Fall/Winter 2010 - Technological Leadership Institute - University of ...

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1990-2010Management of Technolog ylevel experience in technology-basedcompanies and broad academic experience.He wanted Shulman to serve as interimdirector of the new center and co-directorof the fledging MOT program. In 1989, theUniversity appointed Shulman as actingdirector and a year later as the first CDTLdirector, director of the MOT graduateprogram, and Honeywell/Harold W. SweattChair in Technological Leadership.Decisions, decisionsShulman and Adams faced the dauntingtask of creating a new degree program ina little over a year. As a start, Shulmanturned to his educational roots forinspiration.He received his Sc.D. in aeronauticsand astronautics from the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology (MIT), whichin 1981 launched the nation’s firstmanagement of technology program, andhis business master’s from the Universityof Chicago Booth School of BusinessExecutive MBA Program.He visited MIT and the University ofChicago to learn more about the detailsof their programs. “Armed with thatinformation, Carl and I started mappingout the MOT program,” he says.First the two outlined the contentfor the curriculum, which involved acombination of modifying existing coursesto focus on the needs of technologydrivenorganizations and developing newofferings.“About two-thirds of the content wasmore or less the traditional managementkind of courses, but positioned to berelevant to management of technologyfirms,” says Adams. “About one-third ofthe content was new courses that wereappropriate for technology firms.”Those new courses included Foundationsof the Management of Technology,Science and Technology Policy, ManagingIntellectual Property, Technology Foresightand Forecasting, and Pivotal Technologies.In addition, the program featured acapstone project—a final project thatoffered students “the chance to tacklea real-life topic of their choice with thesupervision and approval of the faculty,”says Shulman.Other key decisions involved formatand faculty for the new degree program.With busy working professionals as thetarget student, Shulman modeled theformat, with all-day classes on alternateFridays and Saturdays, after that of manyexecutive MBA programs. Adams andShulman also tapped top faculty from theCarlson School and the College of Scienceand Engineering for teaching duties in thenew program.The significant last step was the effortto recruit and enroll students for theinaugural MOT class. Shulman beganmeeting with technology-based companiesthroughout the area, explaining the roleof the new program and asking companiesto consider sending several candidates tothe program.“We needed that kind of buy-in fromcompanies,” says Adams. “We were able toput together a critical mass of students.”Sails upThe first MOT class—with 36 students—arrived in fall 1990. “We got off to agreat start,” says Shulman. “It was anoutstanding class of very good students,and they set the tone for the classes thatfollowed.”After the launch, there was no questionof its continued success. “It was an ideawhose time had come,” says Shulman.With MIT and Minnesota leading theway, more management of technologyprograms began to emerge. Before MITlaunched its program in 1981, only 32MOT Class of 1992graduation, withProfessor Shulman(first row, left)and MOT ProgramCoordinator AndreaNelson (first row,right).6 Technological Leadership
engineering and technology managementprograms existed, all outside the U.S.By 2002, the number of programs grewworldwide to 269, and currently there aremore than 325 management of technologyprograms.The International Association ofManagement of Technology (IAMOT) bringstogether management of technologyadministrators and faculty, and it was atan IAMOT meeting where Shulman metRias van Wyk, then a professor at theUniversity of Cape Town in South Africa.Van Wyk’s efforts to develop a universalstructure of technology knowledge fit wellwith the program’s focus, says Shulman.“His work helped lay the foundation forthe theoretical basis for the managementof technology,” he says.Van Wyk was invited to give apresentation at the University, “TowardsCorporate-Wide Technological Literacy,”as part of the Honeywell/SweattDistinguished Lecture Series. After thelecture, Shulman asked van Wyk toteach in the MOT program. Van Wyk laterbecame the William R. Sweatt Chair inManagement of Technology (MOT).“We thought that students who cometo the program had to have a grasp ofthe entire spectrum of technology,” saysvan Wyk. “We provided that overview inStrategic Technology Analysis. We werethe first university in the U.S. to teachthat.”As a unique degree, management oftechnology offers knowledge in fourkey areas, says van Wyk. They includeknowledge of technology, such as pivotaltechnologies and the universal structurefor technologies; technology-linkedmanagement topics, such as projectmanagement and technology forecasting;general management topics, such asmarketing and finance; and supportingdisciplines, such as economics andstatistics. It also provides a focus onstrategic application.With the program’s foundation firmly inplace, Shulman retired in 2000. “I spent10 years with the program, and I feel itwas my best achievement ever.”“About two-thirds of the MOT program contentwas more or less the traditional managementkind of courses, but positioned to be relevantto management of technology firms. About onethirdof the content was new courses that wereappropriate for technology firms.”–PROF. CARL ADAMS, Information and Decision Sciences, Carlson Schoolof Management“We thought that students had to have a graspof the entire spectrum of technology. Weprovided that overview in Strategic TechnologyAnalysis. We were the first university in the U.S.to teach that.”–PROF. RIAS VAN WYK, former William R. Sweatt Chair in Managementof Technology, TLI“The MOT discipline and degree has a uniquerole, and yet it is incredibly critical forsustainable growth of organizations that arewhat I call technology intensive.”–PROF. LOCKWOOD CARLSON, James J. Renier Visiting Land Grant Chair inTechnological Leadership, TLI“The early students in the MOT program havebeen successful so they have made it known toother people. There is a reputation for quality.”–PROF. ALFRED MARCUS, Edson W. Spencer Chair in Strategic Management,TLI and Strategic Management and Organization, Carlson School ofManagement“Management of technology is no longera collection of separate courses. The MOTcurriculum now leverages an ever-expandingbox of business technology analytical tools.”–PROF. DENNIS POLLA, William R. Sweatt Chair in the Management ofTechnology and current MOT Director of Graduate Studies, TLIFall 2010/Winter 2011 7
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