Summer Internships!

What's one of the best things about MBA summers?  Internship season!  Below are a few pics from our Questrom MBAs this summer. 

The Questrom (QuestProm) Formal Happened This Weekend

Graduate school prom?  Yup, graduate school prom.  If you're curious as to what this entails, just imagine if high school prom and adulthood had a baby.  Picture fancy dresses, nice suits, good drinks, good food, and better company.  Oh yeah, there was a photo booth.  I'll just show you a bunch of those pics so you can get the idea of what to expect at #QuestProm2K18.

Innovation Ecosystems: 10 Questrom MBAs + 9 Days in Israel = 1 Amazing Spring Break Elective

Due to its increasing popularity, the annual student-led Questrom iTrek to Israel was recently transformed into the Innovation Ecosystems Field Seminar, a 3-credit elective course with a focus on Israel as an entrepreneurial ecosystem.  Dubbed “Start-up Nation,” Israel provided the perfect setting for ten first-year and second-year MBA students to learn about start-ups, their various funding sources, and the settings that allow them to grow and thrive.

With visits to Israeli start-ups, venture capital firms, incubators, and educational systems in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, we met with new and established leaders in the Israeli start-up ecosystem, learning about what sets Israel apart from other countries and leads to its high per capita rate of entrepreneurs. 

We visited companies such as Nano Dimensions (a leader in 3D printing technology) and GenCell (a leading provider of innovative fuel cell power backup solutions), incubators such as MassChallenge Jerusalem and Startup Nation Central, and educational systems such as Tel Aviv University and Technion Technology Transfer.  In addition to the various site visits, we had the opportunity to visit the City of Jaffa, the Western Wall, the Dead Sea, Masada, and the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, among other sites.

Follow @QuestromGrad on Instagram!

#questromaroundtheworld is also very good at ruins impressions. This picture came in from #mexicocity #teotihuacan . . . . . . . #questromlife #springbreak2017 #mexico #boston #bostonuniversity #questrommeansbusiness

A post shared by QuestromGrad (@questromgrad) on Mar 13, 2017 at 10:49am PDT

^We are traveling the world. Frequently.

I'm sounding the alarm, folks. We need to build the @QuestromGrad Instagram account into a social media juggernaut. I'm talking Kardashian levels of inexplicable popularity. And it starts with YOU. Yes, the person reading this. Actually, in fact, you. I made it exceptionally easy by tossing a picture up top for you to not only ogle, but to also interact with by smashing the "Follow" button on the top right of the picture. If you're interested in the comings and goings of the Questrom Graduate community, this is the Instagram account for you. We may even throw up a cute puppy/kitten picture to pander to our fledgling audience, but that's more of a "break in case of emergency" type of thing.

*Point* --> "Follow" --> *Click* --> Thanks!

BU's VCIC MBA Team Wins Northeast Regional Competition: An Interview With Kenneth Hall

Another week has passed and that means it's time for another Questrom Blog Series.  Luckily for me, interesting things keep happening every week and the blog is able to stay fresh.  This week is no exception and I'm pleased to highlight a good pal of mine, Ken Hall, as he explains how his VCIC team was able to come out on top in the Northeast Regional competition.

1. For those that don't know, what is the VCIC and what drew you to the competition?

The Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC) is the world’s largest venture capital competition and essentially puts students in the shoes of a venture capital firm. In the MBA division, there are 75 schools competing through 12 regional competitions for a spot in the global finals. The teams receive the decks of 3 actual startup companies that are raising capital (typically Seed or Series A startups) and have roughly 36 hours for due diligence before the morning of the competition. On the day of the competition, teams meet with each entrepreneur for Q&A, decide which firm they’re investing in, prepare a term sheet for the investment, present their investment decision to the judges, and, if selected, negotiate with the entrepreneurs. What drew me to the competition was just a passion for VC, the amount of learning in such a short time period, and, yes, being competitive. I’ve interned or consulted for a handful of VCs, but I feel like this has been the best learning experience I’ve had in the industry. Leading up to the competition, we were meeting with leaders in the industry and experienced partners in venture. And then, in 48 hours, you’re gaining experience and demonstrating understanding in valuations, term sheets, market research, due diligence, negotiations, presenting to partners, building rapport, and more. It was like drinking from a fire hose.

