Forum » ITAB

Innovation and the Silicon Valley

Dave Meyer — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:00:08 +0000

Crescit cum commercio civitas. Civilization prospers with commerce: indeed, it does. And our college strikes out to prepare our students to be leaders in commerce and in the great institution that facilitates it: government. There is no doubt in my mind that graduating Stags and Athenas–perhaps more than any other graduates in the country–leave our school with a stronger background in civics, economics, and the theories and frameworks that drive and guide these fields. CMC aims to go beyond merely producing great businessmen and women–we seek to produce leaders in society.

With that excessively grandiose first paragraph out of the way, I’d like to discuss my concern that the great education CMC gives us tends to point a large number of our best students towards these career paths: law, consulting, and finance. To the individual graduate, these are very attractive options–they offer high pay, prestige, interesting and challenging work, and opportunities for upward movement. With that in mind, let me explain what draws me to technology while I surround myself at CMC with future lawyers, consultants, and bankers. I believe that technology offers a real opportunity for innovation where other sectors do not. This is not to say that service industries do not offer value–far from it. But where would all these CMC grads be if not for the people out there building business that need legal advice, management consulting, and capital investments? Building a world-changing business–that is to say, being a business leader–is all about innovation. CMCers are more than capable of innovating–Henry Kravis and George Roberts brought about one of the greatest innovations in the world of finance over the last few decades. That said, innovations in finance lack the kind of society-changing impact that technology companies have brought about over the same time period. So with that in mind, I think what I find attractive about technology companies–and about product-based, as opposed to service-based, companies in general–is the opportunity to truly innovate and be responsible for building a product that has the potential to change the world. Or at least make it a better place.

I’m not claiming to have some brilliant insight or wisdom to recommend that all my peers change career paths. I haven’t achieved some fantastic success in the technology industry that justifies my claim. I’ve had a pair of internships and those were pretty cool, but mostly I’m just trying to lay out my reasoning for why I’m attracted to tech and rather put off by service businesses. The idea of building something resonates with me. To quote Ta-Nehisi Coates in The Atlantic:

“But above all, it’s the feeling of having done something original, of developing a thought derived from World Book and Childcraft, of making that thought manifest, rings down through the years. This was the exhilaration of having made something. And in search of that original high, I am still making things.”

The success of CMC’s ITAB Silicon Valley Networking Trip speaks to the idea that this desire to build is becoming increasingly popular. The trip exposes current CMC students to some of the most innovative graduates of our school–people like Jonathan Rosenberg, who managed Google’s products from 2002 until April of this year. Spending a week visiting several companies each day in the Bay Area leaves you with a sense of excitement that’s difficult to explain. Going to company after company that is doing something cool and new and fascinating with technology instills a desire to join in and build something yourself. The networking trip is a fantastic crash course in the technology sector and its potential, and many of the students that attend end up taking internships or jobs at technology companies.

For this reason, I’m excited that CMC has chosen to offer an entirely new program to further promote these careers: the Silicon Valley Program. Modeled after the Washington D.C. Semester Program, the Claremont Colleges Silicon Valley program will be a semester-long off-campus study experience that combines an internship at a Silicon Valley tech companies with relevant coursework. Jointly sponsored by the Robert Day School and the Off-Campus Study Office, the program will place students at companies like Apple, Atlassian, Cisco, Electronic Arts, Google, HP, Infosys, Intuit, and Oracle for a full-time internship. The seminars will be economics classes (just like the seminars in D.C. are government classes) covering topics like industrial organization and entrepreneurship.

The introduction of this program is an extraordinary leap forward in promoting technology to the same tier CMC currently reserves for law, consulting, and finance. By offering students interested in software engineering, entrepreneurship, and the business of technology the same type of immersion we currently provide to those interested in government and law, CMC is positioning itself to achieve the critical mass of alumni in the industry necessary to encourage a wider range of tech companies to recruit our graduates. Furthermore, it will increase the visibility of technology careers on campus. (How many CMCers know what product management is?)

Let me be clear: the dream isn’t to drive away our graduates from traditional careers in law, consulting, and finance. Rather, my hope is that there will be CMCers innovating and starting companies and building products to the point where they can hire their fellow CMC graduates as lawyers when they need legal services, as consultants when they need corporate advice, and as investors when they need to raise capital. CMCers are brilliantly creative, smart, and hardworking–innovative tech businesses are built on these traits. With the emergence of the Silicon Valley Program, the potential for our graduates to create world-changing technology products has never shone brighter in Claremont.

