It is currently 18 Mar 2024, 19:38 |
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
FROM Haas Admissions Blog: Executive and Part-time MBA Class Visits can help you choose a program |
When you’re thinking about juggling work, family, and school commitments—as many prospective part-time MBA students are—finding an MBA program with the right fit may not only be important, it’s likely critical. But with so many competing programs, how do you choose? One key step that influenced the decision of many Berkeley-Haas students was experiencing the classroom firsthand. Mayank Kaul, a senior engineer in system design and strategy at T-Mobile and now part of the Evening & Weekend Berkeley MBA Program, first visited business school classes closer to his home in Seattle before making an MBA class visit at Haas by sitting in on an entrepreneurship course. “The difference was phenomenal,” says Mayank. “At Berkeley, there was much more class participation. While the professor’s perspective was insightful, he also let the class flow—students were engaged and expressing different opinions and viewpoints.” “Everyone acknowledged it’s not easy to commute, but then said the professors and classmates make the trip totally worth it. Mayank was also impressed with the caliber of the students in the Evening & Weekend MBA program, which included current and former entrepreneurs, and many others with rich, varied backgrounds. “At Haas you have a hugely diverse mix of students. There are people in healthcare, investment banking, technology, non-profits, architecture, and medicine. I really saw the drive and energy of everyone in class and that decided it for me.” Elizabeth Lowry, EMBA student and senior director of business development at Isolation Network, Inc., had a similar experience when she visited a Corporate Strategy class before joining the Berkeley MBA for Executives Program. “The class was really engaged and the conversation was certainly at an executive level,” says Elizabeth. “The students in class were bringing their current work experience into the conversation or drawing parallels between that experience and the class case studies.” “I felt like I got a full understanding of what it would be like to attend Haas and be part of the cohort. Another advantage built into class visits is the opportunity to speak directly with executive MBA and part-time MBA students currently in your program of interest—something the admissions office at Berkeley-Haas goes out of its way to facilitate. Mayank connected with other students who were commuting. “Taking a flight to the Bay Area every weekend is a big commitment, so I wanted to make sure I spoke to students not only to gain an understanding of the program, but also to ask about traveling to campus. Everyone acknowledged it’s not easy to commute, but then said the professors and classmates make the trip totally worth it.” When Elizabeth arrived for her visit, she was introduced to a woman in the EMBA program who answered many of her questions over lunch, and then introduced her to classmates. “I felt like I got a full understanding of what it would be like to attend Haas and be part of the cohort,” Elizabeth says. “Part of the whole experience is the community you are building around you.” Ultimately, the best part of her visit was the comfort level she achieved with the program. “As I was sitting in class I realized I could see myself sitting in these seats in a few months. I was comfortable with the material being discussed and I felt as though these students were certainly my peers. It validated that the Berkeley Executive MBA was the right program for me.” |
FROM Haas Admissions Blog: How Part-time MBA Studies helped a Doctor Open New Doors |
When Alicea Wu first approached Berkeley-Haas, she was particularly attracted to one key Haas Defining Principle: Students Always. After working as a physician for six years, in both primary and urgent care, she felt ready to learn more about the business side of medicine, and was thrilled to join the Evening & Weekend Berkeley MBA Program. But after her mother was diagnosed with cancer and passed away three months later, Alicea was also ready for a career change—away from the 24/7 demands of patient care to a job with more flexibility for family needs. She found what she was looking for at biopharmaceutical firm Gilead Sciences where she now works as the Associate Director of Drug Safety & Public Health. Gilead first came to her attention through a company trek set up by the Haas Healthcare Association. Understanding Organizations Better on a Higher Level “Haas has relationships with many Bay Area companies, and it’s very easy for students to explore career options,” says Alicea. “Not only did I get to know Gilead, I realized that there are many options for physicians outside of clinical practice.” After expanding her career horizons and landing her new job, Alicea continues to apply at her new position what