Nida Yamin

University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management                                                       

“Compassionate, collaborative and curious to solve healthcare challenges across the globe.”

Hometown: New Delhi, India

Fun Fact About Yourself: Since childhood I have had this fear of riding a bike. I never learned how and often avoided it. After arriving in Minneapolis, my daughters pushed me to learn bike riding and now I explore lanes of Twin Cities with them.

Undergraduate School and Major:

Master in Sustainable Development Practice, TERI School of Advanced studies, India

Bachelor in Physical Therapy, Jamia Hamdard University, India

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Senior Manager -Strategic Partnerships, Dure Technologies Pvt Ltd.

What has been your favorite part of the Twin Cities so far? What has made it such a great place to earn an MBA? Apart from the beautiful natural landscapes, 10,000 lakes, and snowy and cold winters, my favorite part of the Twin Cities has been the spirit of its people: warm, welcoming, and supportive to each other. When I first landed in Minnesota, I connected with a hospitality center and they connected me with this wonderful family who hosted me and my family for two weeks, helping us adjust to the new city, country, and environment. People here value service to others, and their willingness to spend time helping each other out is what makes twin cities a home to live.

With Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the Twin Cities and a flourishing tech and med-tech start-up community, it is an apt place to learn, collaborate and grow while earning an MBA. The flare of innovation and strong commitment to social impact is driven by the fantastic education system embedded in the Twin Cities. Throughout the semester, I have interacted with a wide range of businesses from large-scale corporations and consulting firms to small business start-ups. With each interaction, I learned more about the Twin Cities ethos of innovation, sustainability, resilience, and impact.

Carlson MBA spend a year in hands-on Enterprise programs for Consulting, Branding, Ventures, and Funds. Which program do you intend to enroll in? What excites most about your Enterprise program? I am excited to join the Ventures Enterprise at Carlson in the upcoming spring semester. The enterprise teaches entrepreneurial skills built on the principles of Human Centered Design (HCD). In a multi-dimensional world of challenges that we reside in, it is important to look at them through systematic yet nuanced understanding of the ecosystem. HCD, when done well, enables just that. HCD is not merely a set of processes, but is an overarching approach that enables uncovering different barriers, enablers, and leverages to help develop a highly empathetic, contextual, and variegated understanding of the ecosystem, its key stakeholders, and their problems. To work toward solving real-world problems by applying the lessons learned and continuously working toward improving them is the journey that I am looking forward to pursuing.

Aside from your classmates, experiential learning, and location, what was the key part of the Carlson MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? As an MBA student at the Carlson School, I gained access to globally renowned centers for excellence, such as the Carlson Global Institute, the Analytics for Good Institute, the Center for Integrative Leadership, and the Medical Industry Leadership Institute. The immersive educational sessions at these centers are crucial in understanding big data analytics and the role of technologies for scaling healthcare solutions and making data-driven decisions. In the spring semester, I am looking forward to courses from the Medical Industry Leadership Institute and Medical Valuation Lab, which provides a platform for students to assess the potential of upcoming healthcare innovations, develop go-to market strategies, formulate partnerships, and work on scale-up strategies.

The specialization in the medical and healthcare industry will provide me with unparalleled access to industry innovations and intellectual leadership. Courses on Healthcare Market Analysis, Process Improvements Methods, Big Data Analytics, Enterprise systems, and Project Management will educate me with all the necessary skills to become a future healthcare industry expert.

What course, club or activity have you enjoyed the most so far at Carlson? Two of my most favorite courses were Managerial Finance and Supply Chain Management. Apart from being taught by excellent faculty, these courses taught the foundations for efficient planning, management, and long-term sustainability of any business. With the recent downturn of the economy, I find it is essential for businesses today to in-build strategic sourcing and financing capabilities.

I am also part of Net Impact Club at the Carlson School which is currently working on a digital literacy curriculum for juveniles and low-income group youths to acquire relevant digital skillsets and soft skills to enter job market. The club has helped juveniles in writing their resumes, imparting networking skills, and is continuously supporting throughout the job search journey.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: In 2020, I started working in the digital health space and conceptualized a couple of digital health solutions. One such solution was designed for internally displaced population and people living in conflicting regions and suffering from infectious diseases. These patients were often not able to get access to continued treatment and medical services. My work on this digital solution was not restricted to conceptualizing, but I also went ahead to formulate relevant partnerships with multi-country UN bodies to adapt the application and deploy at their border sites. This assignment brought a lot of personal learnings in terms of working with different internal product development teams as well as developing and pitching the solution to international donors and governments.

Describe your biggest accomplishment as an MBA student so far: Recently, I was awarded Sands Fellowship, a fund for University of Minnesota students who want to establish their own ventures to work on solving local challenges of Twin Cities. Through the fellowship, I am working toward declining the sexually transmitted diseases (STI) among adolescents in the Twin Cities. This initiative is very close to my heart as adolescent sexual health is more than absence of pregnancy and infections. It is important that our youth feel supported during their tender years of teenage life.

What has been your best memory as an MBA so far? Being a mother and an MBA student at the same time is such a roller coaster ride that I have undertaken. I am humbled by studying along with the brightest minds of the future business world at the Carlson School. This is a memorable journey that I am currently living.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into the Carlson MBA program? The MBA is a demanding program, and it is important to find the right fit. My advice to potential applicants would be identify the reasons they want to pursue the program and explore how Carlson can fit into their agenda. Talk to current students, alumni, and most importantly, the admissions team. I was so very well-guided and supported throughout my application process by the admissions team. Interact with board members of student clubs, network, and network! For candidates moving with families, you should learn not just about the program but also about the city. Get yourself familiar with potential areas to reside, schools for kids, and childcare.

DON’T MISS: MEET MINNESOTA CARLSON SCHOOL’S MBA CLASS OF 2024