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MIT Sloan MOT Thesis Thursdays

MIT Sloan MOT Thesis Thursdays. How to Make the Very Most of Your MIT Sloan Master’s Thesis Opportunity. v 1.5. Making the Most of Your Thesis Opportunity. The Main Integrative Project throughout Year Pick a compelling research theme Advance your Career Interests

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MIT Sloan MOT Thesis Thursdays

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  1. MIT Sloan MOTThesis Thursdays How to Make the Very Most of Your MIT Sloan Master’s Thesis Opportunity v 1.5

  2. Making the Most of YourThesis Opportunity • The Main Integrative Project throughout Year • Pick a compelling research theme • Advance your Career Interests • Reinforce Professional Strengths • Networking & Personal Visibility • Personal Exploration & Even Reinvention • Short & Long Term Professional Aspiration

  3. How weave the pieces together? • Case study on firm or industry of greatest interest • Aligning projects in classes with Thesis • Interviews on your class field trips • MIT $50K participation …

  4. Sustainable Entrepreneurship Amir Hasson w/ Pentland & Thurow Neural Network Applications Vishal Mehta w/ Gupta Technology Waves in NTT Masa Kawashima w/ Weil & Fine Trust in Mobile Commerce Damien Balsan w/ Weil RFID in Supply Chain Jen Pararas w/ Brynjolfsson Biotech Business Strategies Sudhir Borgonha w/ Murray Open Architecture Spacecraft Robert Caffrey w/ Henderson & Crawley Advanced Tech for the Coast Guard Ken Marien w/ Utterback Example Theses I

  5. Singapore’s Urban Dynamics Bernard Nee w/ Sterman HP’s IT Outsourcing Carl Beckett & Waqas Khan w/ Bitran Knowledge Management in Banking Kazu Yamagata w/ Burton Mass Customization Joe Pine w/ Utterback Pharmaceutical Technology Acquistion Strategies Hiroya Muranishi w/ Roberts Organic Chemicals as Disruptive Technologies Naoki Obi w/ Jacobson & Utterback Wireless Value Chain Evolution Dave Munsinger w/ Utterback & Weil Example Theses II

  6. Brainstorming Topics • Start with end in mind, e.g. • Seeking a job in X industry • Deep understanding of some sector • Working with a particular Professor • Aspire towards N-for-one …

  7. n-for-1: Seek Extreme Leverage • Recruitment – what’s your next job? • Network building – who should you know? • Idea seeking – what’s best opportunity? • Boosting creativity – what’s most worth doing? • Personal reinvention – where imagine self? • Drill-down on some topic – always wanted to … • Publication – propaganda & reputation

  8. Pitching Your Topic • Self-presentation & refinement • Float it by everyone in conversational way • Various levels of detail and abstraction • “ I’m interested in looking at how X does Y…” For example… • Disruptive Wireless Technology • Business Implications of the Semantic Web • Neuromedical Imaging Technology Roadmapping

  9. Time is Short • Summer & Early Fall – Investigate Potential Topics & Advisors • October / November – Proposal & Advisor • Winter & Early Spring – Data, Literature Review, Interviews • Spring – Progress Reports, Drafts • May – Finale!

  10. Types of Theses • Independent Project (w/ Advisor) • Industry / Strategic / Competitive Analysis • Company Business Plan • Case or Historical Study • Model Development & Testing • Product Roll-out Analysis • Problem Analysis • Hypothesis Testing • Technology Assessment • Policy Study • … • Structured Thesis

  11. Structured Theses • Faculty provides framework for project & contacts / sponsors • Aligns personal goals with larger faculty research agenda • Professors • Bitran – eBusiness & Supply Chains • Burton – Tech Venture Observatory, Talent Dynamics • Fine – Technology Roadmapping, Value Chain Dynamics • Potential publications • e.g. Fabozzi, Fine & Cusumano

  12. Innovation Leadership Global MIT Sloan Matrix Example Sloan Faculty Strengths Unifying Strategic Themes Venture Finance Classic MIT Sloan Disciplinary Strengths

  13. Faculty Interests at Various Levels of Systems Analysis Economy Sector Firm Group Individual Geography Market/Tech Organization Theme Idea Global Development Business Dynamics Technology Roadmapping Technology & Entrepreneurial Strategy Venture Capital Emerging Technology Ventures Creative Communities, Social Networks Virtual Customer Initiative Decision Psychology