CMC Considers Semester-Long Silicon Valley Program

Anna Pan — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 15:00:36 +0000

Claremont McKenna is considering the creation of a semester-long program in Silicon Valley, multiple administration and trustees confirmed. If the program is approved, students will live in Silicon Valley for a semester, interning during the day and taking classes at night.

The project is modeled off of CMC’s established Washington D.C. program. The College is also looking to begin a similar program in the Middle East, for a total of three distinct offerings of this kind.

The program is designed to provide CMC students with new internship and employment opportunities, as well as to widen CMC alumni and parent connections in the San Francisco Bay Area. “Silicon Valley is unquestionably a center of high-tech leadership for the United States and having a program there has always seemed a natural fit to me,” Barton Evans ’70, Trustee and chair of the Information Technology Advisory Board (ITAB), told the Forum.

The program would accept between 16 to 18 students, who would have a full-time internship and take three classes. Program participants would use the location to their advantage and meet prominent figures in different fields. Evans said that although the internships and classes will be structured based on the existing Washington D.C. program, his vision is that they are “separate and distinct.”

The program will focus on technology and include topical courses such as organization and finance, but will most likely be designed to be open to all majors, to “make sure that the program is a gateway for as many student interests as possible,” according to Gregory Hess, Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Dean of Faculty.

Students have responded positively. “I am eagerly looking forward to this opportunity myself. These internships will give students the opportunity to apply their knowledge in real-world environments and to develop skills which will provide useful in future employment,” said Orlan Davies ’13.

The new program was inspired by the current ITAB Silicon Valley Networking Trip, organized by Cynthia Humes, Chief Technology Officer, Linda Tuthill, ITS Business Manager, and Stephen Siegel ’86, Associate Vice President of Development. Students on the trip spend a week in Silicon Valley networking with alumni at leading firms such as Google, Facebook, Apple, Meebo, Cisco, and Lockheed Martin. Siegel has been on the trip several times, and said that the students learn “not only about internship and early career opportunities, but about corporate strategy, latest business developments, markets, and other important topics.”

Students have been offered numerous full-time jobs and internships as a direct result of the ITAB trip, now in its sixth year. Elliot Godzich ’12, a Computer Science major, landed an internship with enterprise software company Atlassian as a result of the trip. “The trip allowed me to witness firsthand how tech companies grow from ideas in the minds of a handful of entrepreneurs and engineers to multi-million dollar successes,” said Godzich, “In one week, the ITAB trip completely changed how I think of business in the tech world. I cannot imagine how valuable an entire semester in Silicon Valley would be.”

A small committee is still in the process of determining the program’s logistics, and narrowing down a course list. If the program were to continue, it would be an extension of the CMC Off-Campus Study program and would be funded out of CMC’s general fund. Dean Hess is optimistic. “The soonest we would possibly start the program is in the fall of 2012,” he told the Forum, “Of course, we still have a lot of planning and review to undertake before we make the decision to go ahead.”

The Forum Launches India Bureau

Kevin Burke — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:28:57 +0000

I’m way ahead on credits, so I’m taking this semester off and working for a nonprofit in India. Why India? It’s cheap, the people there speak English, and the food’s good. As a parting gift, my editor gave me a jar of corn whiskey and told me to write once a week. If you had any doubts about whether writers at the Forum are well-compensated, put them to rest. Maybe if I work hard on my posts, she’ll spring for a handle of Popov when I get back.

Like most young people, I’m full of good intentions about helping to lift people out of poverty and put them on the path to economic prosperity. Unlike most young people, I’m cynical about the ability of foreign aid to help poor people; while charities have the best intentions in the world, many of them don’t actually measure whether the money they spend is making a meaningful difference. Furthermore, if aid groups work through the local government and aid makes up a significant percentage of GDP, aid may actively harm countries, by providing an incentive for local government officials to stay in power, to keep the faucet of aid flowing into their pockets. Many people are trying to fundraise to give money to Haitians, but the best thing we can do for Haitians right now has nothing to do with giving them money.

