Indiana Kelley business majors and IU students from The Media School will work in interdisciplinary teams to deliver solutions to both for-profit and nonprofit clients as part of a new initiative called the IU K+M Collective
In a groundbreaking collaboration between business and media education, Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and The Media School have launched the IU K+M Collective, a cross-disciplinary, faculty-led consulting firm that offers undergraduates paid, professional experience with real clients — without requiring them to enroll in a credit-bearing course.
Unlike student-run agencies or traditional internships, the IU K+M Collective is structured to replicate the operations of a real consulting firm. Students from Kelley and The Media School will work in interdisciplinary teams to deliver marketing, strategy, and communications solutions to both for-profit and nonprofit clients. The initiative launches this fall with a seminar series to prepare students for consulting engagements, with client projects scheduled to begin in spring 2026.
“This is not a class project. It’s not unpaid labor. It’s not just for a grade,” says Nancy Paton, the initiative’s founder and director, a teaching professor of marketing at Kelley and former IU vice president for communications and marketing. “This is paid, rigorous, real-world consulting work. We want our students to leave with a portfolio of impact — and our clients to come away with business solutions.”
A PERSONAL MISSION — AND A UNIVERSITY FIRST
Indiana Kelley’s Nancy Paton: New K+M Collective initiative “bridges academia and professional practice. It accelerates what students can do after graduation”
For Paton, the IU K+M Collective is more than just another experiential offering — it’s the realization of a professional philosophy rooted in personal experience. “Back when I was in undergrad,” she recalls, “a mentor told me to get as much experience as I could. So I did. I edited the college paper, I volunteered for everything — paid or unpaid. When I landed my first job, the hiring manager told me I already had two years of experience.”
That lesson stuck with her through decades in higher ed leadership. At IU, she saw a need to help students — especially those struggling to find entry points into competitive fields like marketing — gain experience that counted. “The advice I always gave was: ‘Raise your hand. Start doing the job,’” Paton says. “But we needed to build an opportunity that allowed students to do that — with guidance, structure, and real deliverables.”
She envisioned a student consultancy that would be interdisciplinary, professionally rigorous, and university-supported — something between a co-op and a creative agency. What began as an idea within Kelley soon drew enthusiastic interest from The Media School. “It became even richer when they came on board,” Paton says. “Now, this isn’t just a marketing play — it’s an integrated consultancy, grounded in both business and media strategy.”
The collaboration between Kelley and The Media School is a first-of-its-kind partnership at IU. It also aligns with broader university goals around experiential learning, career readiness, and interdisciplinary problem-solving. “It bridges academia and professional practice,” Paton says. “It accelerates what students can do after graduation.”
CONSULTANT-READY BY SPRING
Participation in the K+M Collective will begin with a four-part, faculty-led seminar series in fall 2025. The topics — ranging from business communication and client engagement to team dynamics and persuasive storytelling — are designed to make students “consultant-ready” by the time client projects begin in spring 2026.
“Every student selected will be required to complete the seminar series,” Paton says. “We want them to be able to walk into a room, meet with a client, and be ready to add value. It’s not enough to be smart — we’re training them to deliver.”
Roughly 20 students are expected to participate in the launch cohort, though interest has already exceeded expectations. “I had 70 students raise their hands,” Paton says. “So depending on the number of client projects we bring in, we might be able to scale up faster than we thought.”
The projects themselves will vary widely. Paton says potential clients include both nonprofits and businesses across a range of sectors. “They’re excited about getting access to top-tier talent,” she says. “But I’ve also heard over and over that they feel good about supporting students in this way. It’s not just altruism — these students bring real insight and fresh perspective.”
NOT FOR CREDIT — YET
One distinctive aspect of the K+M Collective is that it’s not currently credit-bearing, though students will receive stipends or scholarships for their work. That, too, was by design — at least initially.
“We wanted to keep the focus on the professional aspect,” Paton says. “But we are re-evaluating the credit question, because some students have asked about it. If it helps attract the best and brightest, we’ll explore that option.”
In the meantime, academic oversight is still central. Faculty from both Kelley and The Media School will not only teach the fall seminars but also mentor student teams and guide project execution. “We’re an academic institution,” Paton says. “And we want to make sure the students are learning — not just doing.”
That academic structure is especially important as the initiative scales. Paton says several other IU schools have already expressed interest in joining. “You can imagine a client project where we want someone from informatics or public health or environmental science involved. This is meant to grow.”
WIN-WIN-WIN
For Paton, the K+M Collective represents the best of what higher education can offer: hands-on experience, interdisciplinary learning, and real-world impact. “It’s a win-win-win,” she says. “The students get a jumpstart. The clients get fresh solutions. And we as a university get to fulfill our mission in a meaningful way.”
She’s quick to emphasize that this isn’t just about Kelley or The Media School — it’s about rethinking what professional preparation can look like.
“We’re building something that’s distinctive, scalable, and rooted in real need,” she says. “And we’re doing it with the full support of IU. That’s exciting. That’s the kind of institutional commitment that can change lives.”
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