IE Sci Tech Students Travel to Silicon Valley as Part of Alliance with UC Berkeley
Students from IE School of Science and Technology met with top industry and tech leaders from Silicon Valley as part of the school’s partnership with UC Berkeley Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (SCET).
Upon completing the coursework and the company visits designed to explore business opportunities, network and understand the latest technology trends, the 30 students received an IE-SCET Immersion Week certificate.
The one-week program offered as a Global Immersion Week option, where students visited Amazon, Google, Visa and other tech companies, fits into IE Sci-Tech’s mission to break silos between academia and industry to enrich students’ learning experience and accelerate groundbreaking research.
“The immersion week in Berkeley is a great addition to the academic program since it gives our students great firsthand exposure to the Silicon Valley mindset and to emerging technologies,” said Ricardo Rodriguez, Global Programs Manager. “This entrepreneurial mindset of thinking more broadly about solutions, finding opportunity and innovation in disruption, risk taking and learning from failure.”
Marguertia Alting Von Geusau, student in the Master of Business Analytics and Big Data applauded learning about the latest developments in data analytics and big SCET.
“As someone with none to limited experience in entrepreneurship who has just entered the technology field, this week provided excellent insights into trends in big data and data analytics tools, and how important seeking opportunities as innovation is,” she said.
During the trip, students visited Amazon Web Services and met speakers from Microsoft, Google, as well as Visa where they discussed AI, machine learning, and data analytics.
Alting Von Geusau highlighted how networking with experts inspired her to look for opportunities with the right mindset.
“Before attending Berkeley, my vision for my next job was quite limited. However, talking with speakers and professionals with diverse experiences and stories provided fascinating insights into their journeys,” she explained. “It gave me confidence and motivation that with the right mindset, opportunities are everywhere.”
Other participants like Enrique Miguel Gugel, said the program pushed him to consider becoming an entrepreneur.
“My general feeling is that Berkeley is an inspiring area in terms of entrepreneurship. I never imagined myself as an entrepreneur and after a couple of days there, I’m considering to build something,” he said.
IE School of Science and Technology offers a range of top-drawer academic and corporate alliances worldwide, aimed at offering students hands-on-opportunities in science and technologies. Last year, IE Sci-Tech partnered with the UC Berkeley’s Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology.