Bahnny Das: Journey To Inclusive Product Management
The Master of Science in Information Systems program at the UW Foster School of Business in Seattle is a one-year, work-compatible, accelerated master’s program designed to train current and future business leaders in information systems management.
Each year, MSIS students display their leadership through involvement in innovative cross-campus events. Bahnny Das, MSIS Class of 2021, recently took on the opportunity to gain new connections in product management through a unique leadership role. We interviewed Bahnny to learn more about her journey to leadership and her involvement in the product management community at Foster.
Tell us about your leadership role at Foster’s Product Management Center.
Joining the Foster School of Business last year was a life-changing experience for me. To give back to the product management community, I am now volunteering with the Foster the Product team to bring inclusivity into their upcoming Inclusive Product Management Summit on May 7th. My goal is to bring inspiring stories of product leaders to upcoming leaders and empower them to achieve more. I am involved in the planning and coordination activities to increase the event’s outreach to underrepresented communities as well as to students who are interested in pursuing a career as a product manager.
What experiences from MSIS led you to further develop your interest in product management?
While working over assignments with teammates remotely across different time zones, I realized the difference that determination and teamwork could bring to a project. I strongly believe that most problems in society can be solved if technology is used humanely, hence, I took up a course on product strategy by professor Ming Fan and a course on product management by professor Uttara Ananthakrishnan.
Thereafter I started looking at gaps in existing technological products. The case studies and reports I wrote for that class helped me relate academics to real-life projects and be an effective product manager. Besides, the mentorship program offered by MSIS helped me broaden my horizon and bring a strong professional flavor to my approach.
MSIS Class of 2021 Students: Bahnny Das, Nam Saxena, Deyashini Chakravorty, Malavika Nandakumar
What connections have you made through this experience?
I have connected with the product management community at UW through other student coordinators and volunteers. Besides, I also got the opportunity to meet product leaders from top tech companies in several brainstorming sessions who volunteered their time to advise the Product Management Center on its upcoming events.
What are you most excited about for the upcoming summit?
I am really excited to attend the sessions by the amazing lineup of speakers and also participate in the hands-on workshop. Over the past year, I have attended various product conferences that brought me closer to awe-inspiring leaders and I believe that the Inclusive Product Management Summit will be another step in that direction. The need of the hour is to build inclusive products and I hope to make the community stronger by highlighting the same in the summit. I hope all the attendees have a great experience and continue their exploration of inclusivity in and out of their careers.
To learn more about the Master of Science in Information Systems program and how you can join our community, contact us today.