she’s learning in the part-time MBA program. “My MBA studies have helped me understand organizations better on a higher level,” she says. “With the foundations of finance, operations, and statistics under my belt, I see my job in a different light. It is not just a list of to-do's—I can see how each of my to-do's fits into the bigger picture and how it helps the organization on a high level.” "Changing Industries is Certainly Possible" Two organizational behavior courses, Leading People, taught by Prof. Ming Leung, and Power and Politics in Organizations, taught by Prof. Edward Kass, have also been helpful. “In the past, my one-on-one conversations with colleagues have been direct and to the point. I imagine many people are like this when things get busy,” she says. “One of the things I learned in the organizational behavior classes is that there are a lot of subtleties in the way you communicate that change the tone and connotation of what you say. Now, I’m better at asking for what I need from co-workers or vocalizing how I need help.” Alicea’s primary advice for other career changers is to keep an open mind when looking at potential new jobs. “Sometimes we think we are only qualified for certain jobs or fields of work, but it’s important to not be afraid to try something new. When I applied for my current job, I had no previous experience in the pharmaceutical industry, but I knew I was a fast learner. And Haas does a great job of teaching skills that are really applicable to any industry, so changing industries is certainly possible.” |
FROM Haas Admissions Blog: Military, and MBA, and Mom: Meet Kelly Deutermann |
The MBA Mama blog recently interviewed Full-time MBA program student and Lieutenant Commander Kelly Deutermann about her experiences with the Berkeley MBA program—and how she juggles being a mother of two and an MBA student while still on active duty with the U.S. Coast Guard. LCDR Deutermann talks about how her time in the military ties in with her decision to pursue an MBA and how she chose Berkeley-Haas because “it felt like home.” She also gives insight on how other moms can focus on both their families and their careers. Her general advice when faced with big decisions and opportunities: Do it. Perhaps not a surprising approach for someone who is both military and MBA! |
Screenshot_2016-04-12-18-24-59.png [ 100.58 KiB | Viewed 3525 times ]
FROM Haas Admissions Blog: EMBA Startup Roundup |
Inspired by Silicon Valley Immersion Week and by all they learn in the Berkeley MBA for Executives Program, a number of our students find an executive MBA and entrepreneurship go together, choosing to launch ventures while still in the program or soon after. From a concierge veterinary service to a hangover remedy and artesian water, here are a few EMBA startups. Vet Set Co-founder Taylor Truitt, with Chief Morale Officer (and French Bulldog) Noah The Vet Set Taylor Truitt, EMBA 14, and co-founder Eva Radke have launched a concierge veterinary service in New York, traveling to homes and workplaces seven days a week to tend to pets of the feline and canine persuasion. The duo chose NYC because, says Taylor, “New Yorkers are crazy about their pets, already accustomed to home delivery of many different services, and don't have cars, so getting dogs and cats to the vet really can propose a significant stress.” >>Read More BrightDay David Firth-Eagland, EMBA 15, and Sharrifah Al-Salem, EMBA 15, with the help of medical professionals, turned Firth-Eagland’s home remedy into a capsule taken at one’s first and third drinks to prevent hangovers the next morning. >>Read More (Scroll down to third story) California Artesian Stewart Wells, EMBA 15, founded California Artesian, which sells artesian water in Northern California and Asia. “Our artesian water, sourced from 7,000 feet elevation in the Sierra Nevadas, has a much softer and smoother taste than any type of purified or spring water because it has incredibly low mineral content,” says Stewart. >>Read More (Scroll down to second story) These entrepreneurs found startup inspiration and skills in the Berkeley MBA for Executives Program. Could an EMBA help you launch? |
FROM Haas Admissions Blog: International Opportunities for Part-time MBAs at Berkeley-Haas |
