MBA Program Update

by Anna Rzewnicki

Wednesday, Dec 03, 2008

Learning extends far beyond the classroom for students in the NC State Jenkins MBA program, to include networking, internships, and other experiences involving professionals from leading companies and a growing list of student-led professional development and service organizations.

Lou Apr, president of the industry advisory board for the BioSciences Management program in the College of Management and vice president for production operations at Eisai, was one of over 150 professionals who came to hear from industry leaders and participate in networking at the Fourth Annual BioSciences Forum held in late October. Students benefit from the inside perspective provided by the speakers as well as through networking sessions that are part of the agenda. The forum is but one example of how the college continues to fulfill its commitment to provide business education with real world relevance.

Real World Experience

The BioSciences Management program at the college coordinates curriculum development and practicum experiences for students in the NC State Jenkins MBA concentration in biosciences and the joint Master of Microbial Biotechnology/MBA and Master of Veterinary Medicine/MBA programs at NC State. Industry experts are frequent presenters in the classroom and work with students on practicum projects and internships.

Divya Amin, full-time MBA student, said she chose the NC State Jenkins MBA program specifically for its BioSciences concentration.

“I have been working in the pharmaceutical industry (in R&D) and wanted to make a career change, to move into a marketing or other business role. This program is the best fit for someone who wants to stay in the industry but change her focus,” she said. Amin said she looked forward to the BioSciences Forum, which provided “a great opportunity to network not only with the speakers but also with the large group of attendees from various companies in the Triangle. She has found additional networking opportunities through the BioSciences Club based in the college, for which she is currently serving as president.

Students in other MBA concentrations similarly gain real world insight and experience through regular interaction with practitioners and hands-on learning. For nearly a decade, the Supply Chain Resource Cooperative (SCRC) has been working closely with its partner companies to incorporate a real world perspective into the MBA program’s supply chain management curriculum and to assure that what is taught is current and relevant. Student teams report the results of their practicum projects at the biannual SCRC partner meetings held at the end of the fall and spring semesters, fielding as many if not more questions from the practitioner audience as the industry speakers on the agenda.

This fall, Bilu Warrier (MBA 2003), purchasing manager with American Airlines, was one of several professionals speaking about managing supply chain processes through periods of turmoil and uncertainty. Before beginning her presentation, she took a few moments to thank the SCRC partner companies for their participation in her practicum classes. She said that collegiate experience “made me feel like I had two years’ experience going into my interviews, placing me ahead of my peers.”

Rob Handfield, Bank of America Distinguished University Professor and SCRC director, was recently interviewed on this topic by the International Association for Contract & Commercial Management and is available online with permission from the IACCM.

Other concentrations in the program – innovation management, services management and consulting, and entrepreneurship and technology commercialization – also work with industry partners to provide challenging real world projects for the students. Faculty associated with the Technology Entrepreneurship Commercialization program have been extending the methodology that forms the base of their curriculum globally, working with academic institutions and organizations on several continents. They received funding this year to formalize that relationship with their academic colleagues in Europe and beyond through a new TECnet consortium.

New Short Courses Expand Learning, Shorten Completion Time for Part-time Working Professionals

The MBA program continues to grow, in both number of students and depth of program offerings. The part time option for working professionals, which is based at our learning center in the Research Triangle Park – about 14 miles from Nelson Hall on the main NC State campus – continues to draw more students each semester. Students are not restricted to one campus, though, and many do travel between the two sites to pick up elective courses. In response to student interest, a new selection of one credit-hour special topics elective courses became available this past year. This option enables students to expand the subjects covered in the course of their studies, and can reduce the length of time to degree completion for the part time students.

Student-Alumni Network Getting Stronger

As student enrollment has grown, so has the MBA alumni-student network. A new online alumni database, developed and implemented by members of the NC State Jenkins MBA Alumni Board, is providing a convenient way for current MBA students and alumni to network and support the college’s career outreach activities. Several members of the MBA Alumni Board as well as the Dean’s Advisory Board have taken networking a step further and will serve as mentors for current students, beginning in spring ’09. Students in the college’s chapter of the National Association of Women MBAs (NAWMBA) are also participating in a mentoring program with college alumni.

NAWMBA is just one of the new organizations launched by the NC State Jenkins MBA students in the past year or two. Carol Nguyen is NAWMBA president this year and has been encouraging members to participate in community service and other projects, and designed a t-shirt to help identify Jenkins MBA students at cancer fundraisers and other events.

The MBA Student Association; Net Impact; Services Management and Consulting Club; BioSciences Management Club; Energy Club; Young Executives Club; and Toastmaster International are among the other organizations created by students to build community and extend subject-area interest beyond the classroom. The Net Impact group, for example, presents an annual Sustainability Seminar; it focused on sustainable energy careers this past spring and was the capstone event for the university’s Year of Energy activities held during Earth Week. On a smaller scale, Net Impact and MBASA together offered an improvisation workshop this fall attended by about 20 members who learned how to draw humor into their communications and management style.

MBA graduate assistant Ryan Mills is also extending the MBA network with social media. Read his story and that of NC State Jenkins MBA alumna, Melissa Blaisdell, who is social media strategist at Cisco.

Program Leadership

Program Director: Pam Bostic
Career Resources Director: Linda Taylor
View the complete MBA staff directory.
Additional MBA Career Resources information and contacts

Stats

Fall 2008 Enrollment: 420
May 2008 Graduates: 34
Career Placement: 74% of May 2008 graduates, within 3 months of graduation
Rankings:
- 2008 U.S. News & World Best Graduate Schools Report: 59 out of 425
- Aspen Institute – Excellence on Social & Environmental Issues, 2007-08: 68