Thursday, Nov.19, 5 pm – 7 pm
Location: 32-124
This workshop counts toward the requirements for GradEL’s Graduate Certificate in Technical Leadership.
The best engineering breakthroughs rarely come from one person working alone—they emerge from teams that listen deeply, build on each other’s ideas, adapt to new information, and aren’t afraid to explore the unexpected. In this highly interactive workshop, you’ll use improvisation as a practical tool to strengthen collaboration, creative problem solving, and innovation. Through a series of fast-paced exercises, you’ll discover how the principles of improv translate directly to engineering teams tackling complex, ambiguous challenges.
Capabilities taught in this workshop: Inquiring and Dialoguing; Innovating
Matt Griffin is a corporate trainer, improviser, and instructor with Improv Asylum, one of the nation’s leading organizations for applied improvisation. As both a mainstage performer and corporate facilitator, Matt has worked with organizations including Google, Fidelity, and Harvard, using improvisation to strengthen communication, collaboration, adaptability, and innovation. Through engaging, hands-on experiences, he helps technical and business professionals develop the trust, active listening, and creative problem-solving skills that enable teams to thrive when navigating ambiguity and change.
Add this workshop to your calendar using the “Add to Calendar” link below. (That does not register you for the workshop. Use the above link to register.)
Thursday, Nov. 5, 5 pm – 7 pm
Location: 32-124
This workshop counts toward the requirements for GradEL’s Graduate Certificate in Technical Leadership.
Most career workshops tell you what to do. This workshop opens the black box and explores why hiring decisions are made the way they are.
What really happens after you click “Submit Application”? How do recruiters and hiring managers identify standout candidates from hundreds of highly qualified applicants? And how are AI tools changing the hiring process? Join an experienced HR and recruiting leader for an insider’s look at how disruptive technology companies—from startups to global organizations—identify engineering talent and leadership potential. Through real-world examples and interactive exercises, you’ll explore what employers actually look for, how hiring decisions are made, and practical strategies to better communicate your technical and leadership capabilities throughout the job search.
Capabilities taught in this workshop: Developing Vision and Intention in Life and Career; Building Relationships and Networks
Renee Kennedy is a global people and talent leader with extensive experience helping high-growth, disruptive technology companies attract, hire, and develop exceptional talent. Throughout her career, she has partnered with organizations ranging from innovative startups to established technology companies, building high-performing teams and shaping talent strategies in rapidly evolving industries. Renee brings an insider’s perspective on how hiring decisions are made, what employers look for beyond technical ability, and how engineers can position themselves for success in an increasingly dynamic job market.
Add this workshop to your calendar using the “Add to Calendar” link below. (That does not register you for the workshop. Use the above link to register.)
Wednesday, Oct. 14, 5 pm – 7 pm
Location: 32-124
This workshop counts toward the requirements for GradEL’s Graduate Certificate in Technical Leadership.
The transition to renewable energy isn’t just a technical challenge—it’s a leadership challenge. Every engineering decision has implications for product quality, customer confidence, public trust, and the pace of global adoption. In this interactive workshop, you’ll work alongside Veronica Barner, a senior engineering executive from GE Vernova, to tackle a real-world challenge from the wind energy industry. Through a collaborative case study, you’ll evaluate technical and leadership trade-offs, develop your own recommendations, and compare your thinking with the decisions made by engineering leaders responsible for delivering safe, reliable, and trusted renewable energy systems.
Capabilities taught in this workshop: Making Decisions in the Face of Uncertainty; Fostering Trust, Loyalty, and Team-Building; Maintaining Awareness of Societal and Natural Context; Exercising Business Context Awareness and Financial Acumen
Veronica Barner is a Wind Energy Product Executive at GE Vernova, where she leads global engineering teams developing technologies that advance the transition to reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy. Since joining GE’s Renewable Energy Leadership Program in 2012, Veronica has held leadership roles spanning engineering, product development, strategy, and research & development, helping drive innovation and quality across one of the world’s largest wind energy portfolios. Inspired by her childhood in Bolivia, where she witnessed firsthand the impact of energy poverty, Veronica has dedicated her career to expanding access to clean, reliable electricity while building the engineering organizations needed to power the future. She brings a unique perspective on leading complex technical teams, balancing product quality with customer trust, and solving the interdisciplinary challenges that define the global energy transition.
Add this workshop to your calendar using the “Add to Calendar” link below. (That does not register you for the workshop. Use the above link to register.)