TechConnect: The Fringe Version (An Interview with Lauren Finkelstein)

Week 2 of the Questrom MBA blog series kicks off with an interview with Lauren Finkelstein, President of the MS-MBA club (now the MSDi club) and the head woman in charge of the TechConnect conference.  My aim is to keep these interviews fun, fresh, and not stuffy.  Since Lauren is basically the funniest person in the entire class, her interview did not disappoint.  Check it out:

1. This year's TechConnect was called the "Fringe Version" - can you explain what that means and how you guys came up with this theme?

With Boston being one of the nation's tech hotspots (pun intended), conferences on topics like security and cloud computing are aplenty. Our goal for TechConnect was to do something a bit different- we wanted to explore fringe technologies and focus on where tech could be going as opposed to where it currently is. For this reason, we focused on topics like machine learning and virtual reality. Here’s a fun insider fact for you – when we started planning the conference about ten months ago we knew we wanted to focus on emerging technologies, but the original theme name was Not Yo Mamma’s Tech Conference. However, as we reached out to potential speakers and moderators (including our own professors) we found ourselves explaining our ask with the phrase fringe technologies, a slightly more professional version of Not Yo Mamma’s Tech Conference.

The MBA West Coast Networking Club Presents: The West Coast Trek

*Hey readers, my name is Winston Jones. I'm a 2nd year MBA student and I will be starting a weekly blog series of cool events and happenings around the Questrom community. The first one up is a brief interview about the West Coast Trek - one of the cooler events in the MBA program. I interviewed fellow 2nd year MBA student and the President of the West Coast Networking Club, Jason Marmillion, about the event.*

1. Can you briefly describe this year’s West Coast Trek?

The West Coast Trek is a student-led trek to the San Francisco Bay Area. We visit companies to learn more about their unique cultures and to try to get a sense of what it's like to live and work in the area. It's also an opportunity for trek members to make connections with business people, BU alumni, and local MBA students, as well as build stronger relationships with the other BU students that attend.

2. What companies did the group visit during the trek?

Netflix, Amazon 126 Labs, Pandora, IDEO, DJI, Google, San Francisco 49ers, Founder's Institute, Plug and Play, Autodesk, Zynga, CBS Interactive

Choose Your Own Adventure:

Dual Degrees, International Field Seminars, Cross-Registration, and More -

First-Year MBA Student Shironda White Reflects on the Many Opportunities Questrom Has To Offer

“I couldn’t decide between Israel and Latin America,” Shironda White said of the International Field Seminar options.  “So I’m going to both.”  Shironda, a first-year MBA candidate, is gearing up for a fourth module (quarter) of jet setting around the world as part of her MBA experience.  With the eventual goal of eradicating food deserts in the US, she chose the Israel Field Seminar for its focus on entrepreneurial ecosystems and the Latin America Field Seminar for its focus on supply chain sustainability and corporate social responsibility (with trips that include wine tasting and learning about agriculture and aquaculture).

Questrom’s MBA offerings are unique in that they provide students with opportunities for outside study, whether it’s across the campus or around the globe.  Cross-registration and dual degree programs at other BU schools are common, as are the international field seminars in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and other regions.

"This is one of the reasons I chose Questrom" Shironda says of the options she has to choose from.  "I wanted to study abroad, but not necessarily in just one place.  I'm also interested in cross-registering at the Law School and the School of Public Health, and not every business school allows cross-registration.  Questrom truly gives me the opportunity to chart my own path.”

Students of Questrom, MS-MBA Edition: Consulting at PwC

Chelsea Dilley, MS-MBA ‘17, Finds Her Passion in Financial Services Consulting

Converting an internship to a full-time offer isn’t easy.  But for Chelsea Dilley, MS-MBA ‘17, a summer at PricewaterhouseCoopers as a Senior Associate in their Advisory - Financial Services - Risk & Regulation division proved successful.  

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), a consulting firm that regularly recruits at Questrom, is one of the world’s largest providers of Assurance, Tax, and Advisory services. Chelsea has a legal background representing large financial institutions in international white collar litigation, and found the transition to PwC’s financial services consulting a natural next step.  During her time as an intern, Chelsea worked on site with an Atlanta-based client, focusing on an overhaul of their enterprise risk systems.  Her role involved a lot of project management work, and she credits Questrom's focus on teaming with her success.

