And um. And and the students take you know certain parts and then join the program but today, we are going to focus this webinar mainly on the residential. Experience. And as i said before this residential, experience. Is. 10 months. And now we are still, you know working together with the online experience as well due to covet, as we know but you know we we are very. Hopeful, that the the things the context, is going to change in the future. So to give you also a glimpse of the type of research we do at the center, uh different initiatives, and projects that uh can vary from, digital, supply chain transformation. Freight transportation. Food and retail operations, humanitarian, supply chain lab so we actually have. Plenty, of the people. That actually, are the the founders, of these concepts, right the humanitarian, supply chain lab started at mit. Almost 10 years ago or more, digital suppliers. Supply chain transformation, started just very recently. Last year or, two years ago. The mega city logistics, lab working with, large urban, areas. Sustainable, logistics, initiative. And also sustainable, supply chains like all the different, initiatives, we have on sustainability. Working, you know from. Transparency. Up to carbon emissions reduction, in transportation. And different other initiatives. And of course also the visualization. Lab the. Cave lab we call it, in which also we use a. Interesting, decision, theater, with. Top-notch, technology. To help decision-makers. To be to make better decisions. And on different things not plenty of work that also a professor, yoshi sheffy the director of the center has done, in different topics. With with his books. And, recently. Just launched the, abnormal, the new abnormal, the book that deals with, a supply chain, now in the context of kovit, 19.. So all of these the interesting part is that all this research, is. Mainly done with industry 95. Of the funds. Are actually coming from the industry and this is also the way that we validate, whether this research is relevant or not, if we have someone, that is actually willing to pay for it. Now using these, initiatives, we actually, offer. A very innovative, curriculum. Right and this is how it works in the in the, supply chain management program. So we have plenty of these researchers, teaching, these courses, actually at mit. Uh which is really. Something special that at least in my experience i have never seen in any other university, that just in a matter of six months one year that you are developing. A new project or a new initiative. You are able to actually. Create a new course so that the students in our program can actually take it and, get what is, at this point something that, will shape, the future of the field in in five ten years. Now uh, ctl, is is is bigger than just the influence we create with the sem program and also at the. At the center with the research much more we actually. Are, ctl, is there is a headquarters. Of something bigger that is the uh, scale network, this, scale stands for supply chain and logistics, excellence. And refers to, the most important network of centers of excellence, in logistics, and supply chain management. And we have, centers. Of course mit ctl, is a headquarters, but we have also cli. Center for latin american logistics, innovation. In bogota colombia. We have a center. With the university, of luxembourg. We have the zaragoza, logistics, center, we have nimbo. Uh, we have also malaysia institute for supply chain innovation so all these centers, are in a way. A replica. Of what uh ctl, does, and they also offer. Their own research agenda. Very much, aligned with what. Are the needs of the region. But at the same time they also have an educational, program. That also offers. The degree of supply chain management. And the students actually come. When, travel, is permitted. To mit. To, take part of uh the scale connect and the different scale experiences so this is something that, even though. It this year we are going to, do it in a more innovative, and, an interesting way, given the circumstances. You know in the past the students will will come, and we will have different, uh, sorry different, uh. Interesting, activities, this is part of, some videos that actually the students, from uh. This january, the last class, they did, about the experience, they had, you know sharing with different, classmates, of different regions, the case studies, challenges. And, different different experiences. Now of course this is not allowed to have so many people in the same room. But. Things may change in the future, and then we will, start gathering, again and, and trying to have uh interesting, experience. Uh. Like like this one that i'm showing in these videos. Now, a acn, program, a as you know sm program has been here for. Over 20 years now, always. You know at the forefront, of the supply chain education. And this is just a very nice, gathering, a picture. With all the alumni. That actually came some of them to celebrate, the 20-year.
Anniversary. And was actually the same time that uh, a previous, uh. Director, executive director, bruce armstrong. Left. And then this was the time that i also took over, so interesting times that he decided being an expert on resilience. He decided to leave. Exactly the time that the pandemic, just hit right so you always think that this was a very convenient, move. But very interesting times right with very very great, opportunities. So uh uh. Now let me let me just hand it to you robert so that you can, tell a little bit more how we are uh. Handling. Uh this response today to the covet 19 with educational, program. Yeah we thought it was timely, uh to at least address, the elephant, in the room obviously there's been, lots of changes with um. Covet 19, and, mit. Adapted, as well. So we just thought it would be important to highlight, a few things that mit, has done. As they reopened. They've obviously done a phased approach for reopening. Um focusing. On research, um. The research ramp up has been pretty steady i think now they're at 50, capacity, so they've been, opening it up over the um, the summer and now into the fall, obviously we've invited graduate students back to campus, um, more limited undergrads. And then we have now staff. On campus as well, mit's, testing, has been, um. Extraordinary, i think they've had over 100, 000 tests since august. And have kept it very low so, um, i think even the vice president of research said mit is probably one of the safest places you can be in massachusetts. Just because of our, um, our measures in place. But for those classes that we do have. Obviously we have a lot of. Social distancing, and mask wearing, but also hybrid. Classes are offered so students who are, weren't able to make it or, have. Other obligations, we have the ability for them to take classes in a hybrid mode. We're expecting to continue that through the spring. With classes, continuing, to be both online and on campus. But again we're still going to have limited, travel options. And limited, events. But all of you are applying for. Would be applying for 2022. So, obviously we'll see, um. What the next year brings um as also i mentioned, we have to adapt, each year, um, to. Each year to the surf to the circumstances. Um but in terms of mit, in terms of our scm, students we thought it would be, nice to just show a few pictures, of. How our students have adapted, obviously our orientation, was done. Virtually. As mit, had a one week of quarantine, as students came to campus. So we had our um. Our first gatherings, online. Um, and then once we did arrive to campus. We have um. Our own space a very nicely, done um, lots of space for students to social distance, and get that in person experience which i think. Some of our. Our guest speakers will mention at the end how things have got gone so far. Excellent thank you robert. Now probably it's a good time to uh to just introduce, you very briefly the, the different, stuff, uh. Probably is not the time to introduce everyone, personally, right as we said but at least you can identify, that we have a very. A. Large. Team. For the 40 students of the residential, and also the 40 students for the blended that joined the program. Uh as i said, i i'm, in charge of the sem, but specifically, i work very closely with the residential. Program. And the maria dr maria jesus science, she runs the blended program the one that i explained. Goes through the micromasters. And then later students join, uh, for the. One semester, experience, in the spring. And we have a uh, lynne morrison. Who is uh uh. The the expert, in in career development. Uh so it's our officer or manager, that works very closely, with the students together also with justin. Uh justin snow. To to really help uh create a you know, uh. Build first all the the the skills that you guys need to really succeed, in terms of connecting with the, with the companies. Uh, succeeding, in the in the interviews. Uh, getting all the the networking, necessary. Uh, different things related to just even writing your resume, uh, properly, and different things so. Len. Has been extremely successful, and we will show you some of the numbers but just to let you know, uh last year, uh just in december. You know the first semester, already. Is 70 percent of the students. Were already with a job offer, right. And this year we are actually going also very very good even though kovid has hit, it seems still that companies, require. A lot. Of supply chain experts, it makes total sense because now people are realizing, how important was supply chain when suddenly. You know they're, they couldn't access to goods basic goods as just even toilet paper or other things. So uh we have also plenty of other people who aren't already, uh who already texted me he cannot mute at this at this point. If you later can do it during the call aaron. You can also introduce yourself but iron is a program, manager, of both sem and scale and helps a lot with the logistics.
Robert Cummings academic administrator, of the sem program. And we have uh also. Bonnie, the communicator. Communications, officer. And marketing. Uh, mark coving. He's the academic, manager, for all the other skilled programs. So you may also hear from him if you are also interested in applying, for. Programs, that are in other skill centers. And also we have a group of, research staff. Mainly postdoctoral. Researchers, that work also supporting, teaching activities, and also supervising. A thesis and caption projects dr jan sutayakshi. Dr nima kasemi. And also dr rosen. Tosandli. Right, so, just to show you this is the stuff for the sm program we have a still. You know research, stuff, from ctl, and instructors, that uh. Also, part of the group but this is the one that uh, is part of of, of the sem, and will be, closely, related with those that are. Also taking part of the of the class. Of the class of, 2022.. Now let's go for a program overview. And uh, let me just, uh. Start with this um. Description, of the journey. And uh in the journey as we said we start usually, an onboarding, session that happens in summer and between march and july once we. Have completed, the, the admission, process. And the selection, of the of the class and then we start with orientation. And, if, again the. Weather permits and covet permits. We, we, usually go to an island, in thompson, thompson island, in boston. And the students have some team building activities. You know different things related to, also facing their convictions. Understanding. How to collaborate. In a diverse, group, and things like that this year actually we had a very interesting setting. You see using also zoom, and, and other uh uh. Tech, based. Initiatives. And it was it was very well taken by the students and still we got the objective, of, starting the engagement. And uh helping the students to you know start. Collaborating. For the for the kickoff of the program. Now after we have this of course in orientation. The main thing is, we want to make sure that you guys. Are prepared for. You know their requirements, of of the master's program mainly. Taking the exams, you know being in the classroom, study many of you, have actually been in the industry, maybe for five years, three years eleven years. And and what happens is that you you don't you don't get used to do exams. So we help you with that, by, applying an exam, that creates a little bit of tension. Uh but as you know is if you are actually selecting, uh. Mit. As part of your education.
You Know that this is going to be challenging. Nobody comes here just to have a nice vacation. But we are going to be with you to help you, all right and this is this is part of of the work we. Assign you the capstone thesis projects you're going to be working on, and and we have also other type of activities, related, also to uh leadership. And, and etc. Now after this then the fall starts. And then we have the the the, the, fall semester, the classes. With plenty of activities, the recruitment, starts very heavily. You start having your sessions, with the, with the career, uh. Officer. Uh. Land josting. Working with companies they start coming every week and then it starts with different dynamics, mit starts offering plenty of different seminars. Webinars. Uh, classes, become very challenging, but you can actually go more the extra mile would you like to take this the other and then suddenly you have really plenty of things. That. It seems. As we say you are drinking from the fire hose and this is definitely, part of of the experience. Now, after all of this then we have the iep scale, experience. We do the research, expo. This is our, our main event in which. Our students and also all the other scale students present, their, their their progress in their research projects. Captain, thesis, and, we actually have a large gathering of executives. Different companies. Media, you know in the past we've been having a. Wall street, uh, supply chain management review. Uh, different, uh. Important, business oriented, and also just general media attending these events, to really gather the best innovations, the students are developing. Uh, that will serve and will shape also the, the field. And this is going to be very interesting this year we are we are going to do it we are, we actually haven't uh disclosed, how the the calendar looks like we will do it probably very soon, but we definitely are going to work on these bringing also people from the entrepreneurship, center at mit, helping also our students to develop their their ideas, and plenty of different things. I shouldn't probably elaborate too much because. I believe michelle and the moon are here. But very soon. You guys are going to hear even more, that even even the setting of the kovit we still. Are going to take advantage, of that to create even, a more. Uh, impactful, event, right that will really reach out plenty plenty of different people. So now in. The spring. The spring now it again. Starts, uh we'll finish january the iap. Scale connect but then in february may. Or june, uh depending, on the context we are gonna, uh. Finalize, the semester, plenty of different classes related to machine learning data analytics, supply chain management. All the different electives, from the. Different labs, sustainable. Logistics. Digital supply chain transformation. Procurement. Urban logistics, so different topics that are. Pretty much related to what the researchers, at the center, are currently doing so they they the knowledge you get in those topics are actually. You know, at the forefront, of. Of, the topics of the field that, that we develop. Anyway so with this uh. You when you enter to the program we have two degree options, right we still have these options but we are now honestly disappearing. One of the options because this is not, the essence of the program even though we still we still have it, two options, are, we offer the master of applied science and supply chain management. And we have the master of engineering, in supply chain management. So what is the difference. Minor differences. The, the main one is in the in the mass of applied science you do a capsule project, that capstone. It's uh sponsored, by the industry. So some of the companies that are working. With the center. And. You know.
Those Companies, are, png. Or walmart. Amazon. In the past, uber. Uh. Starbucks. You know. Very good companies that are coming to, to work with you and, the emphasis, isn't solving a problem for the industry building managerial. Insights. Using a research. Oriented, approach. But still, is working with the company. Well in the master of engineering you still are required, to work with the company but the emphasis, is more in what is economic contribution. What is a research, gap. And that requires, more extensive, literature, review, right more work related to, where i'm gonna find a contribution. And requires. Different. Different set of skills. Uh, the important thing here is that one, is not better than the other both are different. But the way that we recruit the students. Uh, we recruit the students because of your leadership potential. Your impact to make change also in the industry or mainly in the industry, we want. Leaders, right and this is part of the purpose that will solve the problems of humanity, and we'll have, you know the mission of mit. Instilling, them. Uh and even though in the other you you may find you know i want to do a research career or academic career i would like the master of engineering, that that is also another way but this is not how we are shaping this right. Still, you guys can select it, if this is the case you you're required to do that the. The thesis but also take some. Other more technical, courses, uh to achieve it while the other requires, more, a, practical. Type of of of course. So in a nutshell, uh. If you have not, if you're not sure if you're not convinced you haven't, done research you haven't published a paper in the past, just go for the master of applied science that's the one that uh. Makes more sense to to to all of, us. Now robert why don't you, explain a little bit more how the curriculum. Looks like. Uh yeah so, over the, the nine to ten months here that the residential, students. Pursue the program. Mit has the semester divided but divided. Or the, year divided, into three semesters. Um. So starting with the fall. You can see here that we have six. Core subjects, that students will take. That include analytical, methods. Logistics, systems, which is going on right now, um. Database, and data analysis. Financial, analysis. Um so this is really the, the core foundational, experience in supply chain and logistics, um, to get the program started. You'll also be working on your research projects, that josue mentioned the capstone. Um so a lot of um. A lot of pre-work, goes into.
Defining, Your program, defining your problem. Um your literature review. And, getting that first draft, ready for the spring. During this time you can also choose. Electives. So you'll have the option, to do more electives, than what's listed here but usually we recommend, at least one. Then once we go into. The january, term which mit, calls iap. For the independent, activities, period. Um, this four weeks. Is more intensive. Um so we just have um, two classes listed here, uh and then there's more uh. More involved with your research, um so you'll present your projects to your peers. Um. Do more work with your advisor. And then you'll learn more as we see here, through the python, programming, class and through the leading global teams. So in a normal year we'll have, students from all over the scale network join. Um, here at mit. This year will obviously be. Have some virtual components, to that as well. And then as we move into the spring, uh, your options open up a little bit so we have. Four. Core subjects, that you would take. In, data science and machine learning, um we have, advanced, writing, to, fine-tune, your capstone, project. And get it ready for submission. Um, we also have. A study our study tracks um. That would usually take place at that time. And then you'll finalize, your, research project. Um. And, we'll present those to your to your peers. The benefit of the spring is that there's a lot more opportunities, for. Electives. So and through our curriculum, we have, required, electives, in analysis. Supply chain management. And just management, overall. So you'll have a lot of opportunities, to select, classes. Particularly, in the spring. The total degree requires, 90 units. But one thing that's, beneficial, from mit. Although it's a challenge for some students, is that um you actually have unlimited. Uh, credit, um within reason, within, our within our advising, limits, but um you do basically, have the option to take, however many classes you can reasonably, manage, um there's no additional, charge to go beyond that 90 units. Um i see jose smiling because we often have to talk students down to make sure that they have a reasonable, course load. Because there's, so many things offered here at mit that students want to take everything, possible. So it really isn't. In your best interest to have a manageable, course load, but, there's plenty of shopping to, to choose those electives, um so we'll work with you, during the spring and the fall term to select those. Courses. Excellent thank you robert, yeah indeed, right the students always want to take a little bit more but they learn after the fall, then later in the spring they are more conservative. Which is good. All right so let's talk about the mit experience. So uh. Robert would you like to. Yeah so. We'll do this sort of in two parts here we just have. Some um. Iconic, images of mit, and, um. The experience that we would have here, obviously we're located in cambridge, which is close to boston. Uh really, really right in the heart of the city so there's a lot a lot to do. At the end of the webinar we'll hear more from. Our two and our two student ambassadors. Michelle roy and the moon, um. So we'll be able to, get a little bit better. Better input from them on their experience so far and what they've taken advantage of and, we'll have more opportunities, for questions, as well. So that's just like a little snippet, of. The experience at mit. And then, in terms of. Yeah, so in terms of. What are the key factors, that you would use to. Why would you choose the the scm residential, program. Um obviously one of the biggest selling points is that, um. You only have to enroll for one year, so compared to an mba, program, which has, two years of. Class, ours is only, one year. So, nine to ten months. As i mentioned before, from, late august, until, the end of may. The outcomes, are very comparable, to mba, programs, so, salary, outcomes, and job opportunities, that are really on target. With our mba, peers. We also offer, opt, and stem. Stem extensions. For. Us work authorization, for international, students. So that's definitely a big plus. Our program, is located. Uh within the school of engineering so we still have a very, analytical, focus, to education. That's very aligned with the school of engineering's, mission. But we still do have a lot of, close relations, with the sloan school of management, as well so many students take. Electives, at sloan, um even though we're. A part of the engineering, school. And then another big selling point is the cohort, experience, so we have a. Usually a group of 40 students is what we aim for each year. So really allows you to build those connections, um, with your peers, and we rely heavily on our alumni, network. To help with all aspects of the program, from. Career preparation.
