May 16, 2022
Nusenda Credit Union had the opportunity last week to host a team of students from Harvard Business School in Albuquerque for one week as part of a course called the FIELD Immersion. Nusenda was one of 171 FIELD Immersion Project Partners spanning 15 cities across 15 states. Together, these partners combined to host more than 1,000 Harvard Business School students in all.
Throughout the week, the students along with leadership from Nusenda are exploring solutions surrounding small business lending. “Nusenda is proud to be working with Harvard Business School to provide these students with real-world experience here in New Mexico,” said Sara Keller, Vice President of Community Engagement. “Our Credit Union continues to support programs that foster economic opportunity for everyone, and we were happy to collaborate with these students on such an important topic.”
The FIELD Immersion is a course designed to strengthen and develop students’ ability to manage and operate effectively in a variety of business contexts. Nusenda executives had been working with the team remotely in the months leading up to their arrival. While here, the students pitched their ideas to the leadership team, conducted field research with consumers around Albuquerque and presented their final recommendations to management. The purpose of this immersive experience is to provide students with the opportunity to “learn by doing” through the challenge of introducing a new product, service or customer experience for their Partner company. This requires students to also focus on building contextual intelligence and team effectiveness skills while delivering value in an unfamiliar context.
Harvard is quick to acknowledge that this important learning experience would not be possible without the Project Partners.
“We are extremely grateful to Nusenda Credit Union and all the FIELD Immersion Project Partners organizations for all they do on behalf of our students,” said Carrie Elkins, Professor of Business Administration and Faculty Chair for the FIELD Immersion. “The students benefit immeasurably from this experience and we hope the partner organizations do as well.”