Happy Fall Quarter! Our department is thrilled to share this retrospective on Spring/Summer 2025. Below, you'll get an exclusive look into what our programs have achieved over the past two quarters, including record numbers for our Certificate program, as well as what's in store for the academic year ahead. For our internal team, the department has also recently welcomed Assistant Teaching Professor Ting Xiao, and a refresh on this very website! Read on for more details.
Undergraduate Certificate Program
In 2024-25, we introduced major upgrades to our undergraduate certificate program, including a new structure that allows students to select electives based on their interests and career goals. The addition of ten new lecturers has allowed us to increase the breadth of offerings, including the addition of popular electives such as Venture Capital/Private Equity, Investment Management, Leadership, and Negotiations. We also added a new field-based course that is integrated with our New Venture Program. With the addition of more courses and sections, our enrollment was at an all-time high of 2377 students from Fall 2024-Summer 2025, up 50% from last year. We also extended the eligibility to include students with sophomore standing, which will allow students more time to complete the certificate requirements.
In June 2025, we celebrated 177 students who completed our certificate program! With the changes to the program and increase in enrollment last year, we expect to see that number continue to grow in the coming years.
This summer we also offered students the opportunity to take Technology Management certificate courses remotely, giving them the flexibility to have summer internships or travel and still get ahead by taking Summer Sessions courses. We taught 160 students through these remote offerings this summer.
New Venture Program
We're excited to kick-off the 2025-26 New Venture Program. The dates for our spring events are set! Please mark your calendars.
- New Venture Fair: Thursday, April 23rd, 5:00pm at Corwin Pavilion.
- New Venture Finals: Thursday, May 21st, 3:30pm at Corwin Pavilion.
Master’s Program (MTM)
After nine months of courses, teamwork, presentations, and field projects, the Master of Technology Management Class of 2025 is off to their next career adventure! These tech leaders have secured roles in product management, sales engineering, business development, project management, and more! Follow along with MTM Alumni as they grow their careers by joining the MTM LinkedIn.
We are also excited to unveil our 2026 MTM recruitment campaign, “Launch the Future You.” This theme embodies the feedback we received from students, alumni, and faculty in a series of in-depth interviews to help us prepare for our next cohort of MTM graduate students. We wanted to get a pulse on how they value the MTM graduate program.
Here's what stands out:
- Between an engaging faculty, practical curriculum, networking events with tech leaders, and the company field project solving real-world business challenges, the MTM program prepares students for thriving careers in the tech sector.
- The MTM Career Services team is exceptional. Students and alumni appreciate that Matt Bartos and Joni Hoadley worked in the tech sector before becoming career counselors, and as a result, have both tangible advice about varied career paths and a vast network of technology companies to tap for employment opportunities.
- Perhaps our most prized asset: a strong, networked alumni who stay engaged, active, and helpful to new students and their fellow alums.
Check out the new MTM Homepage, featuring the Launch the Future You Video!
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.
PhD Program
While many associate summer with a slower pace, our Technology Management Ph.D. students took full advantage of the season to advance their research, build connections, and represent our department at some of the most prestigious conferences in the field.
Roni Shen, Sienna Parker, and Fares Ahmad all attended the Academy of Management (AOM) conference this July in Copenhagen, Denmark, which is widely recognized as the leading gathering for management scholars worldwide.
This year, Roni took the spotlight by organizing an engaging Professional Development Workshop (PDW) on Activity Theory, drawing a diverse group of participants and facilitating vibrant discussions.
Roni Shen’s AOM “Activity Theory” workshop with standing-room only.
Sienna also made a significant impact at AOM, co-organizing a symposium on applying relational ontology to studying the future of work. The symposium drew a packed room and featured engaging discussions with presentations, including department alumnus, Dr. Virginia Leavell (‘22).
Second from left: Sienna Helena Parker at the AOM symposium that she co-organized. Center in the photo is Dr. Virginia Leavell, a UCSB Technology Management alumnus.
Fares made waves at AOM, presenting research that earned a nomination for "Best Submission with Practical Implications for Organizations" from the Managerial and Organizational Cognition (MOC) division.
Fares Ahmad presents his research to AOM’s Managerial and Organizational Cognition (MOC) division.
Although not in attendance this year, Mostafa Khoshbash proudly received the “Best Reviewer Award” from AOM’s Technology and Innovation Management division.
Meanwhile, Masoom Suchdeo and Mostafa represented us at the Western Conference on Research in the Social Sciences (WCRS) at the Foster School of Business, University of Washington. As Masoom shared, "It was great to be among established scholars in the field whose articles we've discussed in our seminars and who we cite often. It was especially valuable to interact with job market candidates and get a picture of what job market readiness looks like... I was able to build meaningful relations with my cohort of future scholars among PhD students and I'm excited to further our engagement in future events."
Our Ph.D. students have transformed summer into a season of growth, presenting impactful research, and building connections that will shape their careers. Their year-round commitment to excellence reflects the spirit of our Ph.D. program and inspires our entire community.