MSEM’s Unique Curriculum: The key to alumni success
Lisa Wyman, MSEM 2008, is a passionate leader with more than 18 years of diverse leadership roles in engineering, manufacturing, and quality. She attributes much of her success to the knowledge and skills she gained at Tufts University’s Gordon Institute. When Wyman first joined the Tufts M.S. in Engineering Management program she was a Senior Manager of Production and Engineering at Boston Scientific. After the MSEM program, her career quickly progressed. In 2011, she joined the global biopharmaceutical company Shire, where she has been promoted, achieved global roles with increased responsibility, and most recently landed her current position of Senior Director, Head of Quality Assurance Engineering and Validation.
When discussing the program’s differentiators, Wyman immediately notes a “trifecta” of components including the technical curriculum, business strategy and acumen, and leadership. This combination “develops executive presence, the ability to effectively tie business strategy with your core passion for science, technology and engineering, and ultimately the ability to pull it all together to create a vision that is compelling for what you need to do.”
These skills, taught in M.S. in Engineering Management courses such as Quantitative Methods for Data-Driven Decision Making and Humanistic Perspectives on Leadership are also woven throughout the curriculum. Colleagues and superiors of Wyman have taken note of her breadth of skills – evidenced by her two promotions in the last five years. Wyman believes her passion for leadership, developing people, and negotiation, along with her effective use of finance and business acumen are top ways she sets herself apart from others. “I wouldn’t have learned these skills on my own or from mentorship in a corporation. It was truly from Tufts,” says Wyman.
Being a technically sound leader who understands the business side of a company is essential as Wyman makes decisions and acts as an advocate for her and her team’s ideas. She notes that in any company resources are always a challenge and making your case for more must be effectively supported. Wyman has used techniques from data analysis and finance courses to “objectively paint the picture” to decision makers. By relating corresponding data to the company’s business strategy, she ultimately made the case to secure the funding and resources needed. This is just one example of Wyman’s successful use her “trifecta of components” from the MSEM program.
Although Wyman’s passion has led her in the direction of managing a large team, she would recommend the MSEM program to any technology professional looking to advance their career. Wyman notes that “because the curriculum provides exposure to other industries, education around new product development, and so much more, it provides technical professionals with many different channels to grow their careers. All the core components of an MBA are within the MSEM program, but you get extra value because of the curriculum on the technical side” and, no matter what your goals are, “Tufts will give you the tools to excel your career.”
Update: Lisa Wyman was recently honored as one of Boston Business Journal’s 40-under-40! Read more.