Figuring out what works in foreign aid and what doesn’t was named by a group of economists as the most exciting thing going in economics these days. The NGO I’m working for, Seva Mandir, conducts randomized experiments in northwest India to figure out what’s working in external aid, and what isn’t. They work with a whole bunch of cool economists all around the world, including Esther Duflo, who recently won a MacArthur Genius grant.

I have three goals for the trip. The first is to be more useful to Seva Mandir than the cash value of my plane ticket to and from India. The second is to say “I’m game” for any proposed activity, spicy dish or 3AM jaunt. This rule is extremely useful as it makes decision making very easy; just say yes to everything. The third is to learn how to cook. I will be able to make a mean curry by the time I fly home. I am also being very careful to avoid dog bites and to avoid making any judgments about the people I meet, for example, for going to a traditional healer to cure a disease rather than seeking modern medical treatment.

Right now I am in the New Delhi airport and visibility is about 20 feet. That didn’t stop the cab driver from speeding along at about 40 miles per hour. My cab driver was using the other cars’ horns like sonar, so he could tell where they were without having to look over his shoulder. I’m on my way to Udaipur, which was the location for the James Bond movie Octopussy. I am excited to meet the staff and begin work.

If I Were Pam Gann…

Josh S. — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:00:02 +0000

At a recent ASCMC meeting, the Board was debating what to spend money on. ASCMC has a mandate to “improve student life,” but at a school with the “Happiest Students” that “Runs Like Butter” and has the “Best Quality of Life,” it can be hard to find things to improve. So this brought up an interesting question– what does our school not have?

Top 20 things I would buy if I were President Gann* and had a boatload of money (in order of importance):

A new athletics/recreation center to replace Ducey. Easily the most important thing for CMC right now.
A computer science professor (or two). We only have one now.
A new website
More “networking” trips during breaks like the ITAB (Silicon Valley) and FEI (NYC) trips. Both were some of the best learning experiences I’ve had in the past four years.
Renovations and furniture for the Hub
Renovations and furniture for the computer labs (better furniture, more screens, etc… check out the Mudd/Pomona labs and you’ll see what we’re missing)
Renovations and furniture for the Reading Room
(Onto the frivolous purchases…)
Giant plasma screens and speakers all over campus broadcasting the same thing at all times
An elaborate mini-golf course between Boswell and Green
An outdoor pool for non-athletic use (Scripps is too far and has inconvenient hours for men)
A large outdoor hot tub at the Senior Apartments. (Important: cleaned and sanitized daily, at least.)
A bronze statue of Donald McKenna outside Collins Dining Hall. Oxidized to look old and grand.
A gold statue of Henry Kravis outside the Kravis Center. Polished daily to look new and expensive.
Scripps College (just the students, the Motley, and the dining hall. They can keep the other stuff.)
A lazy river from Kravis Center to Bauer Center. (Important: shut off and emptied on Thursday and Saturday nights.)
High speed train from Claremont Boulevard to the top of Mt. Baldy
Chairlift (gondola?) from South Quad to North Quad
Pitzer College (KKR leveraged buyout style)
The Mudd Hole
Loanable go-karts (with front-mounted video cameras)

Other changes would include abolishing senior thesis, most GEs, and demolishing McKenna Auditorium and Ducey Gym.

*Henry Kravis, Robert Day, or any other super rich donor would do

Disagree? Did I forget something? Leave it in the comments.

CMC’s ITAB Silicon Valley Trip Gives Students View of Real World

Josh S. — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 00:58:38 +0000

Many programs at Claremont McKenna—from student computer labs to scholarships—are funded by alumni who give back to CMC so we can experience what they could not. One such program is the Annual ITAB trip to Silicon Valley in January.

Every year since 2005, a group of about a dozen Claremont McKenna students spend a week in San Jose where they have the opportunity to visit and network with various Silicon Valley executives at leading companies in the area. This year, students brushed shoulders with CEOs, partners, and other top management at nine companies in the Silicon Valley area. The trip, which costs ITAB over $1,800 per student, is provided free to participants.

ITAB, the Information Technology Advisory Board, is an organization of CMC-affiliated executives in the technology industry working to advance the role of technology at CMC. Since 2005, the organization has sponsored a week-long trip to Silicon Valley. The trip was started in 2005 by ITAB Chair Bart Evans ‘70.

