At least until 2019, finance and accounting firms used to hire the highest number of MBA graduates. But with the increasing number of tech companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook and Google, the tech industry has started recruiting numerous candidates from B-schools across the world. While the ability to solve problems and skills to work with others is developed during the course of an MBA, the top tech MBA programs focus on building additional skills that appeal to the recruiters.
When a tech giant is recruiting an MBA candidate, they look for specific skill sets that include data analysis and interpretation skills and the ability to comprehend and apply logic. They also look at factors like coachability and reflection in the candidate of their choice.
These are a few factors that candidates, who are looking to get a tech MBA, should focus on while choosing the program and the B-school. How will the B-school’s curriculum help them to acquire or build these skills? How will the MBA program help them to develop these skills? MBA aspirants should be more concerned about these aspects than just the location of the institution.
It is a given that the tech MBA programs are designed for students or working professionals who come with a background in tech, typically with experience in programming or product development. But there are reasons why certain MBA programs are better than others. Taking all that into consideration, here are a few of the top global tech MBA programs that you should check out:
The B-school claims to have built the program at the intersection of business and technology providing the students with tools of business to those who are pursuing a career in the technology industry. The tech MBA program offered by Stern School of Business focuses on four main aspects. This includes teaching the students about business and technology and also lays emphasis on experiential learning and the elective courses students get to choose.
People usually think there are not many technology companies on the east coast, but most popular companies will have an office in New York or in the periphery giving the B-school a good geographic location advantage. Moreover, the Stern Solutions component offers the MBA candidates an opportunity to work and participate in built-in projects on the east and the west coasts.
IE Business School takes pride in the fact that they were the first ones to introduce a tech MBA course in Europe. The one-year program based in Madrid has three focus points. They aim to teach the students to master business and management, understand the technology and to build leadership qualities. For this, they use a three-stage integrative approach. This includes exploration, action and focus. The B-school promises to develop professionals who want to pursue a career in the technology sector. It lays 100% emphasis on business for tech considering the fact that the students who are going to apply to their college already have a tech-background.
Cornell is an Ivy League college that comes with a good brand credential. The one-year full-time residential MBA program offered by the B-school is tailored for working professionals who want to spend as little time out of the workforce as possible. The tech MBA structured around three structural pillars -- a ten-week intensive summer semester in Ithaca, Product Studio, and Startup Studio -- begins at Cornell’s Ithaca campus. Between two semesters, you have an opportunity to travel to Israel to network and showcase business solutions to the local citizens.
The Tech-MBA program at the Foster School of Management at the University of Washington is a technology-focused accelerated MBA program for a duration of 18 months. Given that the other tech MBA programs can be completed within a year, this tech MBA program is slightly longer. The B-school is situated in Seattle, home to two of the largest tech players in the world, Microsoft and Amazon. The B-school claims that the 18-month program will help candidates build a strong analytical foundation that supports leadership, strategy and entrepreneurial frameworks getting them ready for the next step in their career.
- Technology Strategy and Product Management MBA Track, Tepper School of Business, Pennsylvania
The program offered by the Tepper School of Business is a technology strategy and product management MBA track. This track emphasizes the management aspects of running a high-tech company helping the students who aspire for senior positions like product manager, technology consultants, CTO and VP of products. The program is designed to help its students to lead their future organizations in developing and executing technology strategies and managing technology projects.
With this, we come to the end of the five top tech MBA programs that an MBA candidate can explore in 2020. But as mentioned earlier, there are many more tech MBA programs that are offered by other B-schools in the US, the UK, India, Europe and Asia.
Tech MBAs are programs that should teach you about business, management and technology. Along with these, they should also ensure that an MBA candidate learns how to lead and innovate. When looked at from the perspective of a company, a tech MBA degree holder will have a lot to contribute. They will not only be able to bring in ideas for products but also find markets for them. So, It is important to understand these points and look at the MBA programs in detail before deciding on the B-schools and the courses.
