IAP Independent Activities Period
overview participate organize offerings calendar  
for-credit subjects non-credit activities by category non-credit activities by sponsor non-credit activities by date

IAP 2009 Activities by Category

Management and Entrepreneurship

A short, practical course on Focus Group Research in Academic and Corporate Settings: The Whys and Hows
Clara Fernandez
Mon Jan 19, Tue Jan 20, Wed Jan 21, 02-04:00pm, 2-142

Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Limited to 20 participants.
Participants requested to attend all sessions (non-series)

Instructor: Cheryl K. Olson, Sc.D., who is co-director of the Center for Mental Health and Media at MGH, and splits her time between academic research and real-world consulting. She'll use her own focus group studies with teens and parents about video games as teaching examples.

Content includes:
• When and why to consider focus groups (qualitative studies) in academic or corporate research.
• Using focus groups for media research.
• Planning your research (from research questions to human subjects paperwork).
• Designing a focus group protocol (questions and procedures).
• Budgets and practical concerns.
• Recruiting participants.
Contact: Clara Fernandez, NE25-379, x4-9115, telmah@MIT.EDU
Sponsor: Comparative Media Studies

Coolhunting and Coolfarming through Swarm Creativity
Peter Gloor, Daniel Olguin Olguin
Tue Jan 13, Wed Jan 14, Thu Jan 15, 03-06:00pm, E51-145

No limit but advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 10-Jan-2009
Participants requested to attend all sessions (non-series)

Discover what’s going to be cool—before everyone else.
In this course you will find out how to:
- discover cool trends for your field through Social Network Analysis by tapping into the collective intelligence of your potential customers (coolhunting)
- find the trendsetters who convert an innovation into a trend
- take the new trends you find and develop their business value (coolfarming)
You will also learn how to use our Condor, Condorview, CoolPeople and CoolTrend software for coolhunting and dynamic social network analysis. Among other examples we will apply our approach to optimizing communication flow, throughput and efficiency in hospitals.
This is a condensed version of a distributed course which has been taught for the last four years in Helsinki, Cologne, and Savannah College of Art and Design.
Web: http://www.ickn.org/html/IAP.htm
Contact: Peter Gloor, NE25-749, x3-7018, pgloor@mit.edu
Sponsor: Sloan School of Management

From Innovation To Commercially-Viable Products
Afarin Bellisario, Guest lecturers
No limit but advance sign up required (see contact below)
Participants welcome at individual sessions (series)

This course, consisting of 4 independent 2-hour sessions, will focus on the journey from an innovative concept (or proof of concept) to a commercially viable product. Each session covers an independent part of the process.

All sessions will use real examples from real-world products. In addition to George Ixix (Jan. 27), we may have other mystery guests. Throughout the course we will discuss building a financial model to determine viability, and test a variety of scenarios.
Contact: Afarin Bellisario, (617) 899-2519, abellisario@alum.mit.edu
Sponsor: Mechanical Engineering


Afarin Bellisario, Guest lecturers
Session 1 is focused on identifying and selecting a target application/market. It covers identifying opportunities, the value proposition, pricing and timing.
Tue Jan 6, 10am-12:00pm, 5-234


Afarin Bellisario, Guest lecturers
Session 2 is focused on market sizing for emerging markets, target customers, channels, supply chain, and understanding of the market ecosystem.
Tue Jan 13, 10am-12:00pm, 5-234


Afarin Bellisario, Guest lecturers
Session 3 is focused on product development: from proof of concept to a manufactured product - including product definition, market validation, trade-offs, standards, manufacturing, and the effect of delays on profitability, as well as the role of partnerships and start-up business models. Financial aspects of product and business are also discussed.
Tue Jan 20, 10am-12:00pm, 5-234


Afarin Bellisario, Guest lecturers
Session 4 covers legal aspects of the business, including IP protection and formation of corporations. George Ixix, a patent attorney with Nutter, McClennen and Fish (MIT class of '87) will be the guest speaker.
Tue Jan 27, 10am-12:00pm, 5-234

Getting Started with A Business Plan
Lars Hasselblad Torres, Catherine Merrill
Thu Jan 8, 06-08:00pm

No limit but advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 01-Jan-2009
Single session event

For many innovations for underserved markets, writing a business plan is a key step. Business plans are great at highlighting how to generate profits using market forces, whether the profits return to the innovator or remain in the community. During this 2-hour workshop taught by veteran technology innovator and entrepreneur Catherine Merrill, we will walk through the traditional sections of a business plan, exploring how each helps convey the power an innovation has to change a community. This workshop will help IDEAS teams and anyone starting a new project to use the traditional business plan as a tool to induce others to invest resources in their innovation.
Contact: Lars Hasselblad Torres, TBD, x4-5176, lhtorres@mit.edu
Sponsor: Public Service Center

How to make cities competitive and sustainable
Karen R. Polenske, Victor M. Vergara, Roberto Chavez, Patricia McCartney, and Douglas Webster
Thu Jan 22, Fri Jan 23, 09am-12:30pm, 9-057

Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 10-Jan-2009
Limited to 40 participants.
Participants requested to attend all sessions (non-series)

The workshop seeks to present current practices in urban management and planning addressing dual challenges of competitiveness and sustainability building on training programs under development by the World Bank Institute and its partner institutions. Discussion will focus on regulatory and economic instruments as well as social action to enable development of competitive, sustainable and equitable cities. A key entry point for debate will be case studies of land use planning and development from cities around the world.
Web: http://stellar.mit.edu/S/project/iap-competitive-and-sustainable-cities/
Contact: Yuan Xiao, (202) 607-5901, yuanxiao@mit.edu
Sponsor: Urban Studies and Planning

Intellectual Property Workshop
Lars Hasselblad Torres, Aliki K. Collins
Tue Jan 6, 05-07:00pm, TBD

No limit but advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 01-Jan-2009
Single session event

"Are you an innovator or inventor? Does your work solve the problems of under-served people or communities? Are you uncertain how (or why) to protect your intellectual property? Do you need advice about intellectual property issues for international community service projects? Then come to the Intellectual Property workshop led by Aliki K. Collins, founder of AKC Patents, LLC.

