MSIM Curriculum

Students learn what questions to ask and actions to take at various phases of new product evolution. Emphasis is placed on customer input and cross-functional team roles and responsibilities. The central focus of this course is the development of a new product concept by cross-functional student teams that integrates learning from other first-semester courses. The student teams formally present their concepts at the end of the semester and develop effective techniques to present to senior management and/or prospective investors.

Developing the marketing strategy, positioning, messaging, branding, and driving implementation of marketing programs for technology ventures will be covered in this course, along with the essentials of concise, compelling, and clear business communications in a digital age. Students learn and apply principles of effective written and oral communication for different purposes and different audiences in the workplace and on digital platforms.

Finance for High-Tech Ventures is strategically designed to give you the ability to analyze the financial aspects of a company’s product or service offerings, to evaluate the bottom-line impact of systems and processes, and communicate this information effectively—skills that are essential for anyone launching a startup or leading a company’s new business development efforts. This hands-on course includes business case analysis and a capstone project that entails the creation of a fully vetted financial plan for a new product or service.

Students learn the basic concepts of leadership, management and teamwork. The uniqueness of this course is within the teaching methodology, which has been developed to accelerate the advancement of self-awareness and interpersonal competencies. Specific topics include: personality types (Myers-Briggs type indicator assessment), best practices in forming and maintaining team performance, giving and receiving feedback, individual and team creativity, communicating to inspire and influencing without authority. The course builds toward systems thinking, team decision making, communication across cultures, shared visions and organizational change.

• Innovators Mindset Series (Periodic Events/Lectures): Designed to expose you to stimulating and interesting people, places, and experiences.
  • Unbounded Perspectives Seminars (3 sessions/3 hours each for the semester)
  • Other Events/Lecturers/Company Visits as scheduled to inspire your creativity & learn from local, cutting-edge leaders
• Career and Personal Development: Year-long comprehensive program supports your professional development and prepares you for your future. Learn how to market yourself and navigate the job search through seminars on topics like resume writing, interviewing and networking. (1.5 hours/week)

Foundational skills for data science practice in business. Using data and systematic methods to generate business value. Shaping data practices within organizations. Students will learn to do data analytics with Python and open source tools including Jupyter and GitHub.

Students gain the knowledge and skills to lead and manage innovation initiatives in technology-based companies. Topics include understanding technology strategy and its role in the overall business strategy of commercial firms, the role of innovation in entrepreneurial ventures as well as in established firms, and developing skills to present new product development proposals to senior management and/or prospective investors.

• Innovators Mindset Series (Periodic Events/Lectures): Designed to expose you to stimulating and interesting people, places, and experiences.
  • Unbounded Perspectives Seminars (3 sessions/3 hours each for the semester)
  • Other Events/Lecturers/Company Visits as scheduled to inspire your creativity & learn from local, cutting-edge leaders
• Career and Personal Development: Year-long comprehensive program supports your professional development and prepares you for your future. Learn how to market yourself and navigate the job search through seminars on topics like resume writing, interviewing and networking. (1.5 hours/week)

The most real-world experience yet.

Choose from a variety of hands-on industry experiences to build your resume & your real-world connections, all within the Capstone Innovation & Leadership Project.

Options include:

• Internship or full-time job: Gain valuable industry experience through an internship or launch your innovation career as a full-time employee at a company anywhere in the world.
• Entrepreneur: Continue working on your previous Sprint project(s) with the goal of turning it into a stand-alone venture.

What is the future of leadership in the world of Industry 4.0? How will the growing diffusion of technologies throughout society and the workplace - such as digital, AI, and robotics - impact the dynamics of leadership and the approach of leaders? Are the fundamentals of leadership still relevant today, or does the Age of Technology require something different from the leaders of tomorrow? Emerging from the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic, this course explores how leaders need to confront change and embrace the technologies of Industry 4.0 in a world that is increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. Tomorrow’s leaders will require the human-centered soft skills to lead teams that are increasingly remote and global, while still channeling the hard skills to plan and organize in a way that is timeless. These transformational leaders, however, should be guided by a sense of purpose and a set of values that help them navigate the ethical and moral dilemmas inherent in balancing the needs of people, planet, and profit. Students will gain a better understanding of the forces shaping the theory and practice of leadership and evolve their thinking about their own leadership style in the Age of Technology.

This course introduces conceptual frameworks, tools, and skills to effectively manage conflict and negotiate win/win solutions in the workplace.  The course will involve lectures, cases, and role-plays to simulate real on-the-job conflicts. 

This one-credit elective course is an immersive synchronous experience that will be held over one weekend. The course will consist of a series of lectures, discussions, and workshops with an overarching theme of Leadership across multiple disciplines and industries with an emphasis on future trends in technology. This deep-dive educational experience will also offer networking and social engagement opportunities for students, faculty, and staff. There will be team-building activities including business case analysis, role-playing, scenario planning, and other group work.

Marketing isn’t Sales, and Sales isn’t Marketing, but they are both joined at the hip since every product, every service and job needs to “sold” in order to close any deal. Our “Science of Sales” course explores process, tools, technology, metrics and most importantly, the people that are required to actually sell, close orders and bring in revenue.

With the option to earn a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certificate, this course provides principles and methods for process improvement by eliminating non-value-added work and by reducing output variability. Tools include the define-measure-analyze-improve-control problem-solving methodology, statistical process control, statistically designed experiments, and risk identification and mitigation strategies.

Being an effective, inclusive communicator is an essential part of being a successful scientist, engineer, or technical professional. Effective communication is the only way to share the results of your work, to collaborate, to innovate, and to meet your ethical obligations as a practicing professional. You will learn to apply principles of effective, inclusive written communication for different purposes and different audiences in the workplace. You will practice different ways to improve your tone, focus, clarity, and organization to get better results from both day-to-day and formal writing.

Product Management is always a “tweener” role within an organization.  The exact role can span a range of responsibilities depending on the type and needs of the business, the maturity of the product or technology and the style of the management team.  Additionally, the scope, impact and focus of product management shifts dramatically thru the different growth stages of a business.  This seven class online course brings clarity to the practical impacts that a good Product Management process has to business from the earliest “ideation” stage thru building and launching the product.  This will help attendees better understand the product management role and skills, and how it changes based on various conditions of the business and its stage of growth.

Understanding Operations and Supply Chain Risk Management is a must for any leader in the technology field. From the shop floor to suppliers and markets on the other side of the world, any business involves a continuum with a spectrum of risks to manage. Whether you have an early-stage invention you hope to get to market, are engaged in social entrepreneurship in the U.S. or overseas, or are part of a global supply chain currently, nothing really happens until you can get your product or service from concept into the hands of customers, and understand the risks inherent in managing that supply chain. We will leverage our more than half-a-century of combined experience in global supply chain management to make you a player in building a world-class end-to-end enterprise.