Students of Questrom: PNP MBA Edition

2nd-Year MBA Candidate Danielle Valle Gilchrist Helps Dunkin's Foundation Rebrand

During the summer of 2016, Second-Year Full-Time MBA Candidate Danielle Valle Gilchrist interned at The Dunkin' Donuts & Baskin Robbins Community Foundation, just as the foundation's mission and focus were changing and they were in the process of emerging a new brand.  Joining the foundation during this important time presented an exciting challenge for Gilchrist, whose work during the summer helped facilitate this transition.   

When asked about the foundation's new direction, Danielle responded, "the foundation now brings simple moments of joy to sick and hungry children." She explained that in addition to having a partnership with a national food organization, Dunkin' Brands also supports children's health.  Her primary summer project was to benchmark children’s health partnerships with nonprofits and to make recommendations of which nonprofit organizations to partner with.  She credits her first-year Strategy and Marketing classes for giving her the tools needed to succeed in this role. 

Students of Questrom: MBA+MPH Edition

Name: Sam Read, Master of Public Health (MPH), MBA '17

Background? 

I was born in Washington, DC, grew up in Los Angeles, and went to high school in Bethesda, Maryland. I graduated with a BA in psychology from Bowdoin College in Maine, and then taught science to ESL students in Taiwan, before returning to the US to pursue a career in healthcare. I was a research coordinator at the UC San Francisco Cancer Center, and then a research associate at ICON (a contract research organization), monitoring operations at West Coast study sites for Phase III therapeutic oncology trials.

Why did you choose BU?

I was originally interested in just the MPH degree, but a professional mentor told me to consider dual MBA/MPH programs where I could build a solid business foundation, but also engage interests in health policy and epidemiology. BU immediately stood out, with top-10 nationally ranked Health Sector Management MBA and MPH programs. Going to school in Boston - a global biomedical hub - was also a big factor in my decision, and after I visited BU’s campus, I knew it was a place where I could challenge myself and succeed.

Questrom iTrek

The Questrom iTrek is a student-led trek to Israel over spring break, focused on entrepreneurship and innovation. The group visited Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and a Bedouin encampment in the desert. During the trip, students learned about the history and political situation in the region through visits to the religious sites of Jerusalem, the Holocaust Museum, and the Peres Center for Peace. The trip also included visits to multi-national and Israeli companies to discuss what gives Israel its innovative edge.

Health Sector Management Networking Night

On Monday April 4, 2015 the Health Sector Management Club (HSM) hosted a spring networking event for 1st and 2nd year MBA students, as well as MSMS students.  The event hosted 14 alumni and guests representing companies throughout the health sector.  Highlights included Shire Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi Genzyme, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Boston Medical Center, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The students and professionals had a great time getting to know each other, and the event provided the students with an opportunity to learn about different careers in the health sector.  

PNP Adventures At The Museum of Science

Last week, twenty students in the Public and Non-Profit Club visited the Museum of Science to explore how the museum manages corporate partnerships and builds their brand with exhibits such as the recent (and very successful) Pixar display. They had the opportunity to meet with the Senior Vice President, Advancement, the Executive Director, Advancement and additional members of the team responsible for special events, corporate partnerships, individual giving, and government grants.

The group learned about fundraising and how corporate partnerships in particular are cultivated to provide different opportunities for scientific exploration at one of the most recognizable organizations in Boston.

According to participant Travis Kilpatrick, MBA '16, "[my main takeaway was] understanding how your supporters want to make a difference in the world is an opportunity to share how your organization helps them accomplish it - and of course [I enjoyed] exploring the museum afterward!" 

BUGVC #Guatstromlife

Over spring break, 30 Questrom MBA candidates devoted their time to helping entrepreneurs in Guatemala expand their businesses.  The BU Global Venture Consulting (BUGVC) Club is a student-run organization that takes their spring break each year to devote their time and business skills to helping grow businesses in the developing world.

The trip is completely organized by students, which is no small task!  This year, the trip began with two days in Antigua, getting a flavor for the Guatemalan culture.  Five days were spent in Xela, Guatemala’s second largest city, where we did the bulk of our work.  BUGVC partners with Thriive, a global non-profit that seeks to build prosperity in vulnerable global communities.  Students worked in teams of three and four, attacking problems that ranged from operations improvement to marketing campaigns to expansion to new markets.  The businesses included bakeries, commercial print shops, artisan crafts and local schools.  After our presentations and recommendations to the clients, the trip ends with 2 days at Lake Atitlan for some a well-deserved rest and relaxation in a truly beautiful setting!

