The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management is known for its high standards as a school that is part of an university with 97 MIT alumni of whom are Nobel Laureates. It has created strong global connections and renowned alumni, .
Named after Alfred Pritchard Sloan, an MIT graduate who served as the chief executive officer of General Motors for 23 years, Sloan was formed in 1914 with a fellowship similar to an accelerated MBA. It now has one of the most respected MBA programs in the country, and any graduate with a Sloan MBA typically doubles their income after graduation or joins the ranks of industry leaders. Another is Keiji Tachikawa, who received his MBA in 1978. Tachikawa was put in charge of Japan’s version of NASA, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). His job was to come into the agency and reform it, following the failure of the H-IIA project in 2003. Jamie McCourt got her MBA in 1984, the same year as Tachikawa. She is known as the former CEO of the Los Angeles Dodgers. She acquired the baseball team in 2004 and became a member of the organization’s management staff as vice-chairman, then later assumed the role of president, and eventually became CEO in 2009. McCourt soon became Major League Baseball’s most influential female executive. Shuman Ghosemajumder came from Sloan’s MBA class of 2002 and currently leads artificial intelligence at F5. A Canadian technologist, he is well-known for his time spent at Google. He worked there from 2003 to 2010, helping to secure Google’s yearly pay-per-click income against click fraud. He was also one of the first AdSense project managers and one of the people who developed Gmail. Similarly, John W. Thompson is another tech-related Sloan MBA holder. He is regarded as one of Silicon Valley’s pioneering CEOs. Thompson got his MBA in 1983 and worked for 30 years at IBM. When he left IBM, he became the CEO of Symantec. Thompson is also known as the man who took over as chairman of Microsoft after Bill Gates left. An MBA Class of 1998 graduate, Randal D. Pinkett won NBC's The Apprentice show’s fourth season. He became famous as the first African American to win the show. After winning, he went on to work for Trump Entertainment Resorts for a year, managing the renovation of numerous casinos, hotels, and resorts. After leaving he set up his own company, a consulting firm called BCT partners. Pinkett also sat as co-chairman of New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker’s transition committee. Brian Halligan graduated with a Sloan MBA in 2005. A year after his graduation, he became the co-founder with Dharmesh Shah and CEO of Hubspot, an inbound marketing company that reported $271 million in revenue in 2016. He also lectures at MIT, sharing his knowledge in entrepreneurship and technical innovation. Some other graduates of the Sloan School of Management who made their marks are Brad Feld, a venture investor and the co-founder in 2006 of the famous entrepreneurial accelerator Techstar; Elliot Cohen who co-founded Pillpack in 2013, later acquired by Amazon; Drew Houston, the co-founder of DropBox in 2008.
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), situated in the small town of Cambridge, Massachusetts, was an experiment in learning through experience. This is why it is no surprise that the school has developed a culture of entrepreneurship on and off the campus.
MIT delta v is part of this system that supports entrepreneurship in the student body. The program is an accelerator that places students in the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship, a startup studio, during the summer months. Students work on individual ventures until delta v Demo Day in the fall when they showcase their work. As one student describes it, the entrepreneurs-in-training work constantly toward perfecting their innovation. Besides raising funding and attending events to promote the venture, students work 24 hours a day on their idea, collaborating and iterating to find the best solutions for their problems. The students are surrounded by mentors, a board of directors, entrepreneurs-in-residence, and customers. In this ecosystem, students learn business fundamentals, draft a business plan, and work with a board of directors on navigating various aspects of business, including financing, marketing, and distribution. Students also perform market research to learn about their customers, allowing them to test the products and services in their initial stages of development. As a part of the experimentation process, students work together and eventually build a team of founders for their venture. Students also participate in simulated board meetings by meeting once a month with a board of directors with practical experience across industries. These meetings give students unbiased feedback on their ventures. Ventures across various industries participate in the event with past delta v summers and Demo Days featuring cryptocurrency, financial services, construction, and agriculture ventures. In the course of the work, themes such as inclusion, human connection, artificial intelligence, and machine learning technologies set the tone for the summer. In addition, the delta v accelerator draws on the alumni community to assist students. The 2018 delta v accelerator cohort asked Spyce, a 2015 alumni venture which closed on a $21 million series round A, to participate in that year's competition. The program also uses resources in the surrounding community to help students become entrepreneurs. For example, participating students receive one-on-one counseling, and outside advisors and speakers offered their own perspectives to students. In addition, working on campus and in Manhattan’s Kendall Square, students are surrounded by many high-tech companies, other startups, and venture capital firms, making it a hub of innovation. Finally, participation in delta v gives students a dose of personal development in leadership. Students are taught various ways to develop the skills. One of the reasons that honing leadership skills is a part of the program is that, while knowing how to raise money is important, the entrepreneur also has to learn how to manage to fund. By the end of the summer, students have improved their ventures and are ready to present on Demo Day. Students pitch their ideas to the attendees during the event, and afterward, students get to talk to visitors who visit their booths about their ideas. "From the Basement to the Dome. How MIT’s Unique Culture created a Thriving Entrepreneurial Community," authored by Jean-Jacques Degroof and published by MIT Press in 2021, explores how the problem-solving atmosphere, multidisciplinary attitude, and experimental mindset, among other cultural characteristics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have represented such a fertile ground for entrepreneurship. The is a globally known staging ground for entrepreneurs; alumni have launched at least 30,000 companies that are still active. Together, these companies generate sales of around $1.9 trillion and employ approximately 4.6 million individuals.
