Graduate Student Blog
Burritos are the official meals of the West Coast Tech Trek! Easy to eat on the run but bring napkins for the car! #salsastainsnotrequired
5 Reasons TechConnect was one of the Best Events during my MBA Experience (as of yet…)
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| Security panelists (l to r) Rob Zalkland, Lee Weiner and Paul Roberts |
Some panelist highlights include:
- Sarah Hodkinson from Paypal talked about the Beacon as well as how Paypal was focusing on empowering both the consumer and merchants to enhance the mobile payment experience.
- Karen Webster, moderating the mobile payment panel, was one of my favorites and she really turned the talk into a engaging and seamless discussion. I was almost disappointed to see the panel run out of time!
- The security and privacy panel brought out a lot of critical points on how different the individuals and corporate customers were in their perception of security needs. Ron Zalkind from CloudLock talked about how users are moving faster than security firms by self selecting solutions, however, Lee Weiner from Rapid7 commented that corporations were slower in adopting solutions stating that "Board rooms often don’t address security issues till a breach happens."
2. Engaged Attendees
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| John addresses the audience |
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| Oren Shevach, one of my teammates! |
Anant Chaudhry is a first year MBA and MS in Information Systems candidate at Boston University School of Management. Anant has an entrepreneurial background, having started a venture in solar energy and another in remittance services. Additionally, he has consulted with businesses in developing marketing and business strategy. He loves karaoke, TV series marathons and long tangential discussions on random things.
Only at BU is the west coast just around the corner! West Coast Trek 2014
Experiencing challenge (and fun!) in the Leadership Challenge class!
My Epic MBA: Adventures of the New SMG Curriculum
In the new curriculum, we master 3 subjects in 6 weeks through 2 3-hour classes a day, 4 days per week. I wanted to make an impact, so I was already on two boards and was readying applications to participate in the club’s other activities. Net Impact, BU chapter and the Public & Nonprofit Club aligned with my interests and passion of developing public-private partnerships and increasing corporate social responsibility and sustainability.
I realized I needed to improve the balance between my career pursuits and academic responsibility. The modules were moving very quickly, and the new curriculum meant that my peers and I were having a different experience than our second-year MBA peers had. We embraced the learning curve, and before we knew it, midterms and finals came and went.
For me, there is not an exception! I believe this challenge has made my experience through the modules 1 and 2 much more rewarding. It has made me more humble and benevolent. While I sometimes struggle to be disciplined, I remember that the learning curve does not apply to classes alone.
Bittersweet may be a generous word: the bitter of challenge must be experienced before the sweet taste of completing a module or year. I believe that I have grown tremendously, and being humble and benevolent has been an important part of making new friends, welcoming mentors, and continuing the passion that I had prior to starting the program.
I am focused on securing an internship and re-writing my novel of balance and impact, all while making sure I do not lose my self in the MBA bubble. I make sure I remember that I am from Oakland, CA, privileged to pursue a graduate degree, and grateful to learn from the challenges and successes of experiences to come.
Ruel is a first year MBA in the Public & Non-Profit Management program. Prior to Boston University, Ruel was a project manager for Department of Labor - Job Corps, providing contract oversight and training as well as new program development and implementation. Ruel is interested in further exploring public-private partnerships and corporate social responsibility and sustainability. He is a board member for both the Net Impact BU Chapter and Public & Non-Profit Club.
Who said you have to wear business wear to get an MBA?! Happy birthday SMG!
Innovative Problem Solving @BU
A first year reflection on the BioBusiness case competition!
The night before the competition, we left for NJ and arrived bright and early at 8 AM on campus to work on our presentation and do a final dry-run. Our presentation slot was at 10:20 AM, and we were done by 11:00 AM. We spent the remaining part of the day at Pharma Day, a series of information sessions and networking events held by visiting pharma companies incl. sponsors of the event. The results were finally announced at 5:00 PM, and while our team did not place a podium finish – our team was congratulated for our unique and innovative approach by all the judges we interacted with at the Cocktails Reception that subsequently followed.
On the whole, while participating in a case competition can turn out to be extremely hectic and tiring, it was also a unique chance to put yourself in a real-life business situation and be questioned by industry experts on your ideas to a particular problem – another invaluable opportunity in the life of an MBA!
Chiraag is currently enrolled in the Health Sector Management MBA at Boston University where he is actively involved in the MBA Marketing Club, BioBusiness Organization (BBO) and also serves as an MBA Admissions Ambassador. Before coming to BU, he was a management consultant at KPMG in the areas of business transformation and operational improvement across multiple industries including pharmaceuticals, medical devices and public hospitals. Moving forward, he hopes to work in Commercial/ Planning roles in the healthcare industry or service these functions as a healthcare consultant.
Work hard, play harder @BU!
SMG Snapshot: A “Candied” Shot! Internship Fund Candy Grams!
