SMC's New Technology, Education, and Business Initiative Gives SEBA Students the Chance to Solve Real-World Tech Problems
The School of Economics and Business Administration has recently unveiled a co-curricular program: the Technology, Engineering, and Business (TEB) initiative. The yearlong program exposes students to skills, tools, and technologies—including Github, Python, Machine Learning, Cloud Computing, and Big Data technologies—needed to succeed in cutting-edge tech fields.
The program kicked off on September 15 with a Business Analytics Round Table (BART) discussion with John Ahrendt, Senior Vice President of Data and Analytics at Wells Fargo.
Selected undergraduate students will work in teams to solve real-life tech issues and earn a TEB certificate. Currently, students are working on two projects—conducting a sentiment analysis on all of Shakespeare's texts and using Blockchain to do social good.
TEB Program Director and Business Analytics Professor Navid Sabbaghi will work closely with undergraduates on the content, ensuring that students will get to work on the latest technologies.
“I applied for the program because I wanted to expand my skill set and become more valuable to future employers, and I feel that that's what I've been doing so far," said Gerardo Reyes '19, a Business Administration undergraduate with concentrations in Finance and Global Business, also minoring in Economics. "I'm really looking forward to the more advanced topics we'll cover in the next few months."
Student-Centered Learning Initiative
“The TEB initiative is a student-centered learning initiative that supplements SEBA's curriculum with cutting-edge Technology, Engineering, and Business concepts so that students are better able to work and communicate with technologists,” said Sabbaghi.
Currently, the cohort will max at 12 students, whose GPA must be 3.7 or above. Students can apply to be part of the TEB program at the end of the school year. This first small cohort will allow a better model for continuing the program in the future. "It's a little bit past beta, and we have no qualms with it being successful," said Sabbaghi.
The TEB initiative is a student-centered learning initiative that supplements SEBA's curriculum with cutting-edge Technology, Engineering, and Business concepts so that students are better able to work and communicate with technologists.
“The Technology, Engineering, and Business Program has opened my eyes to back-end web development, data analysis, artificial intelligence, and scientific computing," said Naa Kordai '19, an undergraduate student majoring in Economics and Anthropology and the vice president of the Black Student Union. A typical week for Kordai and her cohort involves watching a series of informational videos regarding a specific topic. Right now, the students are learning Python 3, simultaneously applying those skills to a month-long project.
"Professor Sabbaghi does a great job of making sure we stay on track and has provided us with a number of resources." Kordai says. "Every Sunday, we hop on a Zoom call and share our personal projects, as well as any problems we have run into during the process."