2013 Student-Faculty Conference Business, Economics and Management Thursday February 14 th, :00 PM 153 Noyes

Committee Members Faculty: Peter Bossaerts William D. Hacker Professor of Economics and Management and Professor of Finance Jean-Laurent Rosenthal Rea A. and Lela G. Axline Professor of Business Economics Students: Misha Raffiee Junior, Student Chair Arjun Chandar Senior Michael Paluchniak Junior Benjamin Razon Junior

Discussion Topics Identify issues within the BEM major ▫Overall option concerns ▫Graduation requirements under new core ▫Additional course topics Research and internship opportunities Option Considerations ▫BEM club reestablishment ▫Linde Institute of Economics and Management Sciences ▫Option Mentors

Overall Option Concerns

Primary Option Concerns Lack of student-faculty interaction ▫Discussion indicates need for establishment of a new faculty position Need more research opportunities in BEM ▫Only 3 out of 33 survey respondents have done economics SURFs ▫No students have done research in any other BEM areas (including finance) Few networking opportunities through Caltech channels

Curriculum Concerns Insufficient variety in elective offerings Large number of elective courses listed under BEM requirements are no longer offered Over half of the survey respondents indicate BEM coursework is too theoretical ▫Major focus is too heavy on proofs of theoretical finance ▫Results suggest a larger focus on real data analysis is needed

Faculty Concerns Not enough variety in graduation requirements ▫Too heavy on finance ▫Need for greater emphasis on competitive strategy Inadequate faculty resources to offer more courses Too much dependence on a small number of faculty members to handle logistics

Graduation Requirements

Core Math Requirement 22/22 responders fully support requiring Ma 3 14/20 responders, 70% Undergraduate Recommendation: Require Ma 2 and Ma 3 as BEM graduation requirements 6/20 responders, 30%

Programming Requirement 21/26 responders, 80.8% Undergraduate Recommendation: Add CS1 or an approved programming equivalent as a requirement 5/26 responders, 19.2% 23/26 responders, 88.5% 3/26 responders, 11.5%

Elective Requirements 22/22 responders fully support requiring Ma 3 17/22 responders, 77.3% Undergraduate Recommendation: Add E 102, E 103, and E/ME 105 as options to fulfill graduation elective requirements 5/22 responders, 22.7% E/ME 105: Product Design for the Developing World E 102: Entrepreneurial Development Other course recommendations from survey: E 103 (Management of Technology)

Additional Course Topics Respondents listed the following as topics they would like to see included in BEM courses: ▫Consulting ▫Strategy ▫Venture Capital ▫Marketing ▫Start-ups ▫Information systems ▫Web marketing/Search Engine Optimization (SEO) ▫Mathematical finance ▫Sales ▫Analysis of financial documents ▫Institutional knowledge (knowledge of the finance industry)

Seminar Course – BEM of 21 responders (95%) recommend offering a BEM seminar course Directed towards freshmen and sophomores ▫Aid in search for SURF projects and internships ▫Provide opportunity to meet professors ▫Give overview of BEM and help students select major Survey recommendations: ▫Provide introduction to institutional knowledge  “Who are the players in finance? What are their roles?” ▫Collaboration with the economics department ▫Bring in alumni and other outside professionals in BEM fields

Research and Internships

BEM SURFs All 3 of the BEM SURFs done by undergrads were in Economics ▫Interest expressed about uncertainty around securing any type of SURF ▫Interest in other disciplines of BEM was mentioned 13/16 responders, 81.3% 3/16 responders, 18.8% Undergraduate Recommendation: Expand research programs in BEM fields, encourage BEM professors to take on SURF students, and educate undergrads about professors in BEM areas other than economics

Internships 14 of 30 have done some internship ▫Many responders mentioned a very difficult time finding internships Recommendation: ▫Stronger focus on promoting and using connections to get BEM related companies to recruit on campus 25/30 responders, 83.3% 5/30 responders, 16.7%

iNet Internship Network Found online, other top universities are using ▫Exclusive ▫Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, MIT, NYU, Northwestern, Rice, Stanford, Penn, USC, and Yale ▫Lists 1200 outstanding unique internship opportunities as of 2/13 Recommendation: ▫Work closely with the Career Center to get membership to this to expose students to many more opportunities being offered to other top students in the US

Additional Option Considerations

BEM Club Proposed club responsibilities from survey results: ▫Primary focus: Networking ▫Employment opportunity announcements ▫Interview preparation ▫Real-life trading experience 23/29 responders, 79.3% 6/29 responders, 20.7% Undergraduate Recommendation: Reestablish BEM Club through a possible partnership with the Student Investment Fund

Linde Institute of Economics and Management Sciences Most undergraduates have never heard of the Linde Institute ▫Even less have utilized it Recommendation: ▫Create list for all declared BEM majors  Internship, research opportunity, speaker, and networking event announcements 26/31 responders, 83.9% 5/31 responders, 16.1%

Option Mentors Provide option related guidance ▫Major requirements ▫Course selection ▫Advise undecided frosh Option socials ▫Opportunity to meet people in your option, but outside of your house and class Sign up ▫ any ARC rep (find us at arc.caltech.edu)

Recommendations

Graduation Requirements Have both Ma 2 and Ma 3 be BEM graduation requirements Add CS 1 or an approved programming equivalent as a requirement Add E 102, E 103, and E/ME 105 as options to fulfill graduation elective requirements

Improving Course Quality Emphasize more practical applications in course material Have additional office hours or opportunities for students to address questions Make use of Piazza as a resource for students to clarify problems Hire additional faculty to allow the possibility of offering a broader range of courses

Research and Internships Expand research programs in BEM fields and encourage BEM professors to take on SURF students ▫Creation of new faculty position ▫Advertisement of professors in BEM areas other than economics Implement a stronger focus on promoting and use connections to get BEM related companies to recruit on campus Work closely with the Career Center to get membership to iNET to expose students to many more opportunities being offered to other top students in the US

Additional Recommendations Reestablish BEM club with an emphasis on networking Create list for Linde Institute announcements for all declared BEM majors Option representative office hours

Closing Remarks Check out the new BEM website!