News

As AI tools have become more robust in their capacity for conversation, they’ve also developed a surprising new role as a stand-in for human emotional support. You’ve probably aware of coworkers, friends, and family—or perhaps even yourself—using AI as a counselor. And the research shows that most people who do this find it helpful! However, this seeming replacement gets more complicated, as shown in research by our own Fares Ahmad and Nelson Phillips.

No job exists in a vacuum. For any position, whether moving laterally or climbing the corporate ladder, all employees bring their prior company experience into their new lines of work. This is especially true for founders of new companies— as a large project on Silicon Valley startups by Professor Christine Beckman (Department of Technology Management at UCSB) has demonstrated. 

With a computer science degree and three years at Dell Technologies, Sandesh Shivakumar wanted more than technical expertise: “MTM delivers in nine months what would normally take three to four years of work experience.” Through MTM’s hands-on curriculum, Sandy gained skills in business strategy, digital transformation, and go-to-market planning.

Our department had the pleasure of sitting down and chatting with Professor Eric Zackrison, one of our incredible lecturers. Read his full interview to learn more about his background, teaching experience and more—as well as to get an in-depth look at a recently developed core course for our Undergraduate Certificate, TMP X111, which he has been teaching. 

Our department had the pleasure of chatting with Kelly Behlen, an alumna of our Undergraduate Certificate and a former intern in our department, to talk about the impact Technology Management has had on her life, career, and more. Read her full interview to learn more about the path that took her from her Certificate and working as an intern in our department, to her exciting new leadership role at Cisco Meraki. 

As the usage of AI becomes more widespread, so do discussions about its ethics in the workplace and beyond. Many modern industries, such as the medical industry with the American Medical Association’s Code of Medical Ethics, have established rules for appropriate practice that serve wider society, its clientele, and peers. As the AI industry gains its footing, how might its community come together to arrive at a similar, standardized code of ethics? What takes a discussion in a conference room and turns it into a rulebook that everyone can agree on? Assistant Professor Jessica J. Santana (UCSB), along with co-author Seonghoon Kim (National University of Singapore), tackles this question in their research.

Philanthropy is an incredibly important part of any university’s operations, but it is especially important for a public university like UCSB. For us in the Department of Technology Management, one significant source of donor support comes in the form of Endowed Chairs. These coveted chairs contribute heavily to the quality of our faculty lineup and the caliber of their research, as well as the accessibility of resources and funding for our students. Check out this Q&A and more about what Endowed Chairs bring to our department!

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.

Manish Raghavan, Drew Houston (2005) Career Development Porfessor at the MIT Sloan School of Managaement and Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Do you have a STEM background and are interested in gaining the business skills to lead technical teams? Do you have a humanities or social science background and want to prepare for a career in technology-driven organizations? No matter your background, UCSB’s Master of Technology Management (MTM) graduate program will give you the essential technology skills, business acumen, and entrepreneurial mindset to accelerate your career and expand your leadership opportunities within technology-driven firms.

Hatim Rahman, Associate Professor of Management and Organizations and Sociology (by courtesy) at Northwestern University

Laura Dabbish, Professor at Carnegie Mellon University in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCII)