invites projects from other UNMC entities on a pro bono basis, Bierlein said.
The club has about 50 members with about 10 “regulars,” Jensen said. Interested students are welcome to take part as their time or interest allows. They need not be interested in consulting as a career – or they can use the club as an opportunity to see if they are interested or not.
Whatever your career path, the club offers opportunities for project experience, which may prove beneficial, leaders said.