Article by Alan Lombardi, UG ‘07

Babson's prestigious J-MCFE (Joint Management Consulting Field Experience) has taken six students to St. Gallen, Switzerland. Among them were five seniors (Maria Orejuela, Gregory Neufeld, Nils Seebach, Alina Muzykina, and Matthew Brenninkmeijer) and one Junior (Alan Lombardi). While in Switzerland, the students were able to participate in activities such as an intercultural exchange, a tour of St. Gallen and the town of Appenzell, snow skiing, and of course, consulting with the respective sponsor companies, Trafag, and Kunzler Bachmann AG. Rosemary Casey, program manager for the JMCFE Program, traveled with the students to St. Gallen, where they explored the city's famous cathedral and the oldest standing library in the world. The trip started on January 17, when the Babson students met with their student counterparts at the St. Gallen University of Applied Sciences, better known as FHS. The six Swiss students each hosted one of the American students in their homes.

Staying with the Swiss students was a unique experience. We were able to learn about their culture and try typical dishes while living with them. In the middle of the week, we focused heavily on working within our project teams. My group is working for Trafag, a sensors and controls company located just 15 minutes outside of Zurich. We met with the company's CEO and vice president of sales to better understand the scope of the project. We will work to find a market penetration strategy into the United States for their Swiss products (pressure switches and transmitters). Finding the feasibility of this market penetration in such a competitive business world will be very challenging, but the Babson and Swiss students are ready and looking forward to taking on the challenge! Both teams will work in their respective projects throughout the semester, which will conclude with final presentations in April. The Swiss students will travel to Boston the second week of April to complete final presentation preparations with the Babson students. Furthermore, the top executives of the company also will gather in Boston to evaluate the findings of the student consultants.

Being in Switzerland for one week was an unforgettable experience. This project has allowed me and the rest of my teammates to really understand more about the Swiss culture. Meeting our counterpart team and performing adventurous activities also has created bonds between all of us, which I strongly believe will allow us to work better in this project. I am looking forward to it, and the last thing I can say is that I strongly recommend the J-MCFE program to every student in Babson, even if consulting is not your desired field.