Wednesday, Sept. 30, 5 pm – 7 pm
Location: 32-124
This workshop counts toward the requirements for GradEL’s Graduate Certificate in Technical Leadership.
Technologies change. Tools change. Industries change. Careers change. The engineers who thrive are the ones who learn how to change with them.
Software engineering has never stood still. From desktop applications to cloud computing, from mobile platforms to AI-assisted development, every generation of engineers has experienced technologies that transformed how software is built—and what it means to be a software engineer.
Join a panel of early-, mid-, and late-career software engineers as they reflect on how the profession has evolved, the skills that have remained timeless, and what they believe comes next. Through a moderated discussion, interactive audience activities, and open Q&A, you’ll explore how careers adapt alongside changing technologies, what employers continue to value regardless of technical trends, and how to prepare for a future that is certain to look different than today.
Together, we’ll examine not only how software engineering is changing, but how engineers can build resilient, fulfilling careers by embracing continuous learning, recognizing opportunity, and adapting when plans inevitably change.
Ed Keisling is Chief AI Officer at Progress Software, bringing more than 30 years of experience leading software engineering and technology organizations. Ed leads Progress’s AI strategy and is a vocal advocate for approaching AI not simply as a replacement for existing work, but as a tool that can empower engineers—while emphasizing that human judgment, intentionality, and the realities of building secure, scalable software remain critical..
Anthony Adams is a software engineer and MIT alum with more than a decade of experience spanning full-stack engineering, technical leadership, and startups. He earned his B.S. in Computer Science from MIT, where he also completed the Gordon-MIT Engineering Leadership (GEL) Program. Anthony brings a mid-career perspective on how software engineering has evolved—and how the technical and leadership skills he began developing at MIT have carried across different roles and organizations.
Natalia Maxham is an early-career software engineer with an M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Michigan. She currently works as a Software Engineer at Google. Natalia brings the perspective of a new generation entering software engineering as AI and other emerging technologies rapidly reshape the tools, expectations, and opportunities within the field.
Tim Dai is an early-career software engineer and recent graduate of Stanford University, where he earned his M.S. in Computer Science. He is currently an ML Foundation Engineer at NVIDIA, working on AI infrastructure for autonomous vehicles. Tim brings the perspective of a new generation entering software engineering at a moment of rapid technological change and navigating what it means to build a career as the field evolves.
Add this workshop to your calendar using the “Add to Calendar” link below. (That does not register you for the workshop. Use the above link to register.)
Pathways Beyond the Lab – Leadership Skills for Success
Monday, May 4, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
Location: E19-202
Lunch will be provided (with gluten free and vegetarian options).
Attending any or all of the three Pathways Beyond the Lab* workshops counts as a maximum of one workshop credit toward the requirements for GradEL’s Graduate Certificate in Technical Leadership.
* Leadership Skills for Success (May 4), Communication Skills for Success (May 12), Women in Pathways Outside of the Lab: A Panel (May 15)
The first of a 3-workshop series designed to explore skills and career pathways outside of the lab. This workshop focuses on leading effective teams, understanding your transferable skills and public speaking skills.
Anna Frebel is an astrophysicist, professor of physics and head of astrophysics at MIT, known for her work in observational stellar astrophysics with discoveries and spectroscopic analyses of the oldest, more metal-poor stars in the Milky Way and small dwarf galaxies. Alongside her scientific achievements, she is committed to expanding professional career development opportunities through MIT’s LEAP program where students learn to navigate both academic and career goals with more confidence, gain leadership competency, and strengthen skills needed to successfully navigate a career path.
Add this workshop to your calendar using the “Add to Calendar” link below. (That does not register you for the workshop. Use the above link to register.)
Wednesday, April 8, 5pm – 7pm
Attend one or both parts. If you attended the previous Developing Charisma workshop, then you can attend this workshop but can’t count it toward GradEL’s Graduate Certificate in Technical Leadership.
Charisma: it’s not innate, it can be learned, and this workshop will show you how. Join us on April 8 for a two-part workshop that turns rigorous behavioral science into practical tools you can use immediately: on campus, in interviews, and online.
Part 1: The Science of First Impressions
You only get one chance to make a first impression.
This practical session gives you concrete, research-backed tools to make strong first impressions both in person and online. Drawing on social psychology and neuroscience, we break down:
You’ll learn what works and why. You’ll get a chance to try out the tools in the workshop, and learn how to adapt them to your own specific needs and objectives.
Part 2: The Science of Charisma
Long believed to be an innate trait, charisma has now been broken down by research into specific, observable behaviors. In controlled laboratory experiments, researchers were able to raise or lower a person’s level of charisma almost as if turning a dial.
In this session, you’ll learn:
Becoming more charismatic doesn’t mean changing your personality. It means adopting specific practices that work with the personality you already have, whether you’re speaking in a meeting, leading a group, or participating on Zoom.
What you’ll find here is practical magic: insight drawn from multiple sciences, combined with techniques you can use immediately.
This two-part workshop is designed for technical minds who want to maximize their impact. All MIT undergraduate and graduate students are welcome to take part in the whole workshop or to choose the part that best meets your needs.
Olivia Fox Cabane is a leading authority on the science of charisma and the bestselling author of The Charisma Myth and The Net And The Butterfly, translated into 36 languages.
Formerly Director of Innovative Leadership for Stanford StartX, she has lectured on charisma, leadership, and innovation at Harvard, Yale, MIT, the Marine War College, and the United Nations.
Her clients include founders of Airbnb, Brex, Paradigm, and Presight, as well as the leadership of Google, TikTok, Deloitte, UBS, and JP Morgan. She has been featured in The New York Times, The Economist, and The Wall Street Journal.
As cofounder of the KindEarth.Tech Foundation, she supports foodtech companies advancing environmental sustainability.
Olivia is fluent in four languages and was the youngest person ever appointed Foreign Trade Advisor to the French Government.
Wednesday, April 8, 5pm – 7pm
Attend one or both parts. If you attended the previous Developing Charisma workshop, then you can attend this workshop but can’t count it toward GradEL’s Graduate Certificate in Technical Leadership.
Add this workshop to your calendar using the “Add to Calendar” link below. (That does not register you for the workshop. Use the above link to register.)
Monday, April 6, 5pm – 7pm
Location: 32-124
This workshop counts toward the requirements for GradEL’s Graduate Certificate in Technical Leadership.
Hear from Kate, an industry leader, on how AI is changing the way teams work and how you can develop the habits, skills, and behaviors that will help you thrive in your future career.
Kate Bergeron is a Vice President of Hardware Engineering at Apple, where she leads teams responsible for the hardware design and delivery of many of the company’s most iconic products, including Airpods, Mac systems, iPad, and Apple Watch. With more than two decades at Apple, Kate’s work spans from early contributions to Mac notebooks to leading large, cross-functional engineering organizations that bring innovative hardware to market.
An MIT alumna with both a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, Kate also co-developed and co-taught Design for Scale through MIT’s D-Lab, helping students connect engineering creativity with real-world impact. She was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2022, one of the highest professional honors in the field.
Kate brings a unique blend of technical depth, strategic leadership, and commitment to mentoring future engineers making her a powerful voice on how technical leaders can influence through clarity, vision, and effective communication.
Monday, April 6, 5pm – 7pm
Location: 32-124
This workshop counts toward the requirements for GradEL’s Graduate Certificate in Technical Leadership.
Add this workshop to your calendar using the “Add to Calendar” link below. (That does not register you for the workshop. Use the above link to register.)
Thursday, January 29, 3:30pm – 5:00pm
Location: 56-154
Please register only if you can commit to attending. Space is limited. Snacks will be served.
This workshop counts toward the requirements for GradEL’s Graduate Certificate in Technical Leadership.
Feeling like you need to break out of the ivory tower? Want to learn skills for reaching out to your home town, state, or other community to share about problems that matter to you?
In this interactive workshop for MIT students and postdocs, taught by seasoned writer Martha Eddison (Special Assistant & Senior Communications Advisor to President Kornbluth), attendees will…
Sponsored by the MIT Communication Lab.
Martha Eddison has served since 2007 as the principal writer and a strategic communications advisor to three successive presidents of MIT – Susan Hockfield, Rafael Reif and now Sally Kornbluth. She began her speechwriting career in politics, heading the speech office of the late New York Governor Mario M. Cuomo. Later, while raising three young children, she spent nine years as a freelance writer, bringing wit, rigor, clarity and delight to fundraising and admissions materials for clients that included Brown, Harvard Medical School, MIT, Tufts, Williams and Yale. On behalf of the leaders she served, she has developed op-eds that were published by the Boston Globe, the Financial Times, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post.
Thursday, January 29, 3:30pm – 5:00pm
Location: 56-154
Please register only if you can commit to attending. Space is limited. Snacks will be served.
