Market Research
Supervised teamwork as real-life student consulting project 2 with full-time students from January to June or
as supervised teamwork with part-time students and more in-depth analysis of the client’s business from March to November
Market research is an indispensable tool for providing reliable information on which to base decisions. With a real-life student consulting project in Market Research, you can obtain valuable information about your markets, customers, products or employees.
Possible project content in business administration
The project objectives are defined in advance by the WTT and the client in accordance with the client's specific requirements.
- Market analysis
size, development, forecasts, distribution, penetration, drivers, barriers, potential - Competition analysis
key players, market shares, strengths/weaknesses, business models, profiles, USPs, strategies - (Target) customer analyses
profiles, sectors, expectations, requirements, price acceptance, perception, satisfaction - Trend analysis
megatrends, socio-cultural profiles, technology scouting, substitute products - Sales analyses
sales concepts, distribution channels, sales services, service models - Image and brand analysis
products, services, brands, companies - Employee satisfaction analysis
- Sustainability analysis
Possible project content in business information technology
The project objectives are defined in advance by the WTT and the clients in accordance with the client's specific requirements.
Requirements analysis for information systems
- Determine functional requirements and derive user stories (use case diagrams, class diagrams, user stories, requirement catalogs)
- Derive and describe non-functional requirements (such as reliability, usability, etc.) and transfer them to consistent requirement diagrams
- Set up prototyping with tool support (GUI mockups)
Business process analysis
- Record business processes (using surveys, observation or artifacts) and model them with BPMN
- Recognize weak points and optimization potential in business processes and suggest improvement measures.
Possible project content in Artificial Intelligence
Projects related to Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be worked on in interdisciplinary teams made up of students of business administration, business informatics, computer science, systems engineering and / or electrical engineering. At the same time, classic market research is being worked out and an AI functional model is being developed. The project objectives are defined in advance by the WTT and the clients in accordance with the client's specific requirements.
- Computer vision
Conception and development of camera-based systems such as optical quality inspection, robotics, etc. - Natural Language Processing
Conception and development of chatbots, speech and text analysis, etc. - Data science
Analysis, visualization and evaluation of data, data-based decision-making, quantitative finance, forecasting, recommender systems, etc. - Industry 4.0 / Internet of Things (IoT)
Automatic analysis of collected machine data to increase production / quality monitoring / condition monitoring and predictive maintenance, etc.
Factsheet
Real-life student consulting project PPR2 (full-time)
Student input
- Team members: 4-6 students
- Total commitment: approx. 800 hours
- Full-time students in semester: 4th semester
Lecturer input
- Group seminars: -
- Project coach: 50 hours
- Statistics coach: 7 hours
- IT coach: 3 hours
Result
- Final report: 60 pages, plus management summary and appendices
- PR report
- Final presentation: on client’s premises
- Confidentiality: all data belong to the client and are treated confidentially
- Language: German
Fixed dates
- Start: End of January
- End: Mid-June
- Duration: 17 weeks (alongside lectures)
WTT YOUNG LEADER AWARD
- Nomination: possible
Costs
- Flat rate: CHF 8,500 (excl. VAT) payable to the WTT
- Expenses: approx. CHF 1,500 (as incurred) payable to students
Real-life student consulting project PPBB (part-time)
Student input
- Team members: 4-6 students
- Total commitment: approx. 1,200 hours
- Part-time students in semester: 4th and 5th semester
Lecturer input
- Group seminars: 14 hours
- Project coach: 60 hours
- Statistics coach: 7 hours
- IT coach: 4 hours
Result
- Final report: 90 pages, plus management summary and appendices
- PR report
- Final presentation: on client’s premises
- Confidentiality: all data belong to the client and are treated confidentially
- Language: German
Fixed dates
- Start: Beginning of March
- End: End of November
- Duration: 39 weeks (alongside lectures and work)
WTT YOUNG LEADER AWARD
- Nomination: possible
Costs
- Flat rate: CHF 8,500 (excl. VAT) payable to the WTT
- Expenses: approx. CHF 1,500 (as incurred) payable to students
Project scope Market research PPR2 and PPBB
- Detailed primary and secondary analyses
in the Swiss market and in other German-speaking countries - Research design
methodical plan of action with specific definition of research objectives, target groups, survey methods, research content, etc. - Market surveys
field-based with population size (N) up to three digits and using online tools,
desk-based with detailed research - Analysis
collected data are first analysed with professional tools and then interpreted - Conclusions and recommendations
conclusions and recommendations with direct practical application are derived from the analysis findings
Supplementary component in PPBB: business analytics elements
For greater depth on the Market Research assignment, relevant, specifically selected business analytics elements are covered with reference to «KMU*STAR» by Lombriser Roman et al.
- Situation analysis
relevant topics are selected from the following: History, business concept, products/markets (strategic business units), business development, competitive position, skills/resources for all corporate functions, financials/results - Outlook analysis
relevant topics are selected from the following: general trends, plans made, market development, success factors, development of competition, business potential, skills/resource requirements - SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats)
derived from market research and elements covered in the situation and outlook analysis - Optional strategic directions
derived from market research, elements covered in the situation and outlook analysis and SWOT - Program of operational measures
shows how directions can be implemented at operational level
Suitable for
Businesses of all sizes and from all sectors in Switzerland and in the international Lake Constance region, public institutions and NGOs.
This real-life student consulting project forms an important basis for optimizing the existing market development concept for young customers. Based on well-founded analyzes the project team suggested effective measures. A valuable project with a dedicated team.
Nathalie Schmied, Leiterin Werbung und Promotion St.Galler Kantonalbank AG, St.Gallen

Interested?
We will be happy to discuss your requirements or ideas for a real-life student consulting project, as well as the different options available to you.