In the 2010s, MIT labs were responsible for technologies that resulted in 20 to 30 ventures spun off annually. MIT licensed the intellectual property to these ventures. During the same decade, MIT graduates established around 100 companies a year. Many of these endeavors have goals of addressing some of the most urgent problems the world is facing. From the Basement to the Dome outlines MIT’s entrepreneurial community of faculty, students, and researchers and looks at entrepreneurship teaching effectiveness. The book also delineates approaches whereby the MIT experience could stimulate conversation in other schools and encourage entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship at MIT initially began with clubs, competitions, forums, and other extracurricular activities; the school later embraced it and made it central to is strategy.. Since 1990, the Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship has focused on educating MIT students. The center provides students with tested frameworks, courses, cutting-edge facilities, co-curricular programs, and advisory services to produce a demanding, practical, and integrated educational experience. It aims to further knowledge and prepare students for innovation-driven entrepreneurship that best serves the 21st-century world. The center offers over 60 innovation and entrepreneurial courses across the MIT campus, online courses for MIT self-learners, and an MBA Entrepreneurship and Innovation track. Student resources provided by the center include the Entrepreneurs in Residence (EIR) program, through which accomplished business leaders counsel students on the pros and cons of entrepreneurial life. Every EIR leverages an extensive career background to provide students with advice for their venture in its present phase. Other resources include the Professional Advisors Network, comprising successful entrepreneurs and executives who volunteer to mentor students, and the ProtoWorkshop, where students have access to equipment including 3D printers, a laser cutter, and other bench tools. In addition, students have access to MIT delta V, the university’s capstone educational accelerator. From June until early September, teams receive designated space in the center’s co-working environment on the MIT campus or in Manhattan’s NYC Startup Studio. Teams participating in delta V work full-time on their ventures. They establish and clarify their target market, perform primary market research, and test central hypotheses about their future clients. During the summer, participants also cultivate their founding teams and develop the process for launching their businesses. At the culminating event, Demo Day, students pitch their companies and have the opportunity to meet members of the MIT and broader Boston entrepreneurial community. An educator, entrepreneurial mentor, and venture investor, Jean-Jacques Degroof studied at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium and obtained his MBA and PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He supports innovation and entrepreneurial-related initiatives at MIT. Among other endeavors, Jean-Jacques Degroof provided operating cost funding so that the MIT Hacking Arts Festival would not be just a one-off event.
Then students, MIT alumni Kathleen Stetson and Catherine Halaby, with the assistance of the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship, launched Hacking Arts in 2013. Now one of MIT’s most awaited events, the festival encompasses gaming, music, design, film/video, visual reality, visual arts, and performing arts. Held annually at the Media Lab, the week-long gathering features a conference, VIP event, hackathon, and tech expo. The hackathon is open to applicants nationwide. Participants develop a prototype that improves the artistic field or can integrate the arts. Teams are allowed 24 hours to design, create, and pitch their concept to a panel comprised of industry leaders. Aside from cash prizes, winners and participants can take advantage of exposure and networking opportunities. Previous exhibitors, sponsors, and panelists include Google VR, Artsy, and Spotify. Born in Belgium, Jean-Jacques Degroof earned his MBA and Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). A philanthropist, educator, and venture investor, he found fulfillment mentoring budding entrepreneurs and providing funding. Jean-Jacques Degroof has remained active in the MIT community, supporting numerous programs in aging research and entrepreneurship education. He has served on the external advisory board of the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship.
The infrastructure and support geared for entrepreneurship at MIT have produced successful MIT spinoffs such as Tulip. While technology has improved manufacturing output through more effective and efficient machines and equipment, Tulip points out that the most valuable resource, people, have been left out. Using cloud technology, the company enables manufacturers to develop factory floor applications that increase employee production instead of automate it away. Tulip's software connects people, machines, and sensors to facilitate agile manufacturing. In a pilot project, Tulip trained new operators on a sophisticated manufacturing process in a biopharmaceutical company. The previous way of teaching new operators was to repeatedly guide them through the new procedure with a process engineer and an experienced operator. Using its interactive software and sensors and feedback from the workers, Tulip reduced the training time by close to half. An investor and teacher working out of both Boston and his native home of Belgium, Jean-Jacques Degroof has been involved with many student-entrepreneurs in the technology field. In August 2021, Jean-Jacques Degroof’s book, From the Basement to the Dome: How MITs Unique Culture Created a Thriving Entrepreneurial Community, will be available on Amazon. The book describes how MIT’s emphasis on Mens et Manus (mind and hand) encouraged students to translate scientific concepts into viable businesses.
