Consulting project brings rewards for students and businesses

When masters student Camille Ouano set out to do a consultancy project at Auckland-based company Delta Insurance, she wasn’t sure what to expect – but the experience proved to be a fun and a valuable opportunity to enrich her studies in the Master of Business Analytics (MBusAn) programme.

“It was very fulfilling,” Camille says of her ten-week stint embedded in the Delta Insurance team, alongside her fellow student Nikita Parmar.

“The team were approachable and made things easy to comprehend, and we had a supervisor who guided us along the way with full support and understanding.”

Being part of a small two-person team meant they had to collaborate closely with the company, says Nikita.

“Delta went above and beyond in ensuring that we had all the information we needed whilst also answering any and all questions we had throughout the ten weeks.

“As someone with no background in insurance it was also very enjoyable to learn about the insurance industry and adapt to the terminology and processes as we made data-driven decisions. This was made easier with Delta’s consistent support.”

Camille and Nikita worked primarily with Gary van Zijl, Data Analytics Manager, and Miranda Cook, Head of Marketing at Delta Insurance, in their project. Over the course of the ten weeks, with the project’s scope shifting multiple times, the students had to be agile and adaptable to meet both the company’s objectives and the requirements for their assessment.

Their hard work eventually paid off, culminating in a final presentation that wowed the Delta team.

“We came away with a really strong set of technical and market recommendations which we found incredibly helpful and insightful. We gained some quality insights in terms of the analysis they did,” says Gary.

Above all, the team at Delta valued the fresh thinking Camille and Nikita were able to bring as newcomers to the insurance industry.

“We’re all about embracing change, it’s part of our brand, so we look externally for that. The students raised a few interesting challenges in terms of how we look at our models and data internally, which is great,” says Gary.

Having this diversity of thought was crucial, agrees Adriana de Souza, the company’s Marketing and Communications Specialist.

“Delta’s vision is to be different, to embrace change and take a fresh approach, so it was the perfect partnership.”

Aldrich Rasco oversaw the project as Camille and Nikita’s academic supervisor. He counts the students’ final presentation as the biggest highlight of the whole experience.

“This was the time with the utmost pressure, but it was so rewarding to see all the hard work blossom in week ten. Seeing Delta Insurance and the University staff fully impressed with the quality of work achieved was also a highlight, and encouraging for me as a supervisor.”

Now that the project is over, Gary says they’re already keen to take up the next one.

“We really enjoyed the process, the people, the structure the University provided and the ideas. We got such a good amount of value out of it, we’d love to do it again.”

For their part, Camille says the project provided a meaningful “closing touch” to her studies.

“We went through all that hard work learning those things and finally being able to apply it in a business setting, meeting expectations from stakeholders, was certainly a great experience.”

The programme was challenging, but this ultimately led to great rewards, says Nikita.

“It encouraged me to learn skills I would have otherwise thought to be too difficult, and allowed me to push myself and aim high. Although compact, the MBusAn teaches you a very well-rounded set of skills that I will certainly be taking with me into the workforce.”