Gordon Institute offers new degree program starting in fall 2016 with specialty tracks in entrepreneurship, operations management or technical areas
Mark Ranalli, associate dean and executive director of the Gordon Institute, continues to embrace a philosophy that stood him in good stead during a 25-year career as an Internet entrepreneur.
“In my career I always told people, if you see a problem, you can define an opportunity,” he says. “You can be the solution.”
It’s a credo that helped shape a new master’s degree program, which the Gordon Institute will offer starting fall 2016. The M.S. in Innovation and Management aims to put recent graduates with strong backgrounds in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) on the fast track to success.
The program addresses a “vital need for leaders who can drive technology-enabled innovation,” says Ranalli. “Technology permeates every aspect of a company. Employers are seeking individuals who possess technical skills and business knowledge. Ambitious students who want to make an impact early in their careers will get the practical tools they need to take the lead in an existing company or to start their own.”
The one-year program will augment technical knowledge with skills in areas such as marketing, finance and product strategy, as well as leadership expertise, including conflict resolution and team building. Students will be able to customize the degree through specialty tracks in entrepreneurship, operations management or technical areas.
The institute developed the program to meet the rapidly growing demand for young professionals with expertise in engineering, science and other technology-related disciplines.
“These young people are highly promising,” says Ranalli. “But they are often thrown into an office where they need to communicate and demonstrate judgment and lead people—skills that they haven’t mastered. As a result they can get stuck in a cube—and for a lot longer than they should. They need to understand what makes the business tick; they need the skills of a leader and an innovator.”
Young people starting out in their careers “can and should have an impact,” says Ranalli. “Imagine the compounded benefit of this program to these go-getters. They could be on their second promotion in five years, not 10.”
Laura Ferguson can be reached at laura.ferguson@tufts.edu.
