Few class projects deliver the kind of global impact that comes from those in David Ashley’s course. Ashley, an executive in residence at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, teaches a course that links undergraduate students with entrepreneurs in Africa and helps them grow their businesses. The projects are part of a first-of-its-kind partnership with a U.S. African Development Foundation program that supports young entrepreneurs in Africa.

Connecting smallholder farmers with low-income consumers creates a range of challenges for Stawi Foods, maker of instant fortified porridge in Kenya. A team of student consultants at the University of Maryland studied the case in spring 2019 and presented recommendations to company founder Eric Muthomi on May 9, 2019.

Thrust Consulting, an undergraduate team of engineering and business students, won the Most Outstanding Capstone award at the Quality Enhancement Systems and Teams (QUEST) Conference on May 3, 2018, at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. The team helped its client, GE subsidiary Middle River Aircraft Systems, boost production efficiency at its facilities in Middle River, Md. Smith School marketing student Philip Peker '18 provides the following summary of the conference:
Thrust Consulting, an undergraduate team of...

Victor Mullins, associate dean of the undergraduate program at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business, stays connected with Smith students – while they are undergraduates and after they have earned a degree and successfully completed the four-year Smith journey. Dean Mullins recently asked Rohan Bajaj '17 to discuss how­­ being a part of the Smith journey helped him. Rohan graduated in December 2017 with a finance degree. He's looking forward to joining Capital One as a financial analyst.