Wharton class involves real-world field projects

Some students don’t enter a classroom for class. Instead, they work with the United Nations or design buildings in Abu Dhabi.

Students in Management 353 — called the Wharton Field Challenge — participate in team projects for existing companies and groups, applying knowledge and skill sets acquired from Wharton core classes.

Those enrolled in the course participate in one of six projects employing business-related skills in a particular field throughout the semester. At the end of the semester, students give a presentation about their field work.

According to the class’s faculty coordinator Keith Weigelt, a Management professor, the program originally began only for MBAs 15 years ago. The class was established in its current form three years ago because then-Wharton Vice Dean Barbara Kahn wanted to offer a complementary version at the undergraduate level.

In one project, students teach basic financial literacy and entrepreneurship skills in West Philadelphia high schools. The curriculum, which was created entirely by Penn students, uses Johnny Money, a game developed by Management Professor Ian MacMillan.

Wharton senior Matt Westerlund, who is the project’s team leader, is training groups in other universities to launch the program.

“Because the game is interactive and dynamic, … students enjoy playing the game, which is really unique for a teaching tool,” he said.

Johnny Money will be “useful and increase the employability” of students from substandard public schools, MacMillan added.

Another project for this semester is designing and marketing an “extreme” hotel in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. College and Wharton junior Yuqing Fan chose to participate in this project because she wanted “a learning experience that I could shape for myself” — one that cannot be “learned from a book,” she said.

The team, which includes graduate students studying architecture, is working to devise a plan that is “extreme and unlike anything else that is already [in Abu Dhabi],” explained Fan.

“We have control over all aspects of the project,” from modeling the hotel rooms to computing the costs, said Wharton senior Erin Godines, another team member, adding, “It is nice as a Wharton student to be able to work … on a project with as much creative work as there is quantitative work.”

Another group is working with the UN to update a survey for 5,000 firms in seven languages, while still another is helping WIN Products expand the market for its detergent products in Europe.

According to Weigelt, different companies and businesses approach him, and the ones that students find “most interesting,” which are often related to the media and generate a social impact are chosen.

Only juniors and seniors can participate. Students are chosen based on a selective application process, which asks for resume, core grades and a statement of interest.

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