More about school

I’ve been asked by a few people to describe my school program (Technology Innovation Management, aka TIM) in a bit more detail. With props to Prof. M. Weiss’ slidedeck, I think this image sums it up nicely.

This diagram shows that the TIM program focuses on the early, rapid-growth phases of product development and new ventures, whereas the MBA focuses on the management of established companies and processes.

In a nutshell, the program aims to teach students how to manage the processes that give rise to technological innovations. This includes product development in emerging markets, value creation and monetization models in the “early days” phase. It’s an exciting place to be, especially in the world of web and social media, where there is no such thing as a mature market yet. Heh!

Aside from its place in the graph, the program distinguishes itself in these ways:

• A strong bias towards open source platforms. This ties in with technology’s direction towards a flatter playing field and the movement towards free products and services. How will companies grow and compete in this space?
• Teaching philosophy: learning happens via constructive argument
• Strong ties with startup and open source communities, as well as giants like IBM
• Senior professionals in the industry attend presentations
• A four-step process guides you through your thesis preparation and defense

What’s great is that within the program’s research areas, I will have lots of options to consider for my thesis! I’m leaning towards a topic within social media (of course), but I still have 8 months or so to narrow it down.