On September 7, twenty people from 15 countries gathered online for the inaugural launch of The Center for Global Enterprise’s (CGE) Global Scholars Alpha Team to help The London Taxi Company (LTC) explore what the global taxi market will look like in 2025.
The CGE Alpha Team is a unique 6-week program where a team comprised of students, business professional, and university faculty collaborate to solve a real-world problem for a company sponsor. Over 250 individuals across 25 different countries applied to be a member of the first 20-person team, which includes 11 students, 5 business professionals, and 4 faculty members from across five continents. Twelve women and eight men who collectively speak 24 languages make up the team.
The Alpha Team meets for the project kickoff.
LTC, a leader in taxi manufacturing, most notably the iconic London Black Cab, is sponsoring the Alpha Team. Part of the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, with operations in the United Kingdom and China, LTC has asked Alpha Team members to develop a global perspective on three areas that will influence the future of the taxi industry: technology and business innovation, sustainability, and social purpose.
The project focus is especially relevant as new business models and technologies in the transportation sector are redefining mobility. Alpha Team members are learning this first-hand. They have been grouped into three sub-teams examining how the three focal points will be impacted by future market and economic dynamics. During the project, Alpha Team members connect with senior LTC officials via video meetings to discuss their progress.
Individual motivations to apply for the Alpha Team were varied and complimentary. One team member is an aspiring entrepreneur from Nepal who is leading a campaign to help rebuild a rural village that was devastated in an earthquake. He hopes to gain insights from different parts of the world in a new work setting. Another member from India wants to explore the social benefits of taxis given safety concerns for women travelers in her home country. Already, team members have expressed that the Alpha Team experience has provided them with an unparalleled opportunity to improve their business and communication skills.
Throughout the experience, which is free to all participants, team members receive guidance from experienced business leaders. Comparable to a digital internship, the Alpha Team enables individuals from diverse backgrounds to apply their knowledge to solve a real-world issue while simultaneously expanding their personal and professional contacts around the world. By the end of the project, the team will have produced a report that will help influence future company decisions. Several members of the team will travel to LTC headquarters to present key findings of their report to senior LTC leadership.
CGE’s Global Scholars program is a free, global, and open learning community that currently encompasses 80 universities from 59 different countries.
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