This workshop counts toward the requirements for GradEL’s Graduate Certificate in Technical Leadership.
Add this workshop to your calendar using the “Add to Calendar” link below. (That does not register you for the workshop. Use the above link to register.)
Wednesday, April 1, 5pm – 7pm
Location: 32-124
This workshop counts toward the requirements for GradEL’s Graduate Certificate in Technical Leadership.
Storytelling isn’t fluff; it’s a cognitive tool that helps people understand, remember, and care about complex technical ideas. In this interactive workshop, students will learn why narrative activates more of the brain than facts alone, how great technical stories are structured, and how to craft clear, compelling explanations tailored to any audience. Through real examples and guided practice, participants will transform a technical concept from their own work into a two-minute story that is memorable, engaging, and strategically aligned with their goals as emerging engineering leaders.
Linda DuCharme is a seasoned engineering and business leader with nearly four decades of experience driving innovation and organizational excellence across global energy and technology operations. Over her 37-year career at ExxonMobil, she held a series of increasing leadership roles including President of ExxonMobil Global Services Company, President of ExxonMobil Upstream Integrated Solutions, and President of ExxonMobil Technology & Engineering Company where she focused teams on developing and deploying transformative technological and digital solutions to address complex challenges.
A graduate of Auburn University with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, Linda’s career spans engineering, project management, business development, and international leadership in the U.S., Europe, and Asia Pacific. Recognized for her impact on the profession, she was inducted into the State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame in 2020 and has been a steadfast advocate for supporting engineering talent and diversity.
Narayan Nallicheri, PhD is an experienced strategy and leadership consultant whose career spans senior roles advising global organizations on complex business challenges and organizational performance. He has served as Managing Partner of the San Francisco office and Global Head of the Service Operations Consulting Practice at Booz & Company (now part of PWC) and Oliver Wyman, where he worked closely with executives across industries including financial services, technology and healthcare.
Narayan’s work blends deep analytical rigor with practical insight into how leaders can clarify purpose, communicate effectively, and guide teams through change. In this workshop, he brings that perspective to the art of storytelling for technical leaders showing how narrative can connect ideas to audiences, create shared understanding, and elevate the influence of technical work.
Wednesday, April 1, 5pm – 7pm
Location: 32-124
This workshop counts toward the requirements for GradEL’s Graduate Certificate in Technical Leadership.
Add this workshop to your calendar using the “Add to Calendar” link below. (That does not register you for the workshop. Use the above link to register.)
Wednesday, March 11, 5pm – 7pm
Location: 32-124
This workshop counts toward the requirements for GradEL’s Graduate Certificate in Technical Leadership.
What does it take to make the call on a product recall when patient safety is at stake?
In this interactive workshop, industry leaders from medical devices, pharma, and life sciences will walk you through how engineering teams escalate and evaluate risks, even when information is incomplete. Working in small groups with our guests, you’ll step into real-world recall scenarios, grapple with the trade-offs, and practice making tough decisions under uncertainty. Together, we’ll debrief the approaches and insights that shape engineering leadership in critical moments.
Karen Anigbo is a seasoned quality and product safety leader in the medical device and life sciences sector, with deep experience in complaints handling, field actions, and post-market risk management. At Johnson & Johnson, she served as Senior Manager for Complaints, Field Actions, and Post-Market, where she led cross-functional investigations into product issues, evaluated risk profiles, and helped guide decisions on corrective actions, including medical device product recalls. Her expertise in real-world response strategies that balance patient safety with technical risk is what she’ll bring to life for students in this workshop exploring how engineering leaders make tough, safety-critical calls.
Kim Soter is an accomplished quality leader, a former VP of Quality for Olympus Surgical and Quality & Compliance Director at Johnson & Johnson MedTech. With a career including leadership roles where she oversaw investigation and resolution of complex product issues, Kim has helped teams evaluate safety risks, engage cross-functional partners, and determine when field actions and recalls are necessary to protect patients and maintain regulatory compliance. Her practical experience navigating high-risk product quality challenges will give a front-row view into how engineering leaders make tough, risk-informed decisions that balance patient safety, technical integrity, and operational realities.
Wednesday, March 11, 5pm – 7pm
Location: 32-124
This workshop counts toward the requirements for GradEL’s Graduate Certificate in Technical Leadership.
Add this workshop to your calendar using the “Add to Calendar” link below. (That does not register you for the workshop. Use the above link to register.)