Graduates from MIT have started some 30,000 companies that employ around 4 million people. Examples range from Hewlett Packard, Intel, and Dropbox to Qualcomm, and E*Trade, as well as new ventures such as MDaaS Global (medical technology) and Graviky Labs (environmental testing). The school’s business-creation initiatives began outside the classroom in student-led clubs and forums. Over time, the administration harnessed their energy into coursework in entrepreneurialism, taking advantage of MIT’s climate of risk-taking, love of experimentation, and grassroots decision-making. Mr. Degroof offers examples of how MIT has built an “entrepreneurial ecosystem” of faculty and staff members, students, and alumni that could serve to inspire conversations about entrepreneurship education at other institutions. Originally from Belgium, Jean-Jacques Degroof, Ph.D, is both an entrepreneur educator and a philanthropist supporting innovative initiatives related to aging. Before these accomplishments, Dr. Jean-Jacques Degroof attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and earned a doctorate.
Known for research that has culminated in modern innovations, MIT is presently collaborating with 3M to create COVID-19 test that returns highly accurate results in 10 minutes. Professor Hadley Sikes and her research team are working with 3M to develop a test that works much faster than the swab test now used to test for COVID-19. The difference between this test and the one currently used is that it assesses whether someone has contracted the disease by looking for the virus’s proteins as opposed to RNA or genetic material. With the RNA test it takes a few days for them to be returned, which is a lot slower than the rapid results test in the works. While it seems as though it would be the most difficult part, developing the test fared less difficult than finding a way to market and mass produce it. With the MIT labs being closed, the venture relied on one diligent post doc who worked endlessly to find a way for reagents to capture SARS-CoV-2. The two companies then came to an agreement that addressed the commercialization process in less than 10 days, much quicker than the usual three to six-month wait. A PhD graduate of the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Jean-Jacques Degroof has more than 20 years of experience in research and education. In addition to mentoring technology entrepreneurs, Jean-Jacques Degroof supports the Pulse Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to encouraging entrepreneurship in Belgium.
Created with the mission of mentoring young technology entrepreneurs to help them refine and improve their business projects, the Pulse Foundation has expanded to encompass the nonprofit Sokwadraat (SO2). Through individual coaching services, SO2 works with high-tech startups spun-off from academia to refine their business concept, create business and financial plans, and seek capital. SO2 consists of a team of seven professionals who believe firmly that Belgium is full of young entrepreneurs with bright ideas. Offering guidance informed by experience, the group aims to help the country produce more innovative and successful high-tech startups. Since the organization’s establishment in 2005, SO2 has coached hundreds of teams and assisted in the creation of over 170 new tech firms. Jean-Jacques Degroof is an entrepreneurship mentor and teacher who has played key roles in the development of numerous ventures in Europe and the United States. Holding a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Jean-Jacques Degroof continues to maintain a relationship with the institute through the Aging Brain Initiative. Scientists at MIT recently announced the development of a drug that they believe could be effective in the treatment of COVID-19. The drug uses a protein fragment that mimics a protein found on human cells. The mechanism of action is quite unique. The drug binds to the protein that coronaviruses rely on to enter human cells and disarms it. In this way, the new drug could inhibit the virus’s ability to enter cells and create an infection. Initial findings about the drug were revealed on March 20, and several samples have been sent to initiate collaborative research on its potential. Research on campus was minimized recently to reduce person to person interaction, but the lab researching this new drug was granted special permission to continue its efforts. An entrepreneurship professor who has taught innovation management in several European business schools, Jean-Jacques Degroof holds a Ph.D. in management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Maintaining a strong connection with his alma mater, Jean-Jacques Degroof has an interest in the new MITx course, which is designed for social entrepreneurs interested in applying for the 2020 Global Challenges. Offered at no cost, the five-week course is fully online and prepares participants for impact and business planning related to getting a social enterprise up and running. Some of the topics covered include the circular economy and strategies that encourage people to produce and consume products that are reusable, renewable, and recyclable. Another key focus of the course is on pathways toward community-driven innovation that bring values of shared prosperity and social inclusion to the fore. This is integrated within efforts to create healthy cities that enhance people’s mental and physical health. A final major category within the MITx curriculum is early childhood development and the challenge ensuring that all children are given the resources, instruction, and support they need to meet cognitive skill and learning milestones. |
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