By Lacie Blankenship
Vanderbilt Business is excited to announce that Nissan and Daily Crunch will be project partners for the 2022 Accelerator® Summer Business Immersion. The third 2022 Accelerator partner, an American retail chain with thousands of stores, will be revealed at the program kickoff.
“Our project partners are working now to refine their challenges to the students and prepare research to get them off to a quick start,” says Cherrie Wilkerson, Assistant Dean for Young Professional Programs, Professor of the Practice of Management, and MSF Program Director. “We are thrilled to have such great partners with renowned brand names who value the creative, problem-solving approach of Accelerator.”
Accelerator participants work in a collaborative environment to create business solutions to challenges presented by the partners. The program fosters a close-knit community with opportunities for individualized career coaching, leadership development, and access to world-class faculty.
The 3-week summer program is intended to give participants an experience comparable to multiple internships. Accelerator begins with clients presenting a project brief for participants to research and develop deliverables. Participants receive feedback and guidance from project coaches throughout the program before presenting their original solutions to the clients. The program concludes with the clients selecting a winning team and implementing their ideas and strategies.
“Accelerator is an immersive experience that shows participants how to put to use years of academic learnings to solve real-world problems for actual clients,” says Jonathan Holston (MBA’17), Engagement Manager at SBI Growth Advisory and former Accelerator Coach. “It’s often referred to as a mini-MBA.”
Accelerator will return to in-person format for summer 2022 from June 5th through June 25th. The program is designed for college students and recent graduates interested in gaining business experience with real consulting projects and career preparation.
Applicants must have completed at least one year of college, be currently enrolled as an undergraduate student, or be within 2 years post-graduation. Applications require an academic transcript, resume, letter of recommendation, statement of purpose, and video question response.
The final deadline to apply for Accelerator Summer Business Immersion 2022 is Sunday, April 3rd.
