Real Projects, Real Skills
Our students don't just learn about financial management and business processes. They build actual solutions, analyze genuine data, and tackle problems that companies face every day.
Recent Student Work
Each project represents months of work—from planning and research to implementation and testing. Students work independently or in small teams, often collaborating with local businesses that provide real datasets and challenges.
Budget Forecasting Tool
A web-based application that helps small retailers predict seasonal cash flow patterns using historical sales data and trend analysis.
Invoice Processing System
An automated workflow that reduced invoice processing time by organizing documents, flagging discrepancies, and generating payment schedules.
Supplier Cost Analyzer
A comparison tool built for a hospitality group that evaluates supplier pricing patterns and suggests alternative vendors based on historical purchasing data.
From Learning to Implementation
Marcus Torvaldsen joined our program in February 2024 after working in administrative roles for nearly six years. He wanted to understand the financial side of business operations but had no formal finance training.
His capstone project involved building a reporting dashboard for a construction firm that needed to track project expenses across multiple sites. The challenge wasn't just technical—it required understanding how contractors manage budgets and where visibility gaps typically occur.
I spent three weeks just talking to site managers and accountants before writing any code. That groundwork made everything else click into place.
The firm now uses a modified version of his dashboard internally. Marcus has since moved into a business analyst role where he bridges finance teams and operations departments.
How Project-Based Learning Works
We don't assign hypothetical exercises. Students pick real problems, work with actual data, and present their solutions to the people who would use them. It's messier than traditional coursework—but that's the point.
Choose a Challenge
Students identify a business process they want to improve or a financial workflow that needs better visibility. We help them scope projects that are ambitious but achievable within program timelines.
Research and Plan
Before building anything, students research similar solutions, interview potential users, and map out what success would look like. This phase often takes longer than expected—and that's normal.
Build and Test
With guidance from instructors and industry mentors, students develop their solutions iteratively. We encourage testing with small user groups early and often—it's better to find problems during development.
Present and Document
Final presentations aren't just demonstrations—they include documentation, user guides, and honest discussions about what worked and what didn't. Check out our statistics page for detailed outcomes from past cohorts.
Project Development Timeline
Most students complete their projects over 16-20 weeks while balancing coursework. Here's what a typical project journey looks like.
Weeks 1-3: Discovery
Identify the problem, talk to potential users, and define what your solution needs to accomplish. This is where you learn whether your initial idea is actually addressing the right problem.
Weeks 4-7: Design and Architecture
Map out your approach, choose your tools, and create wireframes or process diagrams. You'll present your plan to instructors and get feedback before moving forward.
Weeks 8-15: Development
Build your solution in stages, testing with real or simulated data as you go. Weekly check-ins help you stay on track and adjust when you hit unexpected obstacles.
Weeks 16-18: Testing and Refinement
Get feedback from test users, fix issues, and polish the documentation. This phase often reveals edge cases you hadn't considered.
Weeks 19-20: Presentation
Demonstrate your project to instructors, mentors, and classmates. Discuss what you learned, what you'd do differently, and how your solution could be extended.
Ready to Start Your Own Project?
Our next cohort begins in July 2025. Applications are open now, and we're looking for people who are curious about finance, interested in solving real problems, and ready to learn by doing.