Sadegh is a 5th year PhD candidate in the Engineering Systems and Environment Department at the University's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. His dissertation research on environmental policymaking tries to understand how different policies could address climate risk.
Sadegh participated in PhD Plus Consulting and Science Policy modules. Sadegh is a Co-VP of Projects in the Graduate Consulting Club at UVA. Over the summer, Sadegh participated in the Propel program, UVA's new project-based learning program designed to gain valuable skills and solve real-world problems for clients. PhD Plus supported the program, primarily for experiential learning of graduate students towards career preparation in Consulting.
Q. What are your career aspirations?
After my PhD, I am interested in careers in management consulting or a related field.
Q. Please summarize your experience in the Propel program of project-based learning.
I wanted to experience a real-world case with other students with different backgrounds, who are interested in consulting. Propel provided the opportunity to participate in team-based projects sourced through employer partners and local Charlottesville start-ups. My team had five members, comprising one PhD student and four undergraduate students, and we received mentoring from an alumni project coach. The project challenge was two weeks long and concluded with a capstone presentation presented to a panel of judges comprised of employer partners and alumni.
It was an exciting experience; our case was about a digital roadmap for Fluvanna county, which is very relevant to the COVID situation. The county administration wanted to help local businesses go online, and they looked towards us for recommendations. Like me, my undergraduate teammates did not have a consulting background and wanted to gain an understanding. We had a lot of fun brainstorming over those two weeks. My team was excellent in critiquing ideas, delegating, and giving feedback to each other. The diversity of educational backgrounds and skills provided an advantage to our team. For example, one member was good at graphic design and led the presented solution's visual prototype. My prior experience in financial analysis enabled us to propose a sustainable business model, which judges appreciated. Finally, we had a generous mentor who helped us select the best idea and improve our presentation. Consequently, our presentation was chosen as the winner, making the team remember this experience with pride.
Q. What professional skills did you develop through this experience?
For me, the Propel experience was instructive in effective communication and leadership. In the beginning, I took the lead in initiating the work. As we progressed, another team member took up the leadership role as she was interested, hardworking, and invested in that phase. That said, we democratically made every decision, and I admire that we could resolve our differences through constructive conversations, research, and analysis.
Q. How has this project-based experiential learning assisted in your career development and planning?
I included this experience in my CV as demonstrated experience in consulting, as I believe it was a two-week management consulting work. It's a remarkable return on investment. For instance, I spent maybe five hours a day on the project- development, progress, and success. The leadership and collaboration experiences were excellent outcomes that will help me in my future career.
Q. What advice would you give your peers on utilizing PhD Plus project-based learning and other experiential learning opportunities for career development?
I would strongly recommend project-based learning to anybody who wants to learn about consulting work or those interested in consulting as a possible career. It is a valuable experience over mere two weeks, which is not a big commitment. Being partnered with people with different backgrounds is an essential aspect of the program that reflects the "real world" beyond academia. The program provides you with a fun and constructive opportunity to work with people outside of your program.