Experiential Excellence

Learning starts in the classroom at Leeds, but it doesn鈥檛 end there.

Business students benefit from a variety of experiential opportunities, putting their problem-solving skills to the test in real-world scenarios and learning directly from industry leaders.

And now they have even more ways to connect. Thanks to a generous gift from the Cumming Foundation, Leeds launched the Nicholas Dante Badami Office for Experiential Learning this fall. Building on the school鈥檚 ongoing programs, the office serves as a hub for undergraduate and graduate students, elevating the quality consistency and reach of applied learning across programs and disciplines.

Students standing in a desert spell out "CU" with their arms

Every year, hundreds of Business Buffs explore the world through Leeds鈥 First-Year Global Experience program. Over spring break, Leeds Honors Program students traveled to Dubai, learning about the economy and entrepreneurial landscape.听

"It opened up perspectives that I never would have considered without the exposure,鈥漵aid Jade-Li Nguyen (Mktg鈥28; pictured right.)

EMBA students in Ho Chi Minh City listen to a presentation at a medical tech company.

Second-year Executive MBA program students embark on an unforgettable international residency each spring, gaining valuable global business and cultural perspectives.

Past locations have included Barcelona, Spain; Rabat, Morocco; and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (pictured), where students visited companies including Diversatek.

Students gather around a table while participating in the BeWIT Hackathon

Eight teams competed in last spring鈥檚 second annual Business + Engineering Women in Tech (BEWiT) Hack-a-Thon, an event where teams work to solve a technology-related problem in a short period of time. In addition to working collaboratively to present solutions, participants learned from mentors and industry facilitators who hosted mini-workshops on topics like user research.

A student gestures toward a screen while delivering a presentation

The Communication Strategy course, part of Leeds鈥 core curriculum, culminates in a case competition. During the fall 2024 and spring 2025 semesters, teams developed innovative solutions for Blue Sport Stable, based in Superior, Colorado, with prizes totaling over $3,000.

Winners Smiling and Holding Up Huge Check

MBA students not only planned and executed February鈥檚 Leeds Sustainability Case Competition alongside the Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility, but they also won second place! The competition brought together 39 teams from top business schools to develop solutions for sustainability challenges in the age of artificial intelligence.

A student in professional attire smiles while in conversation at the Leeds Professionalism Summit.

More than 1,000 sophomores participated in this year鈥檚 Leeds Professionalism Summit. They met with industry experts, professors and alumni, receiving advice on career-building topics. 鈥淢y favorite session was the Business Analytics Roundtable,鈥 said Lucy Treccia (BusAn鈥27). 鈥淚 was already aware that what I am learning at Leeds will apply directly to my future careers, but this conversation made me confident that I am taking all the right steps towards success in analytics.鈥