GRA 8525 Consultancy Project

GRA 8525 Consultancy Project

Course code: 
GRA 8525
Department: 
Strategy and Entrepreneurship
Credits: 
30
Course coordinator: 
Lars Huemer
Course name in Norwegian: 
Consultancy Project
Product category: 
Executive
Portfolio: 
EMME - EMM specialisation in Energy
Semester: 
2026 Spring
Active status: 
Active
Level of study: 
Master
Teaching language: 
English
Course type: 
Two semesters
Introduction

This course is part of the Executive Master of Management in Energy in cooperation with BI Norwegian Business School and IFP School.

The consultancy project is an integral part of the Executive Master of Management in Energy (EMME) curriculum intended to allow participants to apply the knowledge and skills acquired during the program in a real-life business, organizational or political situation. The Consultancy Project is commissioned by a company, an organization, or a public authority to address a challenge or problem which it faces.
The subject should in most cases be provided by a company, an organization or a public authority and approved by the faculty coordinators in the EMME Program. The project is usually supervised by a company, organizational or institutional representative who ensures that the project is relevant to their practices, as well as by a professor (supervisor) from one of the institutions (BI or IFP) whose role is to validate the theoretical and methodological quality

Learning outcomes - Knowledge
  • The candidates will acquire the knowledge of writing a scientifically and research based consultancy report utilizing theories and methodologies presented during the EMME programme.
  • The students are developing the knowledge on how to provide concrete advice and recommendations on problemsolving of  real-life strategic economic or political managerial problem/challenge relevant to an organization in the ecosystem.
  • The graduates will acquire knowledge on utilising the impact of digitalisation on project and business performance and mastering the demand for sustainability and doing energy business in an international environment.
  • The students will acquire knowledge necessary for being qualified to enter key management positions in the energy industry for shaping the future in the respective energy segments.
Learning outcomes - Skills
  • The candidates shall develop skills on how to address the challenges/ or solve problems at the desired professional level in the energy ecosystem .
  • The candidates shall follow recommended practices on how to produce an evidence based consultancy report, and demonstrate skills related to either sustainable, international and/or digital dimensions  
  • The candidates shall being able of analysing complex management issues in the ecosystems 
  • The candidates shall develop skills of making critical management decisions in the respective industry segments within the ecosystems 
General Competence
  • The candidates shall be able to critically and independently review actions necessary for the green energy transition.  
  • The candidates will be able contributors to the future ecosystems 
  • The candidates shall be capable to be an acknowledged contributor in the public debate of the future in the energy business with volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity.
Course content

Year I 

Module 1 – March (Oslo)

  • Introductory lecture and workshop on consultancy projcets  

Module 2 – September (Paris)

  • First presentation of ideas for consultancy projects, and workshop to develop them towards clear proposals
  • Contact with consultancy project supervisors 

Module 3 – November (Oslo/)

  • Refinement of consultancy propposals, workshop to consolidate method and analytical framing.
  • Approval of consultancy project theme and supervisor 

Supervision by assigned supervisors (November-March) 

Year II

Module 4 – March (Paris)

  • Project Coaching 

Supervision by assigned supervisors (March-May) 
 

Module 5 – May (Oslo)

  • Early stage consultancy project issues: concepts, methodos, relevance etc. Workshop and presenations to refine analysis  

Supervision by assigned supervisors (May – September)

Teaching and learning activities

Attendance of all sessions in the course is compulsory. Students who must miss part(s) of the course have to ask for leave of absence in advance. More than 25% absence in a course will require retaking the entire course. It's the student's own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class that is not included on the course homepage/ It's learning or other course materials.

The team of maximum 4 students shall submit a report equivalent to a professional consultancy report, with recommendations that provides grounds for strategic or managerial decisions. The report shall explicitly present and justify the theoretical/conceptual basis for the work as well as the methodological approach taken. It shall have a clear problem formulation, a stringent structure and a well written argument.

The length of the project is one year (September to September). The logistic and financial terms related to the project are to be negotiated between the company / organization / institution and the participants.  

The report should be of approximately. 40-50 pages in length, including a 1-3 pages executive summary and excluding appendixes.  

The work with the consultancy project will be supported by lectures, workshops and discussions in four of the course modules as outlined below. This comes in addition to guidance from the individual supervisor. 

The consultancy project should include the assessment of the impact of digitalisation on business performance, how the work may contribute to sustainability and the consequences of an international environment for business and projects in the energy sector 

The consultancy project should be handed in via It's learning and will then be distributed to the faculty advisor (internal examiner) and an external examiner. The project should also be delivered to the company/organization in the form of a final consultancy report and a presentation.

Each consultancy project group will be evaluated by an assessment of the quality of the consultancy project report and an oral presentation in front of a jury composing of the company/organization representative (voluntary), the advisor and an external examiner.

Each group will have a total time of 45 minutes to present their project.
- Presentation: approximately 20 minutes
- Questions: approximately 25 minutes

Attendance:
- All group members
- The company / organization / authority representative (voluntary), the BI and/or IFP supervisor + a co-grader from the other school.

The group decide themselves who will be presenting the report, however, it is strongly recommended that all members of group take some part in their presentation. All group members must be prepared to answer questions from the examiners. Slides should be with the logo/mask of the IFP & BI.

In special cases the report may be confidential with only the supervisor and the co-grader having access.

The course is a part of a full Executive Master of Management in Energy (EMME) and examination in all courses must be passed in order to obtain a certificate.

In all BI Executive courses and programmes, there is a mutual requirement  
for the student and the course responsible regarding the involvement of the student's experience in the planning and implementation of courses, modules and programmes. This means that the student has the right and duty to get involved with their own knowledge and practice relevance, through the active sharing of their relevant experience and knowledge.

Software tools
No specified computer-based tools are required.
Qualifications

Granted admission to the Executive Master of Management in Energy programme.

Disclaimer

Deviations in teaching and exams may occur if external conditions or unforeseen events call for this.

Assessments
Assessments
Exam category: 
Submission
Form of assessment: 
Submission PDF
Exam/hand-in semester: 
Second Semester
Weight: 
70
Grouping: 
Group (3 - 4)
Duration: 
2 Semester(s)
Comment: 
Consultancy report, counting 70% of the final grade.
Exam code: 
GRA 85251
Grading scale: 
ECTS
Resit: 
Examination when next scheduled course
Exam category: 
Activity, Oral
Form of assessment: 
Presentation
Exam/hand-in semester: 
Second Semester
Weight: 
30
Grouping: 
Group (3 - 4)
Comment: 
Oral presentation, counting 30% of the final grade.
Exam code: 
GRA 85252
Grading scale: 
ECTS
Resit: 
Examination when next scheduled course
Type of Assessment: 
Ordinary examination
All exams must be passed to get a grade in this course.
Total weight: 
100
Student workload
ActivityDurationComment
Teaching
6 Hour(s)
Feedback activities and counselling
2 Hour(s)
Tutorials
Group work / Assignments
792 Hour(s)
Preparation of Consultancy Project
Sum workload: 
800

A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 30 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of at least 800 hours.