  14. Clusters of InterestsAt Various Levels of Analysis… Economy Sector Firm Group Individual Geography Market/Tech Organization Theme Idea Technology Roadmap Technology Venture Observatory OpenSource Initiative Virtual Customer Initiative Emerging Tech-Biz Live Cases

  15. 15.795 Technology Roadmapping (An example Masters Research Seminar) Professor Charlie Fine, TA Joost Bonsen Fall 2002 This seminar will explore the purposes and development of Technology Roadmaps for systematically mapping out possible development paths for various technological domains and the industries that build on them. Data of importance for such roadmaps include rates of innovation, key bottlenecks, physical limitations, improvement trendlines, corporate intent, and value chain and industry evolutionary paths. The course will build on ongoing work on the MIT Communications Technology Roadmap project, but will explore other domains selected from Nanotechnology, Bio-informatics, Geno/Proteino/Celleomics, Neurotechnology, Imaging & Diagnostics, etc. Thesis and Special Project opportunities will be offered.

  16. Amir Hasson, MOT 2002 MediaLab Asia connection via Developmental Entrepreneurship Class Global E-Lab Case MIT $50K entry Thesis Employment! International Development

  17. Global Development Observatory Venture Capital Observatory Creative Communities Observatory Social Network Observatory Decision Neuropsychology Lab Faculty Interests:Further Possibilities Economy Sector Firm Group Individual Geography Market/Tech Organization Theme Idea Technology Roadmap Technology Venture Observatory OpenSource Initiative Virtual Customer Initiative Emerging Tech-Biz Live Cases

  18. 5 Strategic MIT Technology Thrusts • Information Technologies = Ever more sophisticated computation & communication, leveraging mind & media. • Biomedical Technologies = Medical engineering, perfecting the health & life sciences. • Tiny Technologies = Investigating and fabricating ever smaller systems, at scales from micro thru nano • Complex Systems = Large scale, socio-political & econo-technological systems. • Developmental Innovations = Appropriate and leapfrog technologies for tackling challenges in developing & emerging regions

  19. Mapping Sloan Faculty to MIT’sEmerging Strategic Tech Sectors

  20. Mapping Faculty in Disciplines to Phasesof Venture Development

  21. Big Themes • Tech Roadmapping • Developmental Innovation • Disruptive Technologies • Cross-National Comparisons • Corporate Venturing …

  22. Practical Tips • Write thesis over time, incremental escalation • Recruit or hire some editor • Think carefully about readers • Write a one-pager and a one-paragraph version ASAP, iterate • Beware of confidentiality & data access time constraints

  23. Network Building -- Be in touch with people important to your future Career Connection -- Intimately relevant to career Access -- Research gives you access to people you wouldn’t otherwise get to Prototyping – repeat question testing, on classmates, faculty, friends Tangible Deliverable – build your portfolio Get Access by seeking answers to really interesting questions, to you and them! Broad Links – go beyond those you already know, beyond your company, for example Know your Interests but be flexible in your approach Faculty as Method Experts not necessarily industry experts Best Practices

  24. Mick Bass with Professor Clay Christenson in IEEE Spectrum Various students with Professors Ed Roberts, Cusumano, Fine, et al Books, e.g. Joe Pine’s Mass Customization Aspire towards Publications

  25. How to attract industry & faculty interest? • What questions appeal to them? • Is there an intersection? • Does it reinforce a traditional interest or stretch them in an interesting new direction? • Faculty interests vs knowledge – you educate each other

  26. Burton Fine Weill Bitran Murray Locke Johnson Shoar De Figueiredo Cusumano Utterback Hauser Urban Thurow Sterman Hunter Olive Short Pentland Von Hippel Allen Potential Advisors Go to the MIT Sloan Expertise Guide! http://sloancf.mit.edu/vpf/facstaff.cfm?sortorder=name

  27. Breadth Narrow Wide T I Deep . – Depth Shallow Seeking Students & Alums with Both Depth & Breadth “T” Individuals

  28. Unifying Sloan Themes Innovation Leadership Technology Entrepreneurship & Strategy Dynamics Transformative Innovations, Emerging Hard & Soft Technologies, Disruptive Challenges Effective Organizations, Entre- & Intra-preneurial Leadership Dynamic, Networked Organizations Developmental Innovations, MicroFinance Global Business Strategy, International Development Global

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