COURSE NUMBER: MBA294.8
COURSE TITLE: Topics In Technology: The Dynamics of the
High Tech World
UNITS OF CREDIT: 1
INSTRUCTOR: Drew Isaacs
STUDENT ORGANIZERS: Hongwei Li; Gilad Bonjack
EMAIL ADDRESSES: hongwei_li@mba.berkeley.edu; gilad_bonjack@mba.berkeley.edu
MEETING DAY(S)/TIME: Tuesdays 6:00-8:00PM (Fall B)
This course will meet on the following dates: 10/23,
10/30, 11/6, 11/13, 11/20, and 11/27.
PREREQUISITE(S): None.
LAPTOP POLICY: No laptops allowed, and this is strictly
enforced.
CLASS FORMAT: Two interactive speaker presentations per
class followed by Q&A, and dinner with speakers
COURSE OVERVIEW: This course will provide students with
an overview of the developments happening across various platforms in the
industry today. As the product and
service offerings of both established and young companies start to blur, the
ability to understand a company’s objective and perspective becomes valuable to
the business school student looking to enter the industry.
BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE: Questions for speakers, class
participation, and attendance. This is a 1 credit pass/not pass course. To pass, you must not miss more than one
class (attendance will be taken). In addition you will be required to submit
questions and comments for each speaker, as well as participate actively in
class. In each class, a group of students will have the opportunity to present
a 5-minute overview of the company and speaker. This is your opportunity to
make a great impression on the speakers, who are typically actively involved
with the intern recruiting process later in the year. The presentations must be
emailed to organizers no later than the Friday prior to the class.
ABSTRACT OF COURSE CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES: Sponsored by
the Haas Technology Club, this course will provide first-hand information on
trends that are shaping the technology industry. This includes the players,
competitive forces, technological evolution, business models, and future growth
prospects in the enterprise, mobile and consumer segments. The speakers will
share both their professional and personal perspectives while presenting a
topic of their expertise. Students who are not intimately familiar with these
industries will gain enough exposure to intelligently engage in conversation,
and the opportunity to learn and network with a company representative. Whether
you're an established industry professional, or looking to transition your
career, this course is intended to be a great starting point for students
who're looking to pursue a career with these companies or their competitors.
Invited companies include Google, Facebook,
Amazon, Microsoft, Adobe, Juniper, VMWare, Cisco,
eBay, and two start ups (TBD).
After every class, a group of students will have the
opportunity to have dinner with our speaker(s), subject to their availability.
The organizers will try their best to ensure that every students
attends at least 1 dinner.
EXPECTATIONS:
This is a 1 credit pass/not pass course. To pass, you must not miss more than one
classes (attendance will be taken).
There will be no exam.
You are required to familiarize yourself with the
speaker's bio and the company the speaker works for before class.
Each student will introduce at least one speaker during the term.