Mr. Evans started the ITAB trip to help establish Silicon Valley as one of CMC’s “centers of gravity.” “The current centers of gravity for CMC alumni are LA, New York, DC, San Francisco,” Mr. Evans explained to the group of 15 students who attended this year’s trip. That is, CMC alumni are concentrated in a few industries and geographic areas. “The world is getting smaller—much of our country’s business is being exported, but Silicon Valley is one of the few places [in the US] where people are still creating and innovating.” Mr. Evans wants to add the technology industry, specifically Silicon Valley, to CMC’s radar.

During the trip, ITAB pays for all student expenses—a week-long stay at the Fairmont Hotel San Jose, transportation, food, and miscellaneous costs. ITAB also provides each student with calling cards (business cards), a leather-bound portfolio, and tote bags to carry the “shwag” we pick up throughout the week—an “I’m Feeling Lucky” t-shirt from Google, a chunk of Silicon rock from Applied Materials, a bottle-opener that plays the “Yahoo!” jingle, etc.

Throughout the week, students are shuttled to various companies in Silicon Valley from Apple Headquarters in Cupertino to Google Headquarters in Mountain View (plug for Google: free Naked Juices and food everywhere!). CMC Chief Technology Officer, Professor Cynthia Humes accompanies the students on the trip, as her office is responsible for planning the trip.

“It’s a lot of work to plan the trip, but we get better at it each year the program is in operation,” said Dr. Humes. “For example, we hope to visit a gaming company like Electronic Arts next year in addition to this year’s lineup of companies.”

ITAB is also actively recruiting new members to help defray the costs of the trip. “The current cost is about $1,800-$2,000 per student, with students paying for their own transportation to San Jose. We want to expand our resources to be able to pay for each student’s transportation as well,” said Humes.

The ITAB trip (and the similar Financial Economics Institute-sponsored Networking Trip) is an underutilized gem at CMC. Within days after the trip was over, students had landed interviews and even jobs at the companies visited. What one learns in an economics or computer science class makes for useful technical skills, but only opportunities like these prepare students for the real world.

My highlights from the 2008 ITAB trip:

-Presentation by Scott Mauvais ’90 at Microsoft. Mr. Mauvais gave us the down low on why Microsoft isn’t threatened by Apple and a few other “do not repeat this outside of this room” remarks. I will not repeat them. We also got to raid the company store.

-Julie Cox ’07 gave an informative presentation about what consultants, especially IT consultants, do on a day to day basis.

-Listening to John Volk ’70, Partner in the Venture Capital Group at PricewaterhouseCoopers recount his decision to go to law school (“This was nearly 40 years ago… we didn’t know what was what… Duke was the best [law school] I got into, so I jumped in a car and drove across the country.”)

-Ashwin Navin ’99, President and Co-Founder of BitTorrent delivering the keynote address at the Alumni Association-hosted ITAB Reception at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose. In a chat with students after his speech, Ashwin recalled how cool he felt living in Auen Hall when it was the only dorm with high speed internet hookups in every room.

-Weston Presidio, a venture capital firm located on a pier in San Francisco. Jim McElwee ’74, a partner at Weston Presidio, talked about the hardships and benefits of venture capital firms.

-Todd Teresi ’94, Senior VP at Yahoo!, brought in legal and marketing experts from the company to talk to us about censorship in China, redefining Yahoo!’s brand, and other topics. I was pretty unconvinced that Yahoo! would grow or survive much longer after our visit until recently.

-Discussion with Bill MacGowan ’79, Executive Vice President, and Jonathan Schwartz, CEO of Sun Microsystem. Mr. Schwartz is a legend in Silicon Valley and his blog is one of the most widely read in the industry.

-Apple presentation by Scott Gilfoil, head of campus recruiting. Mr. Gilfoil gave us an entertaining pitch to work for Apple (and buy Apple products).

-Joe Pon ’89 and George Davis ’80 at Applied Materials. Joe Pon gave us a tour of Applied’s labs, including chip manufacturing and research clean rooms where we had to take off our shoes and wear booties. Mr. Pon also discussed our country’s energy crisis and gave me a clearer view of solar panel technology and alternative energy sources.

-A visit to Infosys in Fremont, CA convinced me to apply for an internship in Bangalore, India this summer. I guess I’ll see how that one turns out…

-Jonathan Rosenberg ’83, Senior Vice President at Google, first fanned out 15 business cards, smiled, and said “E-mail me. I WILL help you.” Mr. Rosenberg also recounted some of his favorite CMC stories and advice for success in business.