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April Orientation
During orientation week in April, the incoming class is given an academic overview of the program and begins to acquaint itself with the MIT Sloan environment. The week provides excellent opportunities to meet with members of the current class and to start developing the learning community for the year ahead. In addition to academic orientation activities, the week includes social gatherings and realtor support to assist in meeting housing needs. All members of the incoming class and their partners are strongly encouraged to attend.
June Orientation
The first week of the program emphasizes the transition from busy executive to full-time student, with a heavy focus on building an integral learning community among the participants. In addition to activities that introduce the overall program, the curriculum, faculty, and other MIT resources, many of the events focus on team building and understanding the backgrounds of fellow classmates. A number of the events help to draw partners and families into the MIT Sloan Fellows community.
Sloan Innovation Period
The Sloan Innovation Period (SIP) is a one-week period at the mid-point of each semester where regular courses are on hiatus. All enrolled students participate in a wide spectrum of leadership activities and research seminars centered on the theme of innovation. SIP provides students and faculty with the opportunity to jointly explore what makes MIT Sloan exceptional — leadership acumen, research expertise, and the hands-on applicability of research.
Independent Activities Period: January 2007
The Independent Activities Period (IAP) is a special 4-week term at MIT that runs the entire month of January. IAP provides all members of the MIT community with a break from the routine of the fall and spring semesters and offers opportunities for creativity and flexibility in teaching and learning. Students are free to set their own educational agendas, pursue independent projects, meet with faculty, or pursue many other options not possible during the semester. IAP has been an important component of the MIT experience for nearly 30 years.
Team Convergence
The MIT Sloan Fellows Program offers a dynamic team paradigm unique to the program. Fellows build strong bonds within intimate study groups that systematically collaborate with other study groups. As a result of this distinctive model, every Sloan Fellow has the opportunity to work closely in a team environment with every other member of the class.
Seminar In Leadership
The MIT Sloan Fellows Seminar in Leadership is a class without boundaries. Fellows evaluate leadership models with MIT Sloan faculty and global leaders like Ron Williams, SF '87, Chairman, CEO, and President of Aetna, and Admiral Thad Allen, SF '89, Commandant of the US Coast Guard. Fellows also travel to key centers of business in the United States and to international destinations that are at the center of emerging or burgeoning markets. During these trips, fellows have the opportunity to sit down with global leaders and talk frankly and confidentially about the key challenges of the day—augmenting the intense innovation and global leadership expertise they have been building throughout the year.
Leadership Studies
In a world where ever-accelerating change is a constant, skillful leadership is both more crucial and more challenging than ever before. Sloan Fellows have the opportunity to develop their capacity for creative, effective leadership through rigorous analysis and intensive practice. During the program, they will enhance their ability to define important objectives, build dynamic relationships, and deliver innovative solutions.
Because each fellow's leadership interests, needs, and experience are different, the program offers more than 100 elective offerings so that participants may create a tailored course of study that builds on their core leadership courses. All participants are encouraged to take one or more of the fall MIT Sloan Innovation Period (SIP) offerings. Many of these offerings focus on leadership theory and skill development and provide a wide range of opportunities for modeling, practice and feedback, self-assessment, and reflection. They are delivered in a variety of formats: half- or full-term courses, workshops, simulations, and field trips.
Prior to arriving at MIT Sloan, fellows participate in a 360° Leadership Assessment with the help of 10-15 peers, managers, subordinates, and clients that each fellow selects to provide feedback. Working one-on-one with faculty, fellows review the results of this assessment during the summer term before beginning intensive leadership studies.
Research Requirement
All students in the MIT Sloan Fellows Program in Innovation and Global Leadership will complete either a management research project within a small team or a master's thesis, usually written individually or with a co-author. Either option provides exceptional opportunities to build upon the strengths of MIT's research centers and laboratories while focusing on a particular business problem or challenge — something the normal pressures of day-to-day business rarely allow. The Research Requirement also provides the impetus and connection points to link outside organizations to the various research centers and laboratories that are most relevant to one's own organization. The Research Requirement provides many students with the opportunity to launch new phases in their careers by providing access to individuals, data, and new perspectives that build upon and enhance their coursework and other program experiences. Alumni continually emphasize the significant impact that their research projects have had in transitioning to new roles within their organizations.
A selection of past participants' thesis topics:
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