Interviewing. Guest speakers. Hosting us for visits. So that that alumni network that we build and that cohort, really, bonds the students together. And then. One, selling feature for that. That we'll hope to bring back. Very soon is our study treks um we have different experiences. To panama, which includes, um, visits to pineapple, factories, seeing the, locks, and. Transportation. In action, um, so these treks, really allow for an experiential. Learning um so you can see supply chain in action. We, have visits to the bay area, um, seattle, and portland. In the past we've also gone to los angeles. Um so it's really, to see um. To see our. Our. Alumni, network and how they've, um. How they use our supply chain tools in their careers, now so it's always a great opportunity, for connections, um and seeing supply chain in action. Excellent android. So let me just comment, also uh. Some news, probably some of you have heard and we feel very happy. Uh the first time that uh. Probably the. Most, if not. One of the most respected. Rankings. Uh. In the qs. Did for the first time, er. Ranking for supply chain management programs, and, it has actually given us the number one, in the position so we feel super happy and of course this is an acknowledgement. For all the, great, work of the staff, and, robert and the rest of the researchers. And of course, mainly the students the billion students like those that are going to speak very soon with you, and michelle and moon. But, yeah, very happy to share also this great news with you. Giving also the context. The program seems to be. Growing in reputation. And mainly because of the, great emphasis, we are putting on machine learning. Data analytics. You know like, tech based. You know those those digitalization. Topics. Are really, putting us at the at the forefront. In a way because. For us, as i said before we received these. Signals from the industry two years ago. And exactly, at the moment we finish on the arnold palmer meeting you know every year we meet with other companies to take a look at the curriculum. They made those recommendations. And the. Next six months we were already, with the changes in the curriculum, offering these discourses. And if there are new things like now, and probably this is a good time also to mention it, giving also the covet, we are now. Launching a new course. Of kovit i'm calling at this point the covit and the effect in the supply chain but very likely we're going to change it more related to responsive. Responsiveness. In cavite. Context, for supply chain or something like that, but that course, that we are now working on it, uh. I'm working this with professor sheffie who just wrote the book, and also taking the research the different. Staff, from the center, has been working on this this month, we are going to put a course, for the students to take during the spring. And of course. When, the new class will join we hope that, this course either will be still relevant, or we will shape it for another topic that by then will be also relevant for you to know, how to be better prepared. So uh let me just hand it back to you robert, uh for the professional, development. Yeah so one of. As you mentioned one of our big highlights, is. Really our. Our. High-touch. Job placement, and career development, services, um. Offered by our. Our co-workers, len and justin. Um so it was worth. Showing a slide here on all of the things that they do and sort of the career preparation, offered. So obviously that includes. Detailed, prep for resume, and cover letter reviews. During orientation. And even all the way, up until, um. Our, onboarding, process that takes place over the summer. You'll build. Len and justin offer many webinars, um. To develop your resume, and to start preparing, for that career outlook. They offer lots of interviews, with. Current alumni, and guest speakers on how they've, how they've. Navigated, their career. We also have a, an assessment, based on your talents so, you can really. Get a deeper look at to what your strengths are and how you can play to those and how to improve on. Your areas of weakness. Individual, career coaching is obviously a big part as well. Len and justin are here, actually i just saw them yesterday, so they, they are still conducting, those interviews, in person. Or virtual. Obviously we have to adapt, um, this year because. Eventually you'll still need to use those, um. Those tools. Um and then the companies, that we get to participate.
A Wide range from, companies on the west coast but also, getting. Positions. From, all over, the world usually, um. We've had positions. For international. As well. Um, information, sessions. Resume drops, um, i know. The, the biggest time of the year for recruiting, is really in the fall um so september and october. So we usually advise students to be prepared. To take advantage of that, that now. And like i said we'll have job postings, um, and continue, professional, development. Series, so i think. In the fall we have. Communications. In the spring we have public speaking. And then um in january we have more leadership, workshops. Because what we're really trying to do is build supply chain leaders, um that will, be able to elevate you in your career. Um and further advance, so that's why the the leadership component, is a big part. For us. And then in terms of um this is just a snapshot, of some of the employ. Of the, employers, that we've had last year and some of the positions, that our students go on. To get so as you can see here are lots of senior positions, both in supply chain planning. Um. Program development. Uh procurement. And at some other the top companies, um. Here in the us, um and even abroad. So. I think this is a good, a good snapshot, of um. Where our students go and you can see here, how, we end up leveraging, this network, um. To. To find positions for future years and also for, um visits and guest speakers that we have throughout the year. Um yeah, and then next i'll just jump through, to the application, process so i think this is um probably, one of the areas that most people want to know about is. Basically, an overview of the application. And, um, what we're looking for. So first, just covering, here the, um. The, stated, requirements. Um. We have, our, gmat gre, or as we offer, a waiver, through the sc0x. So um. We. This year obviously there's been a lot of. Changes due to copen 19, and the ability to take the gre or gmat. Um so we have always offered. For the step for several years, the ability to take our micromasters. Course, sc0x. And supply chain analytics. We definitely feel that this is a good opportunity, for you to learn. Relevant, information, that. Can be applied to the program, so we've offered this waiver i think for three years now, um so if you're not able to take the gre or gmat, um definitely consider this option, um, it'll be the course will be running, um. Through, through the winter, so you can still apply for. Round three if you start taking the course now. If not you can still take the gre or gmat we know both of those offer at home versions, so, that's definitely an option, that we'll take this year. But it is still an important. Requirement, that helps us. Assess your skills. For non-native, english speakers. We still recommend taking the ielts or toefl, again. The at-home version, of um. Of this test is fine. We're pretty, liberal with the use of waivers, so if you've. Taken a if you've had a degree at an english-speaking, university, either, undergrad, or masters. Will definitely take those into consideration, as meeting the requirement, and you can request that waiver within the online application. The resume, and cv. Also is a major component.
