Berkeley MBA students have taken the lead in developing two annual, world-class business plan competitions.
World of Good won first place at the Global Social Venture Competition in 2005 and also took second at the UC Berkeley Business Plan Competition. The company distributes a retail line of globally sourced fair trade gifts and accessories. The team included Priya Haji, MBA 03, pictured above
Full-time MBA Program
Experiential Learning: Beyond the Classroom
One of the most powerful learning tools available to Haas students is the opportunity to learn outside the classroom, in real-world business settings. Participating in one of our Experiential Learning programs is an occasion to put theory into practice, often within weeks of having learned it; to make long-lasting connections; and to explore diverse work options.
This comes in two forms. First, the Berkeley MBA program is enriched by an array of innovative courses that combine classroom learning with hands-on exposure to real-world business situations. Second, outside of your classes the program offers you many field activities that make use of the knowledge and skills you have mastered in your coursework.
Hands-on projects provide real-world experience
In courses, over 50 percent of full-time Berkeley MBA electives make use of hands-on projects. This almost always means team projects — an important aspect of experiential learning. For example:
- Teams of Berkeley MBA students work directly with firms such as Hewlett-Packard, Gap Inc., Ford Motor Co., and McDonald’s Corp. in a corporate responsibility course. A past team spent fifteen weeks conducting a third-party assurance of Intel’s corporate social responsibility report, which was highlighted on the company’s web site.
International Business Development (IBD) is one of the Haas School’s most heralded experiential electives. Each summer it sends 70 Berkeley MBA students to work in small teams with a variety of clients for three weeks on consulting projects in various countries.
- A recent team worked in the jungles of Borneo, Indonesia, helping farmers to set up a viable business co-op that will allow them to pool the rattan they harvest and sell it to furniture manufacturers at a reasonable profit.
- In Zambia, Africa, an IBD team conducted market research for products designed by the Wildlife Conservation Society to promote sustainable agriculture and end animal poaching.
More opportunities to apply learning
Beyond the course-related field activities are a plethora of projects, student-organized conferences, case and business plan competitions, and special events that challenge Berkeley MBA students to put their learning to work right away in innovative ways. Haas@Work projects last year sent groups of 50 Berkeley MBA students to consult on key business issues with top executives at Disney, LAM Research, and Cisco Systems. “Innovation is about fresh ideas being put to work, and Haas@Work is about applied innovation,” says Adam Berman, executive director of curriculum innovation.
We have five primary program areas and we expect students to avail themselves of at least one of the following:
- Applied Innovation: Haas@Work students innovate real-world solutions with partner firms
- Corporate Responsibility: Applied opportunities to meet the bottom lines of profit and social responsibility
- Entrepreneurship: Direct contracts with Silicon Valley and other Bay Area entrepreneurs
- International Business Development: In-country work in Africa, Asia, and elsewhere
- Nonprofit Leadership: Includes serving on board committees and consultation
Please see below for more details about each area.
Applied Innovation
Haas@Work is a program that provides MBA students with an opportunity to engage with companies to address a current, high-level business challenge using innovation tools from the curriculum. A team of students will implement recommendations selected and approved by the senior executives of the client company. This group of students will enroll in the Seminar in Applied Innovation course (3 units). Read more about Haas@Work.
Peers@Haas is a year long program, designed to enable MBA candidates to elevate their leadership capabilities by providing the opportunity to achieve positive, long-term measurable change in one key leadership behavior. Participants will learn a set of tools and methods that have been successfully used by senior executives across the world to change behavior resulting in an overall improvement in leadership capacity.This program is a unique opportunity for students to build the leadership habits that will enable them to excel in their current work, after graduation and beyond.
For more information on either program contact Adam Berman.
CorporateResponsibility@Work
Strategic CSR Consulting Projects provides MBA and undergraduate level students with a unique opportunity to engage with companies to develop CSR strategies that are aligned with business objectives and core competencies. These consulting projects are combined with classroom "best practice" lectures of companies who have attempted to implement socially responsible strategies while maintaining or maximizing financial returns.
