2013 student-faculty conference business, economics and management thursday february 14 th, 2013...
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2013 Student-Faculty Conference
Business, Economics and Management
Thursday February 14th, 20131:00 PM
153 Noyes
Committee Members
Faculty:
• Peter BossaertsWilliam D. Hacker Professor of Economics and Management and Professor of Finance
• Jean-Laurent RosenthalRea A. and Lela G. Axline Professor of Business Economics
Students:
• Misha RaffieeJunior, Student Chair
• Arjun ChandarSenior
• Michael PaluchniakJunior
• Benjamin RazonJunior
Discussion Topics• Identify issues within the BEM major
▫Overall option concerns▫Graduation requirements under new core▫Additional course topics
• Research and internship opportunities
• Option Considerations▫BEM club reestablishment▫Linde Institute of Economics and Management
Sciences▫Option Mentors
Overall Option Concerns
Primary Option Concerns
•Lack of student-faculty interaction▫Discussion indicates need for establishment of
a new faculty position
• Need more research opportunities in BEM▫Only 3 out of 33 survey respondents have done
economics SURFs▫No students have done research in any other
BEM areas (including finance)
• Few networking opportunities through Caltech channels
Curriculum Concerns
• Insufficient variety in elective offerings
•Large number of elective courses listed under BEM requirements are no longer offered
•Over half of the survey respondents indicate BEM coursework is too theoretical▫Major focus is too heavy on proofs of theoretical
finance▫Results suggest a larger focus on real data analysis
is needed
Faculty Concerns
•Not enough variety in graduation requirements▫Too heavy on finance▫Need for greater emphasis on competitive
strategy
•Inadequate faculty resources to offer more courses
•Too much dependence on a small number of faculty members to handle logistics
Graduation Requirements
Core Math Requirement
Ma 2 - Differential Equations
YesNo
Ma 3 - Probability & Statistics
YesNo
22/22 responders
fully support requiring Ma
314/20
responders, 70%
Undergraduate Recommendation: Require Ma 2 and Ma 3 as BEM graduation requirements
6/20responders,
30%
Programming Requirement
CS 1 – Introduction to Programming
YesNo
General Pro-gramming Re-
quirement
YesNo21/26
responders, 80.8%
Undergraduate Recommendation: Add CS1 or an approved programming equivalent as a
requirement
5/26responders,
19.2%
23/26 responders,
88.5%
3/26 responders,
11.5%
Elective Requirements
E 102 and E/ME 105
YesNo
22/22 responders
fully support requiring Ma
3
17/22 responders,
77.3%
Undergraduate Recommendation: Add E 102, E 103, and E/ME 105 as options to fulfill
graduation elective requirements
5/22 responders,
22.7%
• E/ME 105: Product Design for the Developing World
• E 102: Entrepreneurial Development
• Other course recommendations from survey: E 103 (Management of Technology)
Additional Course Topics•Respondents listed the following as topics
they would like to see included in BEM courses:▫ Consulting
▫ Strategy▫ Venture Capital▫ Marketing▫ Start-ups▫ Information systems▫ Web
marketing/Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
▫ Mathematical finance
▫ Sales▫ Analysis of
financial documents
▫ Institutional knowledge (knowledge of the finance industry)
Seminar Course – BEM 10• 20 of 21 responders (95%) recommend
offering a BEM seminar course• Directed towards freshmen and sophomores
▫ Aid in search for SURF projects and internships▫ Provide opportunity to meet professors▫ Give overview of BEM and help students select
major
• Survey recommendations:▫ Provide introduction to institutional knowledge
“Who are the players in finance? What are their roles?”
▫ Collaboration with the economics department▫ Bring in alumni and other outside professionals in
BEM fields
Research and Internships
BEM SURFs• All 3 of the BEM SURFs
done by undergrads were in Economics▫Interest expressed
about uncertainty around securing any type of SURF
▫Interest in other disciplines of BEM was mentioned
OtherBEM
13/16responders,
81.3%
3/16 responders,
18.8%
Undergraduate Recommendation: Expand research programs in BEM fields, encourage
BEM professors to take on SURF students, and educate undergrads about professors in BEM
areas other than economics
Internships• 14 of 30 have done
some internship▫Many responders
mentioned a very difficult time finding internships
• Recommendation:▫Stronger focus on
promoting and using connections to get BEM related companies to recruit on campus
Done a BEM/Fi-nance Related
Internship?
Yes
No25/30
responders, 83.3%
5/30responders,
16.7%
iNet Internship Network• Found online, other top universities are using
▫Exclusive▫Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, MIT, NYU,
Northwestern, Rice, Stanford, Penn, USC, and Yale▫Lists 1200 outstanding unique internship
opportunities as of 2/13
• Recommendation:▫Work closely with the Career Center to get
membership to this to expose students to many more opportunities being offered to other top students in the US
Additional Option
Considerations
BEM Club• Proposed club
responsibilities from survey results:▫Primary focus:
Networking▫Employment
opportunity announcements
▫Interview preparation▫Real-life trading
experience
YesNo23/29
responders, 79.3%
6/29 responders,
20.7%
Undergraduate Recommendation: Reestablish BEM Club through a possible partnership with
the Student Investment Fund
Linde Institute of Economics and Management Sciences
• Most undergraduates have never heard of the Linde Institute▫Even less have
utilized it
• Recommendation:▫Create email list for
all declared BEM majors Internship, research
opportunity, speaker, and networking event announcements
Awareness of the Linde Institute
Yes
No26/31
responders, 83.9%
5/31responders,
16.1%
Option Mentors
•Provide option related guidance▫Major requirements▫Course selection▫Advise undecided frosh
•Option socials▫Opportunity to meet people in your option, but
outside of your house and class
•Sign up▫Email any ARC rep (find us at arc.caltech.edu)
Recommendations
Graduation Requirements
• Have both Ma 2 and Ma 3 be BEM graduation requirements
• Add CS 1 or an approved programming equivalent as a requirement
• Add E 102, E 103, and E/ME 105 as options to fulfill graduation elective requirements
Improving Course Quality
• Emphasize more practical applications in course material
• Have additional office hours or opportunities for students to address questions
• Make use of Piazza as a resource for students to clarify problems
• Hire additional faculty to allow the possibility of offering a broader range of courses
Research and Internships• Expand research programs in BEM fields and
encourage BEM professors to take on SURF students▫ Creation of new faculty position▫ Advertisement of professors in BEM areas other
than economics
• Implement a stronger focus on promoting and use connections to get BEM related companies to recruit on campus
• Work closely with the Career Center to get membership to iNET to expose students to many more opportunities being offered to other top students in the US
Additional Recommendations•Reestablish BEM club with an emphasis
on networking
•Create email list for Linde Institute announcements for all declared BEM majors
•Option representative office hours
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