We Want to see that your work experience. Um, as you know from our application, we do require at least two years of work experience. So make sure that, that is highlighted, in your resume. And incorporate, it. In your statement of objective. Transcripts, are also important. We want to see your. The grades that you've gotten, um at the undergrad level and what sort of classes you've taken. We don't have any, required, majors so you don't need to have like a major in supply chain or management, we have a broad. Overview. I think around, half, of the incoming students have um. Engineering, backgrounds, actually. Um and then a lot from business, and management. But also every now and then we do get um, a few from liberal arts and other, areas that have really, been able to apply it to supply chain um, or have advanced in their career, and really want to make that transition. To supply chain or logistics. Finally we'll have the, statement of objectives, and the video statement. So these are two different. Avenues for you to present yourself. The statement of objectives, is a more formal written version. Where you can state your goals for the program. What you've done so far that makes you, a competitive, candidate. The video statement takes a more personal, approach. So this, will have a little tip some tips on the next slide, so i'll just wait until that point, um, but then we also have the letters of recommendation. Which are the final, piece of the application. Um two are required, here they can definitely come from both, academic, or professional, settings depending on what, um, best represents, you. So you can, feel free to, make that decision, and we also accept, additional letters of recommendation, i believe, up to five, but um no more than that we just want to keep it tailored, um. To just five um but two is only the limit. And then i just have a little snapshot here of our grad apply application, system, you'll notice, our mit, system is probably different than, our i know it is different than any other system because we created it ourselves, so, it's a little more simple but um useful, for us. To, help review your applications. So if you do have any questions on that, all the emails to fcm, mit.edu. Go to me and, i can definitely help, with our team, um to answer any specific, application, questions. Um and as i mentioned. I wanted to cover. Two major tips that are um. That we, that we say are the most important for, applicants, to keep in mind. So the first is the video statement. This is really. Your opportunity, to, present yourself to the admissions, committee. Um, we've changed the requirements, just a little bit this year to make it a little shorter. And make it a little bit more relevant, so as i said we want it to be that personal introduction, of yourself. Um, we're keeping it we're suggesting to keep it to, two minutes long. And you can incorporate. Um, question. The questions and the prompts that we have here on why you want to be admitted. What you'll contribute, to the mit, community. And then any other information, that's relevant. To the admissions, committee that might not be stated on your um resume, or your stu or your statement of objective. Um. So it's really, about being yourself. We definitely want you to avoid reading a script. Um. And you would just, use a webcam, like i'm using now, your iphone. Um, keep in mind around your settings, um, so that we can hear you see you, because we reference those videos a lot, as. Basically that first. It's basically an interview. With you that we can see. See your representation, so that's an important piece. The other important piece is your res as your work experience, and your resume. Um so as we mentioned. Two years is the minimum. But often we're looking for applicants, with a little bit more experience. Who are most successful, so three to seven years of, uh. Of, experience, is ideal, enrolls in supply chain or other areas, as well. Make sure that it's clearly identified, in your resume. With the things you've done, the areas that you've worked so that, we don't have to do too much too much guessing on where you are now and um what you've done before i think that always helps out the admissions, committee. So those are the major tips there um. Robert can i just comment something very quickly, before, you go with the application remind us very quickly so there were there were a couple of things that robert mentioned that are really relevant, and uh i would like just to, stress out those, those comments so the first one is about the.
The Gmat gre, requirement. Uh. If you guys do the sc0x. That's that would be awesome right because you're gonna end up doing it either way, and this is important right this is part also of the requirements. If you are admitted. Now this one. Is related to supply chain management, so we can actually get an assessment. With your technical, skills, related, to the field. And and it's also with us so that means we are going to know how many hours you are dedicating, to this and what were, your grades in each of the. Homeworks, or tasks, you know those things are relevant as well so, in case of of doubt. Just go for the ac 0x, uh, you know look at the dates and make sure that you get your 95. Out of 100. Before. Applying, i'm exaggerating, right you you get 85, above that's fine, but target, you know to get as high as possible that's always good. Second the video. This is something that we change i know probably some of you, if you have already applied and you submitted the five minute long that's okay, right you don't need to replace, it. Uh. The thing is that in the past we will have exactly the same like the statement of the objectives. It will be exactly the same information, in the video, right you will just read it, and and not you right but previous applicants. And and this this you know is, nothing wrong with that but doesn't add more right what we want to assess in the video is more, your presence, your communication, skills, how do you feel like if robert just said it in an interview so, show us more about you in that video that's that's key that's important, and and try to extend additional, information. Always helps what are the things that you would like the committee to remember. Once you do the video like we are done with you what do you want us to keep in mind about you, so do that in the video and you probably, you know would be very convincing, and we will look at your video. At least we will enjoy a lot and this is also important. Uh so they they i i definitely don't read the script, right like. 90, of applicants do that, uh it's it's not a good thing we don't want you to memorize, something and say it's you know very. Nice articulated. No it's more like show yourself, right and this is important, right show yourself, uh. With us with the committee, and and that probably shows more of your personality, and, your communication. Skills. And the third one with the work experience. Robert already said it just to emphasize. Uh. We want that like between three and seven because also this is very relevant for the for the industry, you know once we do the outreach to, to find your your perfect job. In many cases the industry, looks at favorably. Applications, that are you know with uh, with the degree, plus, from three to seven, right if you are in the other side you still, can get it right it's just that this seems ideal for us right but, keep that in mind if you are in the application, and you are a little bit short. You may probably benefit, more, by working one year more and then applying with us so keep keep that in mind. So robert i'll give it to you now. For the. Reminders, for the application. Uh yeah so just one um, final slide here on the application, reminders. Um, so as we mentioned, our next our first deadline, is november, 15th. Um we plan on turning around all of our decisions, within three weeks. Um so those who. Have taken sc0x. In in the summer, and recently finished you'll be eligible for round one, um, those of you that are just starting to think about applying, now, um, you can still take sc0x.
