Apply your new skills to real life

The Integrated Strategy Project (ISP) is one of the most important features of the Copenhagen MBA that engages you as an MBA candidate in a four-month journey in which you will collaborate with enterprises to tackle issues related to diverse real-world challenges. This is the highlight of the MBA in which all the knowledge gained will be put in practice. Under the guidance of our internationally recognised faculty and company executives, the ISP poses a unique opportunity to bring value to both MBA candidates and partner companies.

The ISP is structured in a five-phase approach to guarantee optimal outcome for both the project groups and partner companies.

Phase 1: Initial Analysis (May)

Phase 2: Industry Analysis - key factors for competitive success (June)

Phase 3: Company Analysis - company competitive position and alternatives (July)

Phase 4: Issue Identification and Analysis (August)

Phase 5: Recommendations and Implementation with final report (September)

Choose your ISP approach

As an MBA candidate you can choose between 2 different approaches for the ISP: an individual internship or a teamwork.

Teamwork:

• You are part of a team consisting of up to 4 of your MBA classmates
• You will conduct a strategy project for an international company based in Denmark/the Øresund region
• Your team will be supported by faculty and experienced executives during the entire project which will test your ability to utilize relevant theories, models, and methods
• You will identify a strategic problem in an organization, extract the relevant data, analyze, and structure the problem, and then present the solution in a brief and precise manner to the company you work with
• You will submit a 60-page final report together with your team and perform an individual oral exam at the end of the ISP and the MBA year

Internship:

• You can base your ISP on an internship sourced by you and approved by the MBA administration
• The internship will revolve around a strategic research question and performed individually
• You will have academic supervisors from the CBS faculty and a contact person in the company of your choice to formulate the initial problem statement as well as continuously develop concrete recommendations for the company
• You will submit a 30-page final report and perform an oral exam at the end of the ISP and the MBA year – both individually
• This option is especially valuable for MBA candidates who have a certain industry or company for their post-MBA career path in mind
• Especially our Alumni are a great source and starting point to network for (potential) ISP internships

Past ISP projects

More than 800 strategy projects have been completed over the years and CBS has positive working relationships with many companies in the region. Previous strategy projects include:

• A country-specific market entry strategy for a product developed by a pharmaceutical company.
• A viability analysis and execution plan for consolidating  global R&D centres into the headquarters.
• A product launch by a national agricultural supplier within an underdeveloped beverage category in Denmark.