Even if you don’t intend to benefit financially from your ideas, IP protection may make your project more effective and sustainable. Explore your options at this presentation and Q&A session. This clinic is ideal for IDEAS and other MIT competition teams, 100k Development Track, and all other members of the MIT community who are working on innovations that solve the problems of underserved communities."
Contact: Lars Hasselblad Torres, TBD, x4-5176, lhtorres@mit.edu
Sponsor: Public Service Center

Mini MBA for MDs
Jeff Behrens, Sarah Henrickson
Wed Jan 7, Mon Jan 12, Wed Jan 14, 21, 05-07:00pm, TMEC 227, At Harvard Medical School

No limit but advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 31-Dec-2008
Participants requested to attend all sessions (non-series)
Fee: 15.00 for for case studies

Overview of business for MD and other HST students who expect to interact with industry during their careers: by consulting to, working for, investing in or starting companies.

~1 hour of reading/case preparation per session; lectures, case studies, guest speakers, and discussion.

Introduction
  • Business 101: risk/return; why businesses?
  • Valuation: what is a company worth and why?

    Entrepreneurial and corporate finance
  • Corporate governance and decision-making
  • Ethics in the corporate realm

    Healthcare in the US
  • The healthcare industry - multiple dimensions of organizations
  • Demographics of the healthcare industry

    The future of the healthcare industry
  • Where is smart money investing now?
  • Where do you go from here?
    Web: http://minimba.pbwiki.com
    Contact: Sarah Henrickson or Jeff Behrens, sarah_henrickson@student.hms.harvard.edu jbehrens@adviza.com
    Sponsor: Health Sciences & Technology

  • Supply Chain Innovation and Leadership Series (SCILS)
    Jarrod Goentzel, MIT-Zaragoza Executive Director
    No limit but advance sign up required (see contact below)
    Participants welcome at individual sessions (series)

    This series is a required part of the Master of Engineering in Logistics (MLOG) program and includes students from the sister ZLOG program in Zaragoza, Spain. This month-long series features talks by supply chain executives who provide a practical perspective on driving innovation and developing leadership skills in global organizations. All talks are open to the MIT community.
    Web: http://mit.edu/mlog/news/scils2009.html
    Contact: Tracy Nash, E40-355, x4-6564, tnash10@mit.edu
    Sponsor: Center for Transportation and Logistics

    Case Study in Team Leadership
    Alex Niemeyer, Expert Prinicpal - McKinsey & Company
    Mon Jan 5, 03-04:30pm, E51-335

    Supply Chain Leadership Lessons and Strategy Development
    Kevin Smith, Sr VP & Corp Sustainability Officer - CVS
    Mon Jan 12, 09-10:30am, E51-315

    Leadership Difference
    General Keith Thurgood, Commander - Army & Air Force Exchange Service
    Wed Jan 14, 09-10:30am, E51-315

    Leadership in the Nexus of Technology, Supply Chain, and Entrepreneurship
    Don Hicks, CEO - Llamasoft
    Thu Jan 15, 09-10:30am, E51-315

    Developing and Aligning Corporate Strategy
    Ellen Ewing, Director of Corporate Strategy - UPS
    Fri Jan 16, 09-10:30am, E51-315

    Lessons from Nokia's Supply Chain in China
    Dr. Mika Karilahti, Director of New Technology Sourcing - Nokia
    Tue Jan 20, 09-10:30am, E51-335

    Supply Chain at a Start-up: The Challenges of Success!
    Judith Taylor, VP of Customer Experience - NxStage Medical
    Wed Jan 21, 09-10:30am, E51-315

    PepsiCo Logistics – Continuing the Journey
    Mark Whittaker, VP of Transportation - PepsiCo
    Thu Jan 22, 09-10:30am, E51-315

    Change Can Happen… in Large Global Businesses
    David Lapre, VP Technical Operations - Roche
    Fri Jan 23, 10:30am-12:00pm, E51-315

    Tax Issues for Employees and Entrepreneurs
    Howard Mandelcorn, Joseph Weber
    Tue Jan 20, Wed Jan 21, 01-04:00pm, E51-149

    No limit but advance sign up required (see contact below)
    Participants requested to attend all sessions (non-series)

    This course intends to expose students to a broad range of tax issues students will encounter shortly after graduation as an entrepreneur or an employee. For a new employee, taxes are an important consideration in decisions regarding deductions and retirement savings (through employee and employer contributions such as 401k's IRAs, etc). Taxes also feature prominently in decisions with respect to stock option-based compensation. Also, tax related issues for U.S. taxpayers working overseas will be addressed. For the entrepreneur, taxes also influence a new business venture's choice of entity: Corporation, LLC, Partnership, Sole Proprietorship. Instructor: Howard Mandelcorn is a partner at the Hutchings Baramian LLP law firm in Wellesley, Massachusetts.
    Contact: Patrick X. Brown, (617) 253-6130, pxbrown@mit.edu
    Sponsor: Sloan School of Management


    MIT  
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Home | Overview | Participate | Organize | Offerings | Calendar | Search
    Comments and questions to: iap-www@mit.edu Academic Resource Center, Room 7-104, 617-253-1668
    Last update: 30 September 2004