And Be eligible to apply for round three. Um. Yeah and we always, there's no um. There's no preferential, treatment given to each round, we usually um. We have spots available at all three so that's why we've, we've. Offered three deadlines, to really just accommodate. Your, schedule, um so that you can, apply when it makes the best sense for you. Yeah. And so now i'll finally turn it over to our two student guests, um. Michelle, and the moon. To just give you a little perspective, on how they've um. How the program's been for them, how they, why they chose the program, and, any other sort of relevant, information, and then we'll move on to questions. So why don't i first turn it over to new moon. Sure hi everyone, again this is new moon, um, i. Am currently a masters, in applied science student. And. Yeah so i my background's, in. Management consulting, i mostly did procurement, and antenna sourcing. Solutions, for our clients i ended up thinking. Wow you know there's so much more to the supply chain than just procurement, and i really needed to get a more holistic, view. Of, of the supply chain. And not only that i realized, that. I wanted to be in a place where i was at the cutting edge, of the different technologies. Um, and technological. Solutions. Right. Um. In the supply chain space so that's kind of how i ended up. Looking up mit, and applying, and. Thankfully. Getting in so i'm really, thankful to be here and excited to, to continue on to the semester, i would say the first half of the semester, so we're about 25. There, um, it's been a whirlwind, to be honest, it's been, a lot like josue, said it is really like drinking from, the fire hose, um. But in a good way right because we are here to learn we are here to. To challenge ourselves, and i think, if we aren't being challenged, then, then it wouldn't be a good program, so i'm thankful for that i think it's. I'm sure michelle would also agree, that um. Not just academically. But also, in terms of, on the personal level too you know especially working with len, and, justin, our career counselors, really thinking through. Um, on a personal level, where, where do we want to be, like what makes us happy what are our next steps. Um, not not just in terms of the, technical, aspects, of the classes which are also very challenging, so. A really great experience, all around. Even despite. The the kovid. Situation. I think that, um. We've. Been. Doing really well in terms of connecting. With our staff. With each other, i think that's the beauty, of having a small class. Um. Just, being able to really know each other's names you know have those smaller, gatherings. And, um. Really also kind of being there for each other during, these times. Because we're really, all going through it together, so. It's been really fun, and challenging. Um. I think those would be the two words that i would i would, use to describe. The first half, of. Our year, so. I. Let me know if you have any other questions i think i'm going to turn it over to michelle because that was a pretty long, introduction. Um. Michelle. Yes. Um thanks sarah. Hi everybody i'm michelle roy. Before coming to mit. I did, an undergrad, in supply chain management. And then, worked, for, shell for three and a half years in procurement. Similar. To new moon i was attracted to this program because of the opportunity. To be kind of on the cutting edge of supply chain and understand. What's new and to get to be a part of it. The other. Piece that i wanted to bring out that new moon spoke to a little bit is that, part of the work experience, requirement.
That Makes the program, so valuable, is that when you're in the classroom, learning from these incredible, professors. About. Concepts, you almost always have someone, in the room, who has. Worked within that space in real life and can give you a real example. About, you know when they've applied a principle, and practice, and you know examples of one that's gone well and when it hasn't. Um so it's really just an incredibly, rich, learning environment. That i'm, really happy to be a part of. I think i'll, let robert maybe if you have some questions, or. In the chat. Excellent. Um yeah so we'll just move right into, um. Questions i've already started, answering, a few just written here. Um, so what i'll do is um just start reading them all out and then doing the, doing the my best to, to field the questions to see who they're for. Um so i already mentioned here. We do have the option that applicants can apply to both the residential, and blended programs. Um. They're reviewed, that the admissions committee reviews those, decisions, separately. So there's no. There's no. Downside, to applying to both if you're eligible so definitely take that into consideration. Um, in terms of the level of detail for the resume. I think it's important to. Highlight the experience, that. That is most relevant, to the fill the supply chain. Or just your, general leadership. Areas, there. That's always helpful, but still keep it to one or two pages, long. Depending on, depending on how long your work history is if you've only been working. For, three to seven years then you shouldn't be going over two pages at least on um this application, and once you, um, learn from len you'll you'll really fine-tune, those experiences, once you've. Joined the program. Uh let's. See. So the in terms of the application, process. Um. You'll notice that there is the ability to apply to multiple, programs.
So You have we have our program, here in cambridge. Through the same application, you can select, multiple. Multiple. Scale centers. With all with one application, so we have our scale centers in spain, luxembourg. Malaysia. And china. Um so you can, um, just submit one application, there and you'll receive a decision, for all of the programs, on the same, um, date, um. Different time zones so they might be spread out of course, over a few different hours but um we all commit to the same three day three-week, turnaround. Of decisions. Uh on average what is the percentage of the class to pursue entrepreneurial. Careers. Um. I don't know the exact percentage, i know, that that would probably be a question more specific towards. Our career development. Office. But um. Just anecdotally, i know that there's a lot of careers, and. Particularly, for some of our. Blended students or students that might have more advanced careers. They take the entrepreneurial. Path a little bit more, because they have more experience to develop. Their own business idea or go on to positions, on higher level positions. So that was an earlier question as well as, what's the average age for the residential, program. I believe, the average age this year was around, 30 years old. So that. You can keep that in mind, we don't have any. Any upper limit to experience. Or age obviously. We do have some applicants who apply, with um. With more background. And in those cases you might just need to be a little bit more proactive, with the job search. Um, because you would be looking for higher level positions. Um. Jose did you have anything yeah just very quickly robert i was going to give a couple of examples, actually, uh. Last week. We got a session with jeff, silver. Which is an alum from the program that is also the founder of kajori. Logistics, company. And, by the way he also, has to sponsor, plenty of research, and, uh even, a a chair for for the executive director of the center chris kaplan. Very successful. Example we have also bindiya. Who is also the founder of racy link, you know and now she has become, even more uh. Famous, with all the challenges with kavit because she's, she this software of wrestling, is, used plenty to, teach, companies. Executives. Uh how to build, you know a better supply, chain risk. Management, strategy, so there are there are examples of entrepreneurship, but of course. This takes, time. And, we both robert and i are quite young in the program so the examples probably we should start tracking down, there are plenty of, successful. Alums, that are doing plenty of different things but usually, after, working, for. Some years, in the industry, just to just give that example. And also for the other question i just wanted to commend you know it was like when i said, that the three and seven you know it's it's easier. Uh. It's it's it's what i meant is not restrictions, right you may have 12 15 years of working experience. That's, that's awesome, right uh the question there will be how the program will really, you know help you, you know grow in that direction, there are people that will receive particularly, for the blended usually blender, blended correct me robert this number but blended. In in terms of age should be like probably four or five years, older than the residential, students, right, yeah that's correct. And uh and and if that's the. In that case still right. We have cases in which those that are senior. Actually, finish and they actually hire, you know residential, students we've seen that as well or. And they come and recruit that that's totally fine, your contributions. Is what really matters for the class, and this is what we are going to really assess. And in your case you should probably just think whether the program will really help you in that direction, if you just want to go back and keep working in your industry or you would like to achieve something else this is probably the conversations. Uh, we should have, right but uh but everyone, is is welcome to apply, no restrictions, at all in terms of the, of the working experience the years of working experience. Yep, all right robert with the most difficult questions for you please, i saw one that was by the way an interesting one i'm sorry to drop that was uh, if you a ladies can describe, uh, a day of uh, at mit. Right yeah it's gonna jump right into those questions like what's your what's, a day, um, of life on campus for you guys for michelle, and the moon, um. Yeah i can i can go ahead. Um. So i, am actually living off campus, and so on a typical, day i have. Most of the time one maybe two classes, in the morning and so that's normally how i'll start my day.