Gap Inc. Scholars in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Program is a unique fellowship opportunity that supports Haas MBA students who demonstrate a commitment to the field of corporate social responsibility in their professional and educational pursuits. The program provides two-year scholarships of $5,000 each year to three full-time incoming Haas MBAs. CSR Scholars are required to take a certain number of CSR-related courses and complete a research project for Gap Inc. during their time at Haas.
McDonald's Research Fellows in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Program provides a team of second-year Haas MBA students with an opportunity to conduct a deep stakeholder engagement study on McDonald's CSR activities—giving the company a fresh perspective and new insights into its business. The corporate-sponsored program provides research fellowships to each student. The fellows work closely with a faculty director on the study and produce several key deliverables that may be used broadly and at the discretion of McDonald's.
Entrepreneurship@Work
Berkeley Solutions Group (BSG) is a Haas-student-run program that provides MBA student consultants to local new enterprises, small businesses, and nonprofit organizations at below-market rates. Student consultants typically focus on market research, feasibility studies, financial analysis, and human resource planning.
Management of Technology — Mayfield Fellows Program is a paid summer internship program at venture capital-funded Silicon Valley high tech start-ups. These internships are made available to up to 10 graduate students at UC Berkeley.
PEL — Partners for Entrepreneurial Leadership is an innovative training program that provides MBA skills to young companies. PEL places its members with high-growth companies for summer internships, many of which continue into ongoing projects during the students' second year in the MBA program.
New Venture Fellows is a program that provides MBA students, interested in venture capital or entrepreneurship, with a hands-on opportunity to work with one or more VC affiliates on small projects throughout the semester. Fellows also manage and participate in the UC Berkeley pitch lab, which gives entrepreneurs from the UC Berkeley community an opportunity to practice their pitches and receive feedback on their ventures in a neutral environment.
International@Work
International Business Development (IBD) program is a global management consulting program operated by the Clausen Center. Extremely popular with both MBA students and organizations and companies around the world, IBD has been assigning teams of MBA consultants to projects for 16 years.
Seminars in International Business provides groups of students with an opportunity to investigate, firsthand, the opportunities and challenges of doing business internationally. Five programs are offered each year. Seminars in International Business has been offered since 1999.
Management of Technology—International Research Program (Bridging the Divide) provides students with an opportunity to travel to Asia, Africa and Latin America to apply innovative technologies to the problems of developing countries.
Health Management International and Community-Based Internships provides two MBA/MPH students with up to $5000 in funding to work at a domestic or international not-for-profit, non-governmental organization or quasi-governmental organization with an established internship program and a history of no stipend (i.e., WHO, UNAIDS).
Nonprofit@Work
Berkeley Board Fellows provides students with the unique opportunity to work at the highest level of an organization and make a positive impact on the local Bay Area community. Managed by the Center for Nonprofit and Public Leadership, Berkeley Board Fellows places Haas MBA students on local nonprofit boards of directors. Board Fellows are paired with a mentor, serve on a board committee, attend full board meetings, and produce a board-related deliverable. Program begins in October and ends in May.
Social Sector Solutions (MBA 292N-1) is a nonprofit consulting course offered in partnership with McKinsey & Company. Ten teams of 5 students work with an experienced McKinsey consultant coach to help select nonprofit clients succeed in entrepreneurial ventures. Students learn academic frameworks and gain practical hands-on experience in management consulting and consulting with nonprofit organizations. The course is co-taught by Nora Silver, Director of the Center for Nonprofit and Public Leadership, and Paul Jansen, McKinsey & Company Director of the Global Philanthropy Practice.
Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund (SV2)—The Center for Nonprofit and Public Leadership and Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund (SV2) offer three fellowship opportunities that focus on the various priorities of SV2’s donor network. SV2 leverages its financial, intellectual, and human capital to make a meaningful, measurable impact in Silicon Valley and beyond. SV2 does this by strengthening the organizational capacity of its grantees and the philanthropic capacity of its Partners.
For more information, contact Debbie Ng.