BUGVC gives MBA students a chance to put into practice the skills they’ve learned while making at true impact on a living, growing business.  The club, just finishing its fourth trip, continues to be one of the most popular and sought-after experiences.  Check out the BUGVC Facebook page or Thriive Guatemala’s Facebook page for more information and pictures from the trip!

Innovative Workspaces Trek

On Friday, March 18, a group of 27 MBA candidates toured innovative workspaces throughout Cambridge, MA.  Led by the Leadership and Organizational Transformation Club, the group toured the Cambridge Innovation Center and Google’s Cambridge Campus with the goal of exploring how non-traditional work spaces can influence and encourage a healthy working environment for employees.  

The behind-the-scenes look at Cambridge Innovation Center showed how and why so many startups choose to begin their operations there, in what is arguably the largest collection of startup companies in the world!  Google provided insights into the design and thought behind their many amenities and interesting working environments, moving beyond just ‘fun’ into actually productive results.  All in all, the group learned quite a bit and now have a deeper understanding of the pros and cons of flexible and unique work spaces.

Photo Credit: Alyssa Moskowitz

Students of Questrom: Part-Time MBA Edition

Name: Lauren Murphy, Part-time Evening MBA, MBA 2016

Background? I was born in Boston but raised about 50 miles outside in Worcester, MA. I earned my bachelor's degree from Boston University in International Relations. Before coming to Questrom, I worked at a small non-profit in Boston whose mission focused on social entrepreneurship development in the Middle East and North Africa. I personally oversaw outreach and operations for conferences held on the ground in the region, which gave me the ability to travel to Morocco. Currently, I work in operations at the Boston University School of Medicine at the Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, which is cutting edge research center that focuses on the effect of repetitive traumatic brain injury on athletes and veterans. 

Why did you choose BU? As a part-time student, I was looking for a program that gave part-time students the same opportunity and experiences as the full-time students. I knew getting your MBA was going to be a lot of work - especially while working a full-time job - so I was also looking for a supportive community both within the student body and the administration. I believe that I found all of that at BU. I don't feel that my education is watered down.  It is definitely a lot of work, but there is a strong community to support you as well. Part-time students are all embraced by the community and expected to participate in clubs and social events, which has only enhanced the overall experience.

Questrom Hits The Slopes

BU's Sports and Social Club planned a President's Day Weekend Ski Trip to Attitash Ski Resort in New Hampshire.  More than 30 first- and second-year Full-Time MBA, PEMBA, and MS-MS students travelled to New Hampshire for the Weekend.

The group left from Questrom Friday evening and spent Saturday and Sunday on the sunny mountain.  It was one of the coldest winter weekends of the year, with temperatures well below zero and windchills in the -30s!  That didn't stop us from hitting the mountain.

There was a great mix of expert skiers as well as first timers who had a fun time learning how to ski in Ski School.  After a full day on Saturday, we had a delicious group dinner at the Red Fox Grill and Bar right in town.  The trip received great reviews and everyone is already excited for next year!

TechConnect 2016

TechConnect is the MS-MBA Association's annual student-run technology business conference. This year, we are partnering with the Entrepreneurship Club with a theme of Platforms and the Sharing Economy.  We hosted a forum where technology experts, entrepreneurs, and students can share their opinions and hash out solutions to the question and solution of how Platforms are disrupting the technology world.

We want to host a forum

The MS-MBA Association is a student-run organization at Boston University’s Questrom Graduate School of Business that serves as a conduit for students and alumni of the MS-MBA Program as well as technology enthusiasts.  TechConnect was entirely student organized and run, with students reaching out to their networks to get speakers.  We were able to have panelists from Priceline, HoughtonMifflinHarcourt, HourlyNerd, Lyft, MediaMath, and Spot.  The keynote speech was delivered by the VP for Global Infrastructure at Disney.  

The conversations were engaging and there was a definite career focus throughout the day.  Many of the panelists said on the spot that they were hiring interns and full time employees!  

Ethics and the Ale Industry

Last week Questrom MBAs had the opportunity to meet the founders of Aeronaut Brewery during a private talk on ethics and the alcohol industry. They were also able to take a brewery tour and enjoy some taproom time as a nice break from coursework. 

Photo Credit: Hilary Hall 

Hosted by Questrom's Susilo Institute.