Entrepreneurship Students from UD Showcase Innovations in Collaboration with Leading Global Company

The entrepreneurial students at the University of Dayton were afforded the unique opportunity to gain practical industry experience through a collaboration with Total Quality Logistics, a prominent third-party logistics company headquartered in Ohio. Their valuable contributions and innovative approaches made a lasting impression on the Total Quality Logistics team, laying the groundwork for a successful partnership.

Madeline Gregoire, a representative from Total Quality Logistics, noted the impressive dedication and thoroughness demonstrated by the students in supporting their recommendations with extensive data and research. Despite previous collaborations with other groups, the UD students managed to infuse their presentation with fresh and unique ideas, effectively setting themselves apart.

Enrolled in a capstone course, undergraduate students focused on strategic recommendations in areas such as international expansion, asset-based transformation, the potential of going public, and domestic growth. Grace Phelps, a standout leader, brought invaluable insights from her summer internship at a consulting firm in Chicago, greatly contributing to the team’s success.

Grace Phelps expressed her satisfaction in aligning the project with her career aspirations and highlighted the challenges and excitement of exploring an unknown industry, mirroring the consulting field’s corporate aspect. She emphasized the experience’s role in solidifying her passion for the work and the never-ending learning potential in every project.

The capstone course at UD traditionally involved projects with smaller companies, but the collaboration with a corporate giant prompted students to work in smaller teams, fostering a collective effort to deliver a comprehensive package by the semester’s end.

Vince Lewis, the executive director of UD’s L. William Crotty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership and a senior lecturer of strategy and entrepreneurship at the University, commended the collaboration for exposing students to the multifaceted challenges confronted by large, privately owned firms. He emphasized the importance of such culminating experiences in equipping UD entrepreneurship students with the essential skill set required to thrive in today’s competitive business landscape.

In conclusion, the partnership between UD’s entrepreneurial talent pool and Total Quality Logistics not only provided students with practical knowledge, but also underscored the critical role of academia-industry collaboration in nurturing the business leaders of tomorrow.