Program

Linda DuCharme, Former President of ExxonMobil Technology and Engineering Company

The first 100 days of any job is a critical time. It’s easy to get overwhelmed. Learn from the Hiring Manager’s perspective how to prioritize between gaining job knowledge, developing a peer network, and exceeding expectations in execution. Review and improve examples of real starting assignments and 100-day plans to inform your own.

Professor Emeritus Joel Schindall
Globalstar Sr. VP and Chief Engineer
MIT Bernard Gordon Professor of the Practice of Product Development founding director of GEL and GradEL

What issues do you think emerged when designing the world’s first worldwide satellite comm system? No, not Starlink. We’re talking about Globalstar, launched in the late 90’s and still operating today!

Learn from the Globalstar Sr. VP and Chief Engineer who made it happen, Professor Emeritus Joel Schindall.

You will hear about the unique design and collaboration challenges they encountered. Through hands-on case study exercises, you will learn how to execute multi-dimensional trade offs.

Prof. Olivier de Weck
Apollo Program Professor of Astronautics and Engineering Systems, Associate Department Head of Aero Astro (Course XVI)

Explore cutting-edge methods for assessing the economic potential of emerging technologies. Learn key financial tools like Net Present Value (NPV), Real Options Analysis (ROA), and Portfolio Management to make informed R&D investment decisions. Gain insights into risk assessment, resource allocation, and strategic financial planning to optimize technology portfolios and drive innovation sustainability.

Don’t miss this opportunity to align technology strategy with business success and gain a competitive edge in the market!

What happens when you face a technical challenge that no class or training ever prepared you for? In this interactive workshop, you’ll learn problem-solving techniques like root cause analysis, problem definition, and the power of asking the right questions. Then, put your skills to the test with industry guests as they share real, unexpected challenges from their careers—guiding you through an investigation to develop and refine solution proposals.

Are you prepared to “hit the ground running” at your next internship or in a new role after graduating? Learning how to “take charge” and actively engage with your new responsibilities is an important skill to master.

This workshop will help you understand and build this skillset as it relates to your future goals. Hear from a panel of MIT Grad Students as they share their experiences and advice on successfully kickstarting their careers.

Reza Rahaman, Managing Director, Technical Leadership and Communication Programs (UPOP, GEL, GradEL, CommLab)

This workshop gives a high-level view of where R&D fits, strategically and organizationally within the enterprise. It looks at some of the issues in operating across cultures and highlights how cultural differences may lead to product development solutions that optimize for different value equations. This is brought to life by a group exercise that looks at developing a simple cleaning product across two geographies. (Held on

Danny Shen, Funder and President of Ruby Robotics, Serial Entrepreneur

From garage to IPO, MIT alumn Danny Shen shares his story of founding Eargo, a company that challenged an industry of entrenched incumbents to reimagine the hearing aid industry and break down barriers to adoption.

This is an interactive workshop where product and strategic questions faced by the founders are presented and discussed.

Joia Spooner-Fleming, Global R&D Senior Executive

Learn how technical leaders make important tradeoff decisions while taking into account the engineering results, the business impact, and the variety of stakeholder needs that come with all challenging issues.

Johnson & Johnson WiSTEM2D panel discussion hosted by Monica Pheifer, Principal Lecturer, GradEL.

A panel of women in science, technology, engineering, math, manufacturing, and design will share the unique challenges they’ve experienced and the unique value they’ve provided in their technical leadership careers.