MIT Sloan Students Speak: MBA Class of 2014

First Year Coming to an End

Hi everyone. Our first year of Sloan is coming to an end in just a few short weeks. Many of us (including myself) are studying for finals, wrapping up final projects, and gearing up for final presentations over the course of the next two weeks!

This has been an unbelieveably incredible year for me and truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I helped organize the MIT Sloan India Conference, Energy Finance Forum, Technology Conference, and Global Startup Workshop in Estonia. I met so many wonderful people and lifelong friends from many countries and backgrounds. I took inspirational classes with top notch faculty. I explored Boston and Cambridge and went out of my comfort zone on a vigorous hiking trip in New Hampshire and rafting trip in Maine. I also got my first choice internship at Microsoft for the summer in Seattle after switching careers from banking to technology.

For a break from the working world for two years, this first of two years at Sloan has exceeded my expectations. If you are thinking about applying to business school and to Sloan specifically, you will not be disappointed! It is a lot of work but the enlightenment and inspiration is tremendous. Enough said.

Stay tuned for updates!

Shailesh Mittal
MBA Candidate 2014

My road to the MIT 100K

Among the vast amount of Entrepreneurship resources, events and opportunities at MIT, the 100K definitely plays a key role as being one of the major and most prestigious university business plan contests worldwide. Now on its 24th edition:

"...the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition is a leading-edge forum for students and researchers in the MIT community to act on their talent, ideas and energy to launch tomorrow's leading firms. A year-long educational experience, the MIT $100K brings together a network of resources (feedback from top venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, media exposure, mentors, educational guidance, networking and more than $350K in cash and prizes) to help participants through the new venture construction process."

One of the reasons why I came to MIT Sloan was to learn more about Entrepreneurship. I didn't necessarily want to become an entrepreneur right after school, but I realized that these two years could be an unrivaled opportunity to learn more about Entrepreneurship by getting hands on and working on a cool idea. I  then decided to take the New Enterprises course this Spring with the aim of having a formal training on the subject.  I ended up meeting an incredible team of two Sloanies, which together with two engineers from Harvard (One PhD candidate and a PostDoc) started working on developing a business plan for an award-winning robotic hand using state-of-the-art sensing technology. 

Fueled by the team momentum and enthusiasm, we embarked on the 100K journey by submitting our initial business plan proposal a few weeks ago. Now, almost a week before the semifinal round submission is due, we are intensively working on making an outstanding busines plan by characterizing the market, business model and product, through customer resarch, team discussions and industry expert interviews.

Regardless of the final outcome, the 100K has already been a great learning experience. 

Reflecting on a terrible week

I am not from Boston.  But, as the President said yesterday, I still claim it.  I claim its people, its values, and, yes, even its sports teams.  The winters may be long, but the springs are all the more beautiful.  I love thick Boston accents heard on the T, the view of sailboats and skyline from the Longfellow Bridge, and the fact that Sweet Caroline rings out from Fenway during every Red Sox home game. 

Just as I have learned—and am learning—from Boston’s great universities, so have I learned from its people.  Bostonians are strong and proud—never more so than when provoked by senseless acts against our values.  We are an independent people.  We believe in community and service to others.  And we have an intractable faith in our ability to persevere—and to prosper, especially when others want to keep us down.

I am writing these words of strength as much for me as for anyone else.  The truth is this week’s events in Boston have been crushing.  But they will not be so for long.  Once the sirens stop and we can once again go outside, we will return to our daily life as stronger people—more resilient from having witnessed such horrors.

I have never been more proud to be a member of the MIT community.  The Institute’s motto is mens et manus—mind and hand.  We come up with ideas that will strengthen society, and then we make them happen.  We may be nerds, but we are serious about what we do.  And this week has been no different.

We honor the MIT police officer who gave his life last night in the line of duty.  We salute our classmates who ran in Monday’s marathon, who are raising money for victims, and who are right now analyzing real time data to shed light on the manhunt.  We pray for all those who are struggling to find a sense of place and of peace in this crazy world.  And we strengthen our resolve to foster a more compassionate, just society.

I was a freshman at Tufts when two planes left Logan airport and altered America’s sense of security forever.  On Monday, I was walking home from the marathon when two bombs, placed to kill innocent civilians, once again violated our sense of security.  And last night, like many of you, I was on campus when the fire fight started just blocks away.  These tragic events, twelve years apart, have deepened—not weakened—my attachment to this city.  And though the fear weighs heavy on us now, I know that our spirit—the spirit of MIT, of Boston—will reign on. 

 

For those of AdMITs that are in town, please know that the entire Sloan community is here for you.  Do not hesitate to reach out.  We will be in touch with potential activities for the rest of the weekend once the lockdown is lifted.  Until then, please stay indoors and safe.

Warmly, 

Caroline

-------

MBA/MPA Candidate

MIT Sloan School of Management

Harvard Kennedy School of Government

@onwardcaro

 

Spring Break in the Baltic States

We're all finally back from our various spring break travels and excursions and just finished up the first week of the second half of the semester.

I had a blast in the Baltic states in eastern Europe for 9 days! 15 of us MIT students (4 Sloanies and 11 engineers) traveled to Tallinn, Estonia to execute the flagship MIT Global Startup Workshop, MIT's annual entrepreneurship conference. We had been planning it since last September and it was finally nice to see the fruits of our labor. We welcomed over 300 attendees (students, industry experts, aspiring entrepreneurs, etc.) from around the world to the beautiful Swissotel in Tallinn for 3 days of insightful panels, keynote speakers, networking mixers, and awesome conference dinners/afterparties!

After the conference, a few of us on the committee took side trips to Riga, Latvia; Vilnius, Lithuania; and Helsinki, Finland, all of which are beautiful and fun cities. Four countries in nine days is quite the task but well worth the effort. American coffee and hot chocolate just does not taste the same as in Europe. We thoroughly immersed ourselves in the food, coffee, and culture of the Baltic states!

Next year, we are holding the MIT Global Startup Workshop in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil during spring break. I am one of the two co-leads running the show along with my partner in crime, Bonnie. We're looking forward to an amazing conference on the ocean in Brazil!

Stayed tuned.

Shailesh Mittal
MBA Candidate 2014

Spring Break - Sloanies in NewZeaLand

MIT in Kiwi Land

Moeraki Boulders, South Island (NZ)

Buy your tickets: Spring Break is coming!

Tomorrow, a new SIP (Sloan Innovation Period) will start. SIP is a week in which students are free to explore a multiple range of courses, workshops and seminars. Typically, it consists of activities during 2-3 days of the week, so it is a great time to take a breath and regroup after the first half of the semester is over. 

The week right after SIP, we will have our spring break (still 30 degrees out there so I guess it's a rather a Winter break part II). Most people at Sloan travel during this period, visiting dozens of countries all over the world. I would like to break down the incredible travel opportunities at Sloan to make it easier to understand:

Labs: Like China Lab, India Lab etc. These projects are carried out with a specific company, and start with a half-semester course at Sloan. 

Study tours: This spring break, there are 3 different study tours happening (Education in Chile & Argentina, Agriculture in Mozambique & Ethiopia and Qatar). Study tours explore in depth a specific topic in the given region, by meeting with different companies, professionals and public figures in the related field of study. There is also time for travel and exploring the countries.

Treks: These usually are more focused on culture and tourism of a specifc country, and tend to be larger groups (around 50 people each or more). I am actually going to the Japan Trek (really excited about it!)

Independent trips: Many Sloanies also choose to organize smaller groups and travel within the U.S or internationally.

If you enjoy traveling, working on different regions of the world and learning about other cultures, then Sloan is the right school for you!!!

I hope to write again when I am back from Japan to share my experiences.

 

Almost Time for SIP and Spring Break!

Hi everyone. As we wrap up the first half of our second semester, most of us are getting ready for SIP (Sloan Innovation Period) week and Spring Break which are the next two weeks. Many of us are getting ready to take leadership workshops or go on exciting study tours and treks to various countries.

I will be going to California for three days next week for the Sloan Entrepreneurship & Innovation (E&I) track Silicon Valley Study Tour. About 80 of us will be visiting various startups in the Bay Area to learn more about what they do and network with founders. This should be an exciting trip!

After that, I am flying to Tallinn, Estonia for the MIT Global Startup Workshop (www,mitgsw.org), MIT's premier entrepreneurship conference for which I am on the organizing time. I will be spending five days in Tallin for the conference and then I tacked on four extra days for some sightseeing in Finland, Lithuania, and Latvia!

Stay tuned for updates.

Shailesh Mittal
MBA Candidate 2014

The Motherlode of all MIT Sloan Conferences: Sports Analytics Conference

By Annie Hung, MBA '14

Greetings from the 7th Annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference (w/ presenting sponsor ESPN)! It's near the end of day 2 of 2, and I've just blown away by the magnitude of this event--2700+ attendees, 90+ sports teams represented, 800+ students from 100+ academic institutions. The biggest names in the sports industry, including Mark Cuban, Michael Lewis, Bob Bowman, among reps from just about every major league have been walking the halls with the likes of superstar statistician Nate Silver and media personalities Andrea Kremer and Tony Reali. The energy emanating from this conference of "nerds and jocks" ("Dorkapalooza") has been unwaning despite this intense schedule of 40 panels + talks, as well as multiple competitions across 2 days. 