Um. Something that's i think a little different about grad school than maybe the undergraduate. Experience that some of you would have had, is that i that i know i have is that i like to keep, my. My kind of, business hours, during the day focused on on school and on class. Um. So in between classes, i will either be working, often on my capstone, project. Or working on homework, or, meeting with classmates, to go through a case study perhaps. So that's, pretty, typical. And then probably, another class maybe in the afternoon. Or evening. I think most of us would say we try to work in time for the gym or run or something like that. And then, we often have in the program, opportunity. For some kind of, socially, distanced. Activities, together so an example of that may be. You know going with a group of you know three or four classmates, to eat, dinner there are a lot of nice, uh patio, restaurants, in boston that we've been able to take advantage, of. Um and so that's a pretty. Pretty normal day for me right. Now. I think for me i don't really have a typical, day. So i actually came with my family and i have two kids so it's been, pretty typical every day i would say, um. But generally, speaking. Um it's, you know depending, on, the the. The number of classes i have in the day it's usually two to three hours or sometimes. At four to five depending, if i have two or the three courses. Scheduled for that day and then the rest of the time would you know be divided around. Like michelle, said meeting up with classmates, to review cases, usually over zoom sometimes. Um. And doing homework. Right. Spending about an hour or so a day on, recruiting. Researching. Networking. With alums. And. Other classmates. And yeah and so i'd say and some exercise. If it could fit in so that's. Pretty much on average what it looks like. I would say it does vary for people like some people, do your families, people don't, some people are working maybe part-time. Um. And so everybody has, different, you know priorities. Um. And again different. Class loads, so depending on how many credits you're taking too, that could also change a little bit, uh but i would say it is pretty. Packed. Your week is packed, you are, you know doing homework over the weekend. Um you are, you know networking over the weekend there are activities, also over the weekend. So it's really what you make out of it you can do everything. And just have a really really full schedule, or, you know you can also. Ease in to the semester, maybe. I would i suggest, kind of. Going full in that's kind of the way um i do things so. It's been really great for me i mean this is what, um i wanted to do so it's really different for everybody. Yeah. Yeah that's great, um. Going off of just another, sort of loose question that i'll pose to all three of you um josue, included. Is what um. What sort of initiatives. Have students been involved, with. So any sort of. Projects that they we've done, either with the center, or that you've, taken on with yourself. Um the one that comes to mind, um, that i know is in the in the process now is the. Supply chain hackathon. Um i think that that's been. A project that was done last year and we're continuing, it this year, but do you have any other um, comments as well. Well you just spoil the surprise robert for uh for namoon and michelle. But uh yes. It's just a joke robert of course no, it's a great example it's a great example and we're going to do this by the way. Uh for this for the spring. So there are different ways right and usually, you know it takes a little bit of time and most of the of the students at least in my experience.
They Start engaging, with the different initiatives, and labs. At the center. In the spring. Which is also the time in which we are we are usually giving, the lectures like the classes of. Of our labs like in my case i teach sustainable. Before sustainable, supply chain management, now sustainable, logistics. Remember the most important class at mit. And we have also urban logistics, we have digital supplies transformation, but then lately students once they are you know getting the. Uh like in in. Everything. In place. You know managing correct, the classes and also the capstone, progress, then usually, they start getting much more involved with other type of activities, in my case, i've been working with different students. In the past, not just doing the capstone but also those that just as volunteers, want to want to do something, in one of the projects that i run for instance with small firms, in in developing countries. And, the students, take part they actually analyze data, you know make contributions. In different, dashboards. Work with also, other faculty, or or companies, or students from the from the from different regions, in this case from latin america. So those activities, are just. Extra. And and the students are having extremely active in the past doing things like that. I know similar things like just in the in the in this. Past, spring. You know also because of kovit. Plenty of students took part also of the of the short projects we call it so it's it's like an independent, study, but actually, students were able to work on projects with also unicef. Another. Organizations. Related to the responsiveness. Of kovit, so when that happened all the companies were really struggling, and we actually shaped, uh around three or four projects, they probably, more, robert but you probably know the number, better the number but there were plenty of students that took part of this what eight okay eight projects that's awesome. Eight projects on this and uh and at the end there were students that couldn't really get involved at the end because they were really. Working with the capstone. So there are plenty of things right but the initiatives, are there. There are also students that after, you know finishing, the the work they actually, continue, working with us, others just join so i actually, had. A new ad, a phd, student that was also an sem, student just, one year and a half ago. So those things can happen right so there is plenty of opportunities, of engagement. Uh i'm still you know and managing that part our role as robert said it is trying to, you know provide. Things to the students, uh, in a timely manner, so that they do not just get in a crisis. With all the things that they need to do. And uh now we know that is a challenging, part but very soon, the idea is that we will we will share also other opportunities. For the class to get engaged, with you know with the different labs and different, uh. Initiatives, we have, at the center. For now for sure, the hackathon, is going to happen in the in the spring, and and that's going to be, a. Great opportunity, for uh for the students to uh to engage with industry but also with alumna. And also work on projects. Shaped and. And overseen. By different. Researchers. And labs, from ctl. But we'll talk about that. Later. So any other difficult question robert. Are you are muted. Uh one more question for namoon, and michelle, is um, are there any. Clubs across mit, that you've joined, or, associations. Or other areas. Um. That you've been involved with i know you've only been here.
