College students and recent graduates from across the country converged on the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management for an intensive month-long business boot camp. The goal of the Accelerator Summer Business Institute is to offer an action-packed immersion into all areas of business, such as marketing, finance, real estate and corporate strategy.

Students worked with top local and national companies in a competitive team structure to develop the skills they need to excel in the business world and land a meaningful job or internship.

Some of the projects included:
o       Create a redevelopment plan for a high-profile, 12-acre former industrial site in downtown Nashville in partnership with architecture, engineering and interior design firm Gresham, Smith and Partners
o       Design an innovative new iPhone accessory for Griffin Technologies, one of the world’s largest providers of accessories for personal computing and digital media
o       Create a way to effectively communicate Bridgestone’s “green” initiatives such as their environmental and outdoor habitat programs
o       Work with American Airlines to design and implement a new program to increase interest from small business travelers
o       Partner with Humana, one of the nation’s largest health benefits companies, to design a Hispanic health care program for South Texas
o       Identify ways Kentucky Fried Chicken (a division of Yum! Brands) can appeal to the emerging millennial generation

Accelerator runs June 6 through July 3. For more information on Accelerator visit http://www.owen.vanderbilt.edu/accelerator.  To follow the progress of the Accelerator students and their projects, check out Accelerator faculty director Michael Burcham’s blog at http://accelerator2008.blogspot.com/.

Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management is ranked as a top institution by BusinessWeek, The Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report, Financial Times and Forbes. For more news about Owen, visit www.owen.vanderbilt.edu.
                                                                      

Contact:  Amy Wolf, (615) 322-NEWS
amy.wolf@vanderbilt.edu