MTM Newsletter - August 2024 Overview

UCSB MTM Professor Matt Beane and MTM Graduate Matthew Van Den Berg Chat About Their Work with OpenAI

Professor Matt Beane and 2022 UCSB MTM Graduate Matthew van den Berg have an insightful and informative conversation about their work with OpenAI and how the MTM program launches technology careers. In the following video, discover how both Matts ended up working with OpenAI, how Matthew van den Berg leveraged his MTM experience in his job exploration and interviews, and how to get the most out of the MTM program as a new student or recent graduate!

See the full video at the link here. 

---

Industry Insights—What’s Trending In Tech

Are Collaboration Tools Overwhelming Your Team?” by Professor Paul Leonardi, Rebecca Hinds, Robert I. Sutton, and Federico Torreti

In today’s work environment, employees are increasingly fragmented and exhausted by the overwhelming collaboration tools meant to enhance productivity. This article explores how this overload affects team efficiency and offers actionable strategies for leaders to streamline tool usage.

Read the full article here. 

---

Student Spotlight: Supriya Ponnaluru, Class of 2024

Supriya Ponnaluru came to the MTM program as a mid-career professional looking to learn about the business side of product development. When considering graduate school and learning through the application process about MTM, she discovered that the nine-month program had everything she was looking for to enhance her career. Now employed at Meta as a Senior Software Engineer, Supriya credits the MTM program for giving her the structure to understand the business world and the confidence to become an entrepreneur in the future.

Learn more about Supriya's UCSB MTM experience here.

---

Grad Spotlight: Noah Kastenbaum, Class of 2022

Noah Kastenbaum, an alum of UCSB's MTM and BA in Communication programs, is now an Account Executive at Feedly, an AI cybersecurity startup. Noah entered the MTM program with a clear goal of working in cybersecurity. He credits the program for equipping him with essential skills and praises the career development team for guiding him to his current role. “I felt that MTM was going to make me more proficient in all of the different skills I thought that I was lacking.” 

Discover more about Noah's journey here. 

---

UCSB’s Graduate Division will Begin Accepting Applications this September for the Fall 2025 Master of Technology Management Program 

Are you ready to fast-track your career in technology leadership? UCSB’s rigorous one-year Master of Technology Management program will begin accepting applications this September for Fall 2025. The priority fellowship application deadline is Sunday, December 1, 2024. Early applications are encouraged.

Please apply here!

---

Deckers Brands: A Legacy of Innovation and Collaboration with UCSB

Founded in 1973 by two UCSB alumni, Deckers Brands is a locally based multinational apparel corporation with a portfolio that includes household brands like UGG, Teva, Sanuk, and Hoka. Deckers continues its strong relationship with the University with yearly field projects for the MTM program. A recent field project had students propose a solution that would reduce the company’s go-to-market timeline, applying course learnings in project management, digital transformation, and data science to analyze decision-making. Deckers Brands also actively hires and promotes MTM alumni, tapping into our incredibly talented pool of technology-focused graduates.

---

One Final Thought…

“My advice to the students or the new grads would be to find a focus and go deep on it. When ChatGPT launched in my previous role, I was enamored. I was researching, reading, learning about large language models, the different types of models out in the ecosystem, really immersing myself in the atmosphere. Follow the podcast, follow the main authors on LinkedIn, and you'll start to speak the language. Go deep, be curious, and do it with conviction.”

—Matthew van den Berg, UCSB MTM Grad and GTM, OpenAI 

---