Two Months now so it's still. Getting the ball rolling. Any thoughts. There. Sure, um, so, i. There are. Many many clubs to join and they're just so many, um it's really a matter of you know prioritizing, and choosing the ones, so uh there are a couple of fun clubs, i think from, and not just within, a cm you can you know pick from slowing, or all the other schools on campus. So there, there are a couple of slow in classes that i have, i'm just a member of and i you know it's mostly zoom sessions now because of covid. Uh there's like a wine club that's kind of interesting, in a brewing club if you're into. Beer brewing, um so that's. Something that i can drop in you know every other month and. Meet network with other people but also. Uh you know it's a really great de-stressor. For sure, there's, and then on a more serious note, there are, many women specific, organizations. That i've been following. Um. Not necessarily, been very active with yet. There's one called, the graduate student women's organization, that actually one of our classmates, lipsy. Um is a, i think a chair at this year um and she's been sort of the, the person that has been plugging us into their events and there are loads of events that are you know tailored towards. Women in graduate school, that um. That we're invited to and i've attended one. And that has been really lovely, again, a networking, piece but also. Um. Kind of that piece of getting you know a different. Side of graduate school not just focused on supply chain but also. Other parts of it you know again career building, um. Learning a little bit more about how to best design a happy life i think that was the workshop. On the topic and so, again lots of different things. Of course. Organizations. Around like music and sports. Unfortunately. Are, not active at the moment, but i'm sure it would be slowly. Active once um kova does. Die down a little bit and get and gets better, so. There are many opportunities. Michelle. I couldn't have said it better, so i think we can yeah please. Michelle you should you are part of the chess club or not. Uh, i i could i could join i may i may have to look into that as well. Oh actually, i just realized. Our class, do have our own. They're not official, clubs but we do have like a tennis. Time that everybody goes and plays tennis so we have these times reserved at the, tennis court. And whoever, has time would come and join and play together during that time. So we have these unofficial. Clubs. Um, as, a, as a program as well. That's great um. So yeah i know we're getting a little, uh over on time so i just want to ask, answer, two, questions that i think are most relevant. And as i mentioned in the chat um any additional questions you can feel free to email, me at. Scm.mit.edu. We'll get through to all those questions, um if you send those emails this week. So one question that. Is very relevant, is. If you have the scm micromasters. Um. Is it advantageous, to your application.
Um. And the short answer is um, yes because, we can see that you have. Demonstrated, your ability, in areas of supply chain that are very relevant. To us. This also gives you the opportunity, to apply to both the blended or the residential, program. If you, if you choose to apply to the residential, program. You can use that credential, towards um. Towards um, waiving, or opting into different classes, as a residential, student. You would still be required to fulfill the 90 units of credit but you have a little bit more flexibility. To, to choose. More electives, or other. Other classes. So it really it does it is beneficial. Both for your learning, and preparation, for the residential, program. And another question. Sort of on the same topic is um. If you have a, a business degree or other graduate, degree. Are you still eligible to apply or does it impact your application, at all at all. You're more than welcome to apply, um. I think, um, we definitely have a lot of applicants, who, have a prior degree, either. An mba, or a masters of. Science elsewhere. Um, so you can definitely take that into consideration. And still apply to the, to our program here, um, you may just want to be, um. You can explain in your statement of objectives, just how you see. The, our degree here at mit. Impacting your career and how you'll use that. Different from your mba, but. It's definitely, an option. To apply and we'll definitely review. Your applications. For both if you have that degree. So, maybe maybe. Final questions for namoon and michelle, right i'd like actually that last question so it says what is the most important, tip. That you wish you that you had prior to the enrollment. This is this is a tough one but i'll i'll, take a stab at it so. I think the thing, that. Um probably surprised, me the most. Uh was how quickly we hit the ground running, just from the perspective, of academically, during orientation. That you are. You know already looking, at. Coding, and statistics. And if you haven't looked at it since you took uh, you know sc0x. Then maybe good even to do a little brief refresher, before orientation. Um, but that was definitely one surprise just how quickly we hit the ground running, but you know on, kind of the the same, other side of the coin, um i was also very pleasantly, surprised, that even, with, you know the you know intense academic, environment, that we're in, um, you can totally rely, on your classmates. To. Work with you if you you know maybe somebody has an area that they don't understand, as well. Um somebody else in the class you know very very likely, is able to understand better, and people, are so willing, from from day one, to go above and beyond to help out their classmates. Um, so. Yeah, that's what i would say. No i agree, actually, um. I i can't really think of a. Really another good example, in terms of you know what i wish i had known. Um. The the planning piece is really key you know you do hit the ground running, like as soon as you arrive, and i so i think. Really do spend you know. The months or weeks before, coming. Preparing. Whether it's through those sc0x. Courses. Thinking through your stories and your narrative. Really spending time reflecting, on. What you should be prioritizing. What you want to get out of this program. And what your next steps, would be, after the program. And so, i think getting those stories, straight with yourself, and those priorities, straight with yourself in the beginning would be really helpful. Not with just classes, and, you know ranking capstone, projects, or. Ranking, classes, and choosing, electives, but also. In terms of recruitment. And the types of companies that you end up applying to because everything starts basically. In the fall. And so. The sooner you have a better understanding, of what you want, and what you wan
2020-11-18