Nachiket (5th from l.) with his International Business Development Team with the Ghana staff of Reach for Change. Gaining international business knowledge firsthand is a goal for many Berkeley MBA students, and part-time students in the Evening & Weekend MBA Program are no exception. Each spring and summer teams of EWMBA students take advantage of the school’s well-regarded international programs, offering intimate knowledge of different business cultures and the chance to apply key skills in diverse global environments. Some 60 students participate in the Seminars in International Business (SIB) course, according to Kristiana Raube, Executive Director of the International Business Development program. After eight hours of classroom sessions, groups of 20 students travel for a week to destinations such as Brazil, South Africa, and Japan. At each location, the students visit two to three organizations per day to fully immerse themselves in the business practices of the country. Student Lea Mouallem joined the SIB program in the Netherlands last year. “During our trip, organizations didn’t just give us presentations about themselves,” Lea says, “they described a challenge they were facing, and then asked us to help solve the problem.” Throughout their visit—led by Haas lecturer Rajiv Ball, a partner at the Amsterdam-based THNK School of Creative Leadership—Lea and her classmates applied concepts from previous coursework, including collaboration and innovation skills taught in the core class Problem Finding, Problem Solving. For example, they worked with Jumbo, a large Amsterdam-based supermarket chain, to generate ideas to help motivate temporary teenage employees. Their solutions ranged from helping workers identify and describe their job skills—such as customer-facing communication—on college applications, to creating incentives like “food scholarships” that provide free food for the hardest-working employees. Lea (far right) with her SIB team in Amsterdam Other challenges the students addressed included helping the bicycle-heavy city of Amsterdam reduce the number of discarded bikes in rivers and developing strategic initiatives to maintain and grow traffic through the Port of Amsterdam. “We were doing very rapid innovation trouble-shooting,” Lea says. “In the process, I learned a lot about how the Netherlands does business, and because so much of the business there is international, I also learned how many other European countries do business.” Other global management opportunities include the International Business Development (IBD) Program . This summer approximately 40 students from the part-time MBA program at Berkeley-Haas will join the IBD program, which has sent over 1,200 students to more than 80 countries during the last 20+ years, according to Professor Raube. Grouping into eight teams of five students—a new format that includes four team members and a team lead—the participants first spend a month remotely consulting with their assigned client, followed by two weeks in-country to gain valuable international management consulting experience. Last spring, Nachiket Torwekar joined an IBD team working in Africa to help the Swedish-based social impact incubator Reach for Change in its mission to improve the lives of children. After developing a financial planning toolkit for the incubator’s social entrepreneurs, the team traveled to the organization’s African headquarters in Accra, Ghana. There they fanned out everywhere from rural villages to local markets to modern offices to visit the entrepreneurs and obtain feedback on the toolkit. At the same time, they also interviewed Reach for Change’s partners, as well as other Accra-based incubators to help facilitate greater networking and sharing of resources. Nachiket drew on many skills learned during his Berkeley-Haas studies to complete the project, including concepts from the Entrepreneurship and New Venture Finance courses. Leadership Communications was another core course that provided valuable background. “Leadership Communications teaches you to be authentic and encourage questions that help people tell their stories,” Nachiket says, stressing the importance of this for international consulting. “This really helped us connect with people, build trust, and get to the heart of their issues.” From global destinations to career transformations, find out where the Evening & Weekend Berkeley MBA Program could take you. |
FROM Haas Admissions Blog: A Sampling of Startups |
Berkeley-Haas students are launching startups in record numbers. In last year's full-time MBA class, for example, 31 students took a pass on traditional work to try their hands at entrepreneurship. And almost a quarter of the first cohort of the Berkeley MBA for Executives Program pursued startup ventures. Watch this slideshow for a sampling of the range of companies recent Berkeley-Haas grads have launched. |
|
||
Hi Guest,
Here are updates for you:
ANNOUNCEMENTS
R2 Decisions Are Coming Out - Join Chatrooms!
✅ Duke Fuqua : Mar 12, 2024
✅ UVA Darden : Mar 13, 2024 ✅ Dartmouth Tuck : Mar 14, 2024 ✅ Michigan Ross : Mar 15, 2024 ✅ IESE: Mar 15, 2024 ✅ Johnson (Cornell): Mar 15, 2024 ✅ Georgetown McDonough : Mar 18, 2024 ✅ Emory Goizueta : Mar 20, 2024 ✅ UT Austin McCombs : Mar 21, 2024 ✅ Chicago Booth : Mar 21, 2024 ✅ UC Berkeley Haas : Mar 21, 2024 ✅ UCLA Anderson : Mar 22, 2024 ✅ Yale SOM : Mar 26, 2024 ✅ Wharton : Mar 26, 2024 ✅ Kellogg : Mar 27, 2024 ✅ HBS : Mar 27, 2024 ✅ Stanford GSB : Mar 28, 2024 ✅ UW Foster : Mar 29, 2024 ✅ USC Marshall : Mar 31, 2024 ✅ MIT Sloan : Apr 5, 2024 ✅ Cornell Johnson : Apr 5, 2024
Tuck at Dartmouth
|