Next-Gen MBA is the MTM Degree

by Elizabeth Acebu

 

Here’s a really interesting video in which Sally Blount, the dean of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern describes what she calls the “wormhole decade”--the first years of the new millennium, a decade that saw profound changes in our country, technologies, and business and finance industries -- and how businesses and business schools are racing to catch up.

Schools can’t afford to sit back without changing the way they do things.  Neither can students of management. The traditional MBA is not keeping pace with the rapid changes occurring in technology and our world.  

The video highlights three key points about how the traditional MBA needs to change to stay relevant in today’s world.  If you’ve been following the UCSB Master of Technology Management (MTM) program at all, you’ll recognize right away that these are all features of the MTM curriculum and extracurricular offerings.

Point #1:  Professors and practitioners need to come together in the classroom to teach students the operational skills they need to succeed.

In the MTM program, practitioners are central to our program. Our faculty has extensive, direct, on-the-ground experience in startups and tech ventures and are internationally highly-ranked professors and thought leaders in the field of technology management from institutions like Stanford, NYU and Northwestern University.  Our faculty also includes current and former CEOs of tech companies and others with extensive tech venture experience.  

Point #2:  The true value-add of core coursework in business programs will increasingly be the elective and discussion-based classes--rather than lectures full of information that students can find elsewhere in today’s world of information sharing.

The entire MTM program is value add. The MTM curriculum covers three pillars of tech management: Recognizing Opportunities, Developing Leadership and Management Capabilities and Growing & Executing, with courses that you won’t find anywhere else and practicum components and discussion-based classes.  The New Venture Competition is the ultimate in “hands-on” learning, as students have the opportunity to form an actual company with tech mentors and compete to win tens of thousands of dollars in startup capital each year.

Point #3:  The most impactful research in B schools of the future will be cross-disciplinary and involve big data--with insights from psychologists and social scientists along with business professors.

We couldn’t agree more!  In addition to professors of technology management, engineering, communication, and computer science, the affiliated faculty of the Technology Management Program includes professors from diverse fields such as sociology, political science, psychological and brain sciences.

 

 

--The Master of Technology Management (MTM) program at UC Santa Barbara is designed to catapult engineers and scientists into leadership positions — within both startups and established companies. This 9-month, intensive program is designed to teach the frameworks, skills, and techniques you need to be a successful technology manager. No fluff, no filler.  The MTM degree will get you further, faster.