This has been a labor of love from my classmates on the organizing committee over the last 12 months (especially from conference co-leads, class of '13 Sloanies Jordy Felice and Jonathan Katz), and the 51 classmates on that team. I've just been glad to be a volunteer on this -- I stepped onto the social media team in the last week and have been Facebooking/Tweeting/Instagramming/G+'ing like a madwoman! Collectively, we've trended nationwide on Twitter multiple times, after hitting 21,000 tweets+ with our hashtag (#SSAC13), with 10,700+ followers on @SloanSportsConf! Take that, Bieber fans (and the president)! 

For all you new adMITs and other prospective students, I highly recommend getting involved with the EMS Club and events like these. They're the type of amazing events that are uniquely part of the Sloan MBA experience.  (By the way, in case you wanted to watch some of these panels, I'm told we'll have videos online starting sometime next week.)

As my social media colleagues and I nurse our proverbial blisters from live reporting this whole shebang, it's been an awesome time just going to fascinating panels on the latest breakthroughs in sports and fan analytics in the last couple of days. Now...if only I could convince some of these mega data scientists to help me with my Customer Analytics homework... 

Shakespeare and B School !

Shakespeare and B School ...

Wait ..

Hamlet and MBA ..

Hang on ..

You did read it right. They are not oxymorons when it comes to MIT Sloan. This semester as part of my leadership credits I have undertaken the course 'EnActing Leadership: Shakespeare and Performance'. I was initially very skeptical about relating acting and management but come to think of it now this course is probably the best that one could take.

As part of the course we are performing Shakespeare's epic play, 'Hamlet' which recounts the story of a flawed hero who in spite of having the authority and resources fails to act on time. Sounds familiar doesn't it? Most leaders who failed have two things in common - procrastination and the inability to take hard decisions. As a class we are exploring the various aspects of a failed leader. And that probably is the best aspect about this class. In any other class, in any other school, one would analyze successful leaders and try to replicate them but there has been little emphasis on learning from failures of powerful leaders and this why this class has become so close to my heart. In this week's class we worked on what leadership actually meant to each one (the broader question was ‘Am I fit to reign’) and would you believe it - each one of us had a different vision of leadership (and not one of them related to the traditional definition of leadership) from 'being a good father and husband' to 'being able to follow'. And yet after listening to each one's experience you could hardly fault anyone for his or her vision. As we delved deeper into the characters of Hamlet we have realized how our own insecurities and perceptions of ‘the right thing’ have prevented us from executing our vision.

Over the coming semester our theater company is planning to enact the play at the Kresge Auditorium and also plan on giving it a modern twist by incorporating aspects related to Richard Fuld and Jeffrey Skilling. Beyond leadership Shakespeare’s plays have a lot more core business content too. If John Nash were born a few hundred years ago I am pretty sure that game theory would have seen the light of the day during the Shakespearean age itself. Each and every little sub-plot of Shakespeare is intertwined with the complexities of game theory. Hamlets’ behavior, if viewed from the game theoretic lens, is an example of Nash Equilibrium. Personally the opportunity to study non-business subjects at a B School was a big factor behind me in selecting MIT Sloan and my choice has been vindicated. I am a MIT Sloan and yet the opportunities have ensured that I still get time to appreciate literature too.

All work and no play makes little Jack a dull boy. Quite literally !

Christine Kelly, who had been conducting similar classes at a leading B School before, is organizing this particular class. She is a full time instructor at MIT Sloan in the Managerial Communication group. And if you didn’t know, she isn’t the first rock star instructor to be hired by MIT Sloan from another B School. Over the past decade MIT Sloan has hired some of the most respected instructors in management domain from other schools to ensure that its students get exposed to the best.

 

Classes in Full Swing

Hi Everyone. Time for an update! The second semester has been quite a hectic one so far but we finally get to take elective courses which are quite interesting. I am concentrating in the Entrepreneurship & Innovation ("E&I") track at Sloan and am taking some excellent classes:

• New Enterprises - work with teams of 3-4 classmates to develop a complete business plan as the final class deliverable for a cool idea
  
• Strategic HR Management - learn how human resources play a key role in business strategy
  
• Business Strategy and the Role of IT - learn how big companies use information technology strategically to improve their businss
  
• Innovation Teams (iTeams) - work with teams of 4-5 students to research applications and develop commercialization strategies for innovative technologies being developed by MIT scientists
  
• Dilemmas of Founding New Ventures - learn how to deal with challenges facing startups including assembling teams and getting acquired

Stay tuned for my next post!

Shailesh Mittal
MBA Candidate 2014