Abstract:
This paper presents some issues arising in the use of unscripted consulting projects for final year
undergraduate students. The issues relate to the context and difficulty of the projects, the
supervisor's role, the technical and interpersonal skills required to be developed by the student,
the randomness of consulting projects, with their concomitant frustrations and messiness; and the
role of such projects in the transition to work as a statistician. It is argued that such a course
provides valuable experience that cannot be achieved by simulated, scripted or more closely
managed programs.
