Meet The MIT Sloan MBA Class of 2017

A HANDS-ON CURRICULUM THAT INSPIRED FOMO

You could call Sloan the academic equivalent to an amusement park…with shorter lines and something for everyone. Chances are, you won’t find many bored first years (whose ranks include an Air Force Captain-turned venture capitalist, an Obama Presidential campaign staffer, and a member of Executives Without Borders). Indeed, expect the Class of 2017 to stay very busy over the next two years.  And that’s due to the cornerstone of the MIT Sloan experience: Experiential learning.

And this hands-on philosophy is embodied by the school’s Action Learning Labs, where multidisciplinary student teams work on site with public and private organizations (and even startups) to develop frameworks and tools to help their hosts grow and solve complex issues. In some labs, students even present their solutions directly to executives and stakeholders. For example, students seeking international exposure can apply for the China, India, or Israel, Labs. MIT also offers a Sustainable Business Lab (S-Lab), where students can tackle social and environmental issues, with past partners including Lockheed Martin and the Environmental Defense Fund. Not surprisingly, two of the most popular labs involve Entrepreneurship (E-Lab) and Global Entrepreneurship (G-Lab), where students get their hands dirty in everything from commercializing ideas to pitching investors. Bottom Line: Sloan students apply what they’ve learned and gain real world experience in their area of interest – no different than a summer internship. Best of all, students aren’t limited to one lab, either.

However, Action Learning Labs aren’t the only unique wrinkles in Sloan’s program that the 2017 Class will experience. Recognizing the many avenues that students can take, the school also builds in breaks for activities and reflection. In the middle of each semester, for example, classes are suspended for a week to accommodate SIP (Sloan Innovation Period), where students can take workshops or focus on personal interests like visiting companies or growing their startups. Instead of opening classes in January, the school holds an Independent Activities Period (IAP), which many students use to travel abroad or prepare for their Action Learning Labs.

And the incoming class can also run or compete in several events exclusive to MIT. Each year, Sloan sponsors the MIT $100K, a leading business plan competition where student ventures can earn seed money to fund their ventures. Running from September through May, the competition, according to the school, has produced 130 companies that have collectively created 2,500 jobs and built a market cap of $15 billion dollars. In addition, the school boasts the ACG Cup Case Competition for mergers and acquisitions, along with competitions for sustainability, clean energy, and sales. At the same time, Sloan hosts the annual MIT Venture Capital Conference – the largest student-run event of its kind – along with national events covering women in management, energy, media and entertainment, gaming, and analytics.

PART OF A WIDER COMMUNITY DRIVEN TO PUSH WHAT’S POSSIBLE

So many options, so little time – That axiom takes on extra meaning at Sloan. In reality, you need to be a different kind of student to thrive at Sloan. An entrepreneurial hub, the school seeks mission-driven students with an open mind and an open heart. And the Class of 2017 certainly noticed this difference among when they were evaluating their choices.

“I liked and admired that every student I met possessed incredible intellectual vitality, analytical skills, and contagious energy, yet was approachable and creative in surprising ways,” observed Nargis Sakhibova, a Tajikistan native who served as an interpreter for UNICEF and the World Bank before moving onto data analysis. Anna Thomas, a McKinsey and Khan Academy veteran, also appreciated how inclusive her peers have been. “As an introvert and someone with little no interest in being in the spotlight, it was important to me to find a small, close-knit program with a strong campus life where I’d feel comfortable coming out of my shell…The school’s social capital comes in the form of a curious and humble student body that spends more time in the robotics lab or at the pub than on extravagant trips or competing for individual recognition.”

As students, Sloan MBAs can also take graduate courses and join clubs across MIT. With exposure to this wider community, students can access greater technical know-how – or identify potential collaborators and partners. And that’s critical to Erik Mirandette, an aspiring entrepreneur. “MIT has a rich history of pushing the frontier of what is possible in the sciences and technology. I wanted to be in a place where new technology was being created.” And one reason for this is Sloan’s dedication to entrepreneurship, says Ameer Jumabhoy, who helped return a theater company to profitability in his native Singapore. “The school is hugely committed to student ventures and supporting the development of student-led companies – providing mentorship by professors who themselves tend to be successful entrepreneurs and a mature ecosystem where students can collaborate and bring initiatives to life.”

CLASS OF 2017 LOOKING FOR A PATH – AND AN IDEA TO COMMERCIALIZE

Like MBAs before them, the Class of 2017 arrives in Cambridge with specific goals. For their part, Mirandette and Sakhibova plan to pursue entrepreneurship. “While at Sloan,” Sakhibova muses, “I am hoping to shape this interest into a manageable and executable business plan and gain access to skills and experience necessary to run such a company in an efficient way.” Mirandette frames his ambitions more elegantly. “Walter Isaacson once commented that, “innovation can be sparked by engineering talent, but it must be combined with business skills to set the world afire.” I want to dig into the start-up community at MIT and help commercialize new solutions to long-standing problems.”

Many students haven’t yet heard their calling. But they have their eyes and ears open nonetheless.  “The biggest challenge that I expect in my MBA experience is that eventually I will have to make a career choice,” admits Nitzan Haklai, an Israeli attorney. “All options will be more or less open to me and it will be up to me to decide the path of my future…In the upcoming two years I plan to try lots of different things, probably fail in some, and hopefully succeed in others. And by the time I graduate I will know that I have examined lots of options and will be ready for my next adventure.”

Similarly, Lisa Conn, who was most recently the national organizing director for a tech community pushing for immigration reform, has a purpose but not necessarily a plan. “I have written on a piece of paper on my refrigerator in Cambridge with the following: “What does the world need? What is missing that would make the biggest difference?” There isn’t one answer. There is probably a collection of smaller answers, but these are the questions that will guide my time at Sloan.”

For her part, Sakhibova expects her path to naturally unfold. “I have always been fascinated that the projects students learn and work on at MIT Sloan deal with the most cutting edge and innovative ideas of the world. Before I graduate, I hope to learn about and become good at something that I cannot even imagine now, something super cool.”

To read profiles of incoming MIT Sloan students – along with their advice on tackling GMAT, applications, and interviews – click on the student links below. 

Jennifer Ballen / Boston, MA

Lisa Conn / Laguna Beach, CA

Nitzan Haklai / Tel-Aviv, Israel 

Ameer Jumabhoy / Singapore

Erik Mirandette / Grand Rapids, MI 

Nargis Sakhibova / Dushanbe, Tajikistan 

Anna Thomas / Portland, OR 

Jackie Vouthouris / Denville, NJ