Magelli Office of Experiential Learning
Experience matters. And at Gies, we have some of the most experienced students with well-developed, business-ready skills. It’s because we’ve integrated experiential learning throughout our undergraduate and graduate programs. Experience working with clients means students graduate more prepared for the real world, more prepared to add value from day one, and more prepared to succeed in their careers.
Real-world learning is in our DNA
If you want a hands-on education where you graduate with a diploma and a resume, Gies is the right place for you. Gies College of Business does hands-on learning better than any other business school. As a student, you have opportunities to get real-world work experiences both inside and outside the classroom. Click below to learn more about our programs.
Action Learning
Project-based action learning courses bring education alive, and we have intentionally woven that experience throughout our undergraduate and graduate curriculum. Working with more than 200 companies each year, Gies does action learning at a bigger scale than anyone in America. Students apply classroom learning to solve real problems for real businesses, deepening their understanding. All our undergraduate students take Business in Action (B301) — the largest experiential learning course in the nation — ensuring every Gies graduate participates in an action learning project. Action learning courses are also integrated into most graduate-level programs.
Illinois Business Consulting
As the nation’s largest student-run professionally managed university consultancy, Illinois Business Consulting (IBC) provides students with real-world, project-based experience. IBC is open to all majors and degree levels across campus. Clients have access to an experienced, interdisciplinary team of students who can deliver maximum results for their business.
Illinois Design Consulting
Using a human-centered design approach, Illinois Design Consulting (IDC) provides students with real-world project opportunities while helping clients solve design challenges and identify opportunity areas for impact. IDC conducts 20+ projects each year with companies and organizations ranging from Fortune 500 to startups and nonprofits.
EntreCORPS
EntreCORPS is a student-based, pro-bono consulting firm that provides startups with innovative, strategic, research-backed business advice under professional guidance. Student consultants create high-impact, entrepreneurial solutions for clients ranging from early-stage ventures to innovation-driving groups within companies. EntreCORPS is open to all majors and degree levels across campus.
Client partnerships are a win-win for students and clients
Not only are the real-world experiences valuable for every Gies student, our clients also see tangible benefits for their businesses. Companies of all sizes can tap into a talented student team to solve business challenges or explore new opportunities for growth.
Interested in working with our students? Visit our webpage for corporate partners.
Leading the way through the LX Consortium
The Magelli Office spearheads an experiential learning consortium with more than 70 universities. Gies Business is nationally recognized as a pioneer in experiential learning, and we use that platform to offer thought leadership and best practices to other schools looking to enhance opportunities for their students. Learn more.
About Paul J. Magelli
The Magelli Office of Experiential Learning honors longtime faculty member, mentor, and friend Paul J. Magelli. Paul earned three economics degrees from the University Illinois - a bachelor’s in 1959, master’s in 1960, and PhD in 1965. He then returned to work at the university in various capacities from 1989 until his death in 2016 at age 85. Paul served as an assistant dean of the MBA program, assistant dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, associate dean and director of budgets, and visiting professor of economics. Under his leadership, the College established the Office for the Study of Business Issues in 1995, which later became Illinois Business Consulting (IBC). In 2004, Paul Magelli was instrumental in establishing what has become the Origin Ventures Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership, another initiative that builds on the College’s commitment to experiential learning through real-world entrepreneurial opportunities.