Spring Quarter Newsletter 2025: Program Updates

Happy Spring Quarter! Our department is excited to be putting together this retrospective on Winter 2025 and the beginning of Spring. Our programs are working hard preparing for graduation, key departmental events like the New Venture Competition (NVC) Finals, and more! We’d also like to highlight amazing new achievements like the launch of the E+TM Program and our PhD students’ advancement to candidacy. Read on for more details.

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New Venture Program

Twenty teams, out of the forty-three that entered the New Venture Program in the Fall, were selected to exhibit their businesses in Technology Management’s annual New Venture Fair on April 30th. On May 22nd, six student teams of some of UCSB’s best and brightest aspiring entrepreneurs presented their innovative business ideas and pitch to a panel of judges. And as of recently, the New Venture Finals revealed the winners of this year’s competition.

The New Venture Finals winners are…

• 1st Place - RazeMath
• 2nd Place - JAFFX
• 3rd Place - MasterMinding
• Honorable Mentions - NetSplit, Copona, Assistive Tech
• People's Choice Award - Assistive Tech
• NV Fair Runner Up - Spotlight NIL
• Most Improved - Resa
• Impact Award - Resilireef

Congratulations to all our participants! If you were not able to view the finals live, please check back at our website at the end of June for the recording.

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Undergraduate Certificate Program

The recent upgrades to our Technology Management Certificate have brought an increase in enrollment of almost 45%! We look forward to celebrating our growing Class of 2025 Certificate Recipients at our Certificate Ceremony on Friday, June 13th.

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MTM (Master's in Technology Management) Program

Winter quarter was a busy and exciting one for MTM students, who participated in site visits to local companies Appfolio and CrossnoKaye and attended two engaging panel events: one on careers in tech and another featuring tech recruiters. A special shout out goes to MTM alumni Emily Cardanini (‘23, CrossnoKaye), Natalie Jordan (‘19, Shopify), Kelsey Judd (‘16, Redwire Space), Shawn Hughes (‘18, MyFBAPrep) and Ken Rife (‘24, Appfolio) for their participation in these impactful events! Thanks also to our Career Services team Joni Hoadley and Matt Bartos for creating these opportunities for MTM students to gain first-hand insight into tech-driven companies, hiring practices, and careers.

MTM students also began their field projects, in which they work in teams over the course of five months and use their technology management skills to solve real-world business challenges. Thank you to Apeel, BridgeDoc, Deckers Brands, Teledyne FLIR, Procore, and World Telehealth Initiative for their partnership in hosting projects! Finally, through their winter quarter coursework, MTM students are also now skilled in Business Communication, Data Science and Decision Making, and Entrepreneurship.

To keep up to date with the latest MTM news, events, and interviews, follow us on YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Interested in hosting a site visit or field project or in hiring our talented soon-to-be graduates? Contact MTM Executive Director Erin Nerstad at Click here to show mail address.

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Announcing: Engineering + Technology Management (E+TM) Fellows Program

UCSB’s College of Engineering and the Department of Technology Management are pleased to announce a new opportunity for outstanding UCSB students to earn two degrees in five years.  Joining the College’s offerings of five-year BS+Master’s programs, this new pathway to the Master of Technology Management (MTM) will equip future technology leaders with the skills to manage technical teams and drive continuous innovation.

The new E+TM Fellows Program provides engineering majors a guaranteed financial aid fellowship for the MTM graduate degree as well as a year of pre-MTM professional development during their senior year. Through this program and in just five years, the E+TM Fellows will have the combined technical expertise and foundation in business and management principles to launch successful careers as leaders in tech.

Current Engineering Juniors are eligible to apply. Applications are due June 20, 2025.

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PhD Program

Congratulations to Doctoral Candidates Fares Ahmad and Brandon Lepine

The Department of Technology Management proudly announces two doctoral students’ advancement to candidacy.

We are delighted to celebrate a significant academic milestone for two of our exceptional PhD students who have successfully completed their qualifying examinations and are advancing to candidacy. This achievement marks their transition from coursework to the dissertation phase of their doctoral journey.

Brandon Lepine

Brandon has successfully defended his qualifying paper titled "Evaluations at Work: Measuring the Capabilities of GenAI in Use." His innovative research introduces a framework for evaluating human-AI collaboration in workplace settings, moving beyond traditional assessments to analyze complex, multi-turn interactions. Brandon's work offers valuable insights into how AI integration affects output quality and collaborative outcomes, contributing to our understanding of effective human-AI partnerships in professional environments.

Fares Ahmad

Fares has successfully defended his qualifying paper titled "AI and the Future of Compassion at Work: A Framework and Research Agenda." His compelling research explores how artificial intelligence can enhance compassion in organizational settings, identifying critical "compassion gates" that influence AI-enhanced human interaction. Through thoughtful analysis, Fares theorizes both the potential benefits and challenges of integrating technology into emotionally complex workplace dynamics.

Both students will present their qualifying papers – Brandon on Friday, May 30 at 2:30 PM, and Fares on Friday, June 6 at 2:00 PM in Phelps 1410. Refreshments will follow. These presentations offer our community an opportunity to engage with their groundbreaking research before they embark on their dissertation work.

Please join us in congratulating Brandon and Fares on this impressive achievement. Their successful advancement to candidacy reflects not only their scholarly dedication but also the vibrant research environment we foster in the Technology Management PhD program.

If you’re interested in attending one or both of these presentations, please contact Tricia Taylor, PhD Academic Coordinator, at Click here to show mail address for more information.