Harindrar Jayanthinathan

Class of 2023, Yale-NUS Consulting Group President (2020–2021)

One challenge was running two wings of “training” and “consulting” concurrently. What was required was so different for each one and it was all very dependent on having the right people around to keep it going. The fact that we could do both and sustain it for so long with a small working team was a success in itself. One thing that always stuck out: we advised real companies. We were just students, we didn’t know too much, but we were operating with real companies. Most of the time they even took our ideas and came back for more projects. The premise of it was so amazing - and even slightly unbelievable at times - and it was lovely that it all worked out.

Training used to be in-person every Saturday when I started out. I remember fondly how the then President (Vincent Feng) would enlighten us all with titbits of wisdom that have stuck with me till today such as “don’t boil the ocean” or “MECE”. Always makes me smile thinking of it, will almost never forget these quotes. During projects, in-person meetings used to also have seniors or project directors join in to advise us — and they’ll sometimes be a ‘wrecking session’ where the ideas or trajectory gets torn apart and we have to rework everything. That was always intense, but looking back those were the times most of the learning took place.

Sounds cheesy, but YNCG taught me that it (should) really always be about the people. We did not have much bureaucratic tradition, so everything was run on trust and the commitment of members. Ideas and traditions were passed down informally, and they survived organically depending on how convincing they were. The magic of it is that many things did get passed down all the way from the first batch, some stories, some quotes, some ideas, and the core of what the club does stayed the same — that was quite amazing.

Tham Mei Shuen

Class of 2025, Yale-NUS Consulting Group Vice President (2023)

I joined YNCG in my very first semester of Yale-NUS as an Associate Consultant. I was entirely new to consulting and wasn’t expecting to qualify. However, I knew that it was something I wanted to try. During my gap year, I had interned for a start-up and enjoyed generating initiatives to grow the business. Given that different companies face different problems, I was excited by the intellectual challenge that consulting presented. The interview was nerve-wracking, but fortunately, they accepted me.

I stayed on for the next three semesters, taking on additional leadership responsibilities each time. I was pleased to have exposure to a variety of roles, including being part of the project team itself, leading other student consultants, and conducting business development to acquire new clients for the club. A highlight for me was working with a diverse range of clients. From start-ups and venture studios to restaurants, non-profits, and fintech firms, each client brought unique challenges for us to solve. It was a fantastic hands-on experience where we had significant ownership over our work. How often can students learn to attract new clients to the club, pitch the value of a partnership to potential clients, and then collaborate with them on a semester project?

YNCG provided practical exposure not only in consulting projects but also in business development and client management. It was an experience not attainable in a classroom setting and a valuable opportunity to exercise our creativity and professionalism. It demonstrated that as students, we have something to contribute to diverse types of businesses and organisations. Our alumni have gone on to create their own success not just in the consulting sphere, but also in a variety of industries, which speaks to the value that YNCG has offered.

Yugesh Rajalingam

Class of 2023, Yale-NUS Consulting Group President (2022)

The North Star for YNCG that semester comprised of three things - (1) Continuing to grow the YNCG brand name as a household symbol of excellence that provides a foray into the corporate world for our student consultants (2) Lay the foundations for the eventual transition of the club, into the wings of NUS College (3) Expand our portfolio of activities to include events, partnerships, outreach efforts and re-establish a training arm for wider educational efforts.

Successes: (1) Re-calibrated our hiring strategies and framework to maintain a sustainable ratio of Yale-NUS to NUS students in lieu of the impending transition (2) Hosted an Alumni Shareback session with 5 invited guests from various consulting backgrounds which sought to educate our consultants and the wider population of the day-in-the-life of a real-world consultant and debunk myths surrounding the profession (3) Successful completion of 5 projects with our portfolio comprising of: Fortune 500, Tech Startup, Wealth Management/Advisory Platform, VC, Angel Investor.

Challenges: (1) Sought to establish a semester-long partnership with MBB to improve their engagement with Yale-NUS as a first-of-its-kind strategic initiative, which did not come to fruition due to unforeseen circumstances.

A couple of distinct memories that I'd love to share:

• YNCG Projects - Without going into the depths of an engagement, I fondly remember a project which required domain expertise that was difficult to extract through desktop research alone. The Project Director of that engagement skilfully co-supervised the team to deliver on their promises within the stipulated timeframe, which showcased the commitment and drive that our consultants possess to deliver amidst tight deadlines and the need for high-quality end-products.
• YNCG Training - Kelia and Sanjit, as part of the Trainings team, hosted several students (>70!) in their modular training sessions covering the depths of consulting frameworks and strategies that would aid aspiring consultants to join us in subsequent semesters. I had the opportunity to lead a small segment in one of the sessions and was really captivated by how the entire team (special mention - Sameer, Janessa, Mei Shuen) rallied behind to ensure the success of the training program (Teamwork really made the dream work here!).
• YNCG Events (Alumni Shareback Session) - Shenglin and Jiazhen, as part of the Events team, led the efforts in re-establishing Events as a pillar for our Consulting Group to educate and engage the wider population on topics concerning the industry. They organised the Alumni Shareback event, which culminated in insightful dialogues between our alumni professionals and the current student body, and one that I believe was particularly meaningful in our pursuit to engage and help the wider community.

Teamwork is at the heart of all we do at YNCG and I'll always be proud and grateful to the exco team and our project consultants for showcasing such high levels of determination, enthusiasm and dedication to get the club through yet another successful engagement cycle. Kudos to all!