UCSB TMP

Yardi supports tech education

By Leah Etling on May 11, 2018 in Giving

One of the most innovative programs on the UC Santa Barbara campus, the Technology Management Program (TMP) benefits students, employers, and the community at large. The TMP focuses on practical applications of tech and engineering skills in the workplace, and now offers a fast-tracked master’s degree program for those wishing to further their education.

“We think we have a very unique program that is designed to accelerate how quickly an early-career engineer or scientist can become a leader in a technology company, by emphasizing human capital skills like communication and leadership,” said David Telleen-Lawton, Career Development Manager for the TMP.

In the process of developing the Masters in Technology Management (MTM) track, a team from TMP conducted extensive market validation research, including speaking with executives at 24 local, Bay Area, and Southern California tech companies, including Yardi (pictured), to determine what skill sets and educational backgrounds were most needed.

“We learned that companies need more software developers. They also told us that they could not find enough technically trained people that would take initiative. They need people who see the bigger picture and realize that the organizational problems are often more intransigent than the technical problems,” Telleen-Lawton shared.

The MTM team also met with potential program students, where they learned that interest in the program was not just from engineers and scientists, but others with non-technical degrees already or wanting to work in the tech space.

As a result, the MTM “is a curriculum of leadership skills for those who are comfortable working at fast-moving technology companies,” Telleen-Lawton said. The nine-month program is designed to quickly return students to the job market after packing in a year of management-level education focused on business, leadership, human resources, and product marketing.

TMP leaders are proud to share that 75% of the 2017 masters degree recipients had job offers by June 2017 and 92% within the next three months.  That rate rivals Harvard and Stanford business schools.  2018 job offers to those about to complete the program are coming sooner and at a higher rate.

Many in Santa Barbara are already familiar with one of the TMP’s earliest initiatives, the annual New Venture Competition (NVC),  a yearlong academic contest in which teams of undergraduates pitch potential new product and business ideas in competition for funding – and sometimes end up launching successful new businesses as a result. Inogen and Apeel Sciences are just two of the better known companies that formed as a result of this competition.  The NVC hosts its Fair and Finals this month, two great opportunities to see the program in action. More details here.

Yardi is proud to offer continued support to the TMP in the form of sponsorship of the NVC, but we also benefit tremendously from our relationships with the MTM program’s staff and students.

Both in the first year of the program and this spring, a group of graduate students conducted market evaluation for a relatively new Yardi product. The opportunity to complete internship tasks with real world application offers great value to the students and Yardi alike. Many past participants in TMP programs are among our current staff in Goleta.

Learn more about the TMP and MTM.