The TMMBA Student Experience: Program Immersion Week
On the Sunday after Thanksgiving, the newest cohort of Technology Management MBA (TMMBA) students descended on UW Seattle campus to start their TMMBA journey. Every TMMBA Program starts with seven full days of classroom instruction, team building, interactive learning and, of course, fun on the Seattle and Kirkland campuses.
During the TMMBA Program Immersion students complete seven academic credits over the span of seven consecutive days. It is an intense introduction to the program, but it is an excellent way to prepare students for the rigor ahead of them and for student teams to come together and figure out how they will be successful in advance of their first full academic quarter – Winter 2018.
This year, students completed three courses: Negotiations, Ethical Leadership and Building Effective Teams. The week was a mix of challenge and inspiration. Several students approached us to say the curriculum was beyond expectation and, in fact, wished they could have had more coursework with each instructor. Here are just a few of the comments we received from students:
Immersion week was the most fun I’ve had in school. EVER! (And I’ve been in school a long time!) It was crazy tiring fun though — I think if it was one day longer I would have passed out! The professors were great in that they were enjoyable to listen to and engage with and the classes were really interesting. Getting to know classmates over the week was great- it’s funny, when Monday came it was kinda empty not meeting up with everyone.
The biggest thing I noted was that all three instructors were very engaging and passionate. They were eager to share their lessons and continuously maintained everyone’s attention. This is in stark contrast to what one may experience in undergraduate engineering courses where professors may not be as engaging or participatory. Receptive to the passion, the students responded in kind and were equally involved in class discussions and debates. I have never sat in a course with so much involvement and open dialogue – thus making these immersion week classes the most rewarding courses I have ever taken. This is the highest praise I can offer as a student.
During the immersion week I learned a lot from the three classes, made friends and formed a good team. It was busy, though enjoyable. It brought back good memories from my college time many years ago. I’m looking forward the challenge first quarter now!
After the immersion week, I went back to my husband and said ‘Is it okay to say I love my courses for TMMBA?’ My husband cracked up. Honestly, I did not expect MBA courses could be this good. The immersion week was intense but in a right way. Well-planned courses from well-organized Ethical Leadership (that being the most grueling but thoroughly enjoyable) to light-hearted Negotiations (that has all the fun quotient) to well-balanced Building Effective Teams (that being both grueling and fun). All in all a great way to lay the foundation for our future quarters. Thank you to all the staff members to making this a sweet journey for all of us.
Mid-week, the Dean of the Foster School of Business, James Jiambalvo, stopped by the Kirkland campus to personally welcome this new TMMBA cohort to the Foster School of Business family. He shared his vision for the school, and students were encouraged to ask him questions about the program itself or the Foster school as a whole.
Finally, at the end of a long week, students kicked back with a Casino Night hosted at Anthony’s Forum in Paccar Hall.
On the final evening of Program Immersion, students celebrate their intense week with some casino night fun.
Kudos for all your hard work, TMMBA Class of 2019! We are excited to see what your 18-month TMMBA journey holds.
Read more about our newest cohort: TMMBA Welcomes Class of 2019
