Senior Lecturer Sara Beckman has been named the new co-faculty director of the Management of Technology (MOT) Program, a partnership between Haas and the College of Engineering.
MOT, which focuses on the use of technology to obtain competitive advantage, brings MBA and engineering students together in the classroom. Beckman's charge at MOT includes exploring new opportunities and integrating the program more tightly with the Haas School's "Leading Through Innovation" emphasis on developing leaders who know how to put new ideas to work.
"The extension of MOT toward this broad concept of innovation opens up exciting new directions for the program's future," says Dean Rich Lyons. "Professor Beckman's vision and expertise will be of great benefit to the school and the program."
Beckman's efforts pioneering the study of product development and design thinking in the MBA curriculum were a key factor that led BusinessWeek to name Haas one of the world's top design schools in the world.
Beckman will be joined by Professor Shmuel Oren, who will serve as the faculty director for the College of Engineering. Beckman and Oren are taking on responsibilities previously held by Haas Professor Rashi Glazer and Professor David Dornfeld from the College of Engineering.
MOT Executive Director Andrew Isaacs will now serve as the program’s director of new programs, including studying a major new initiative within MOT. He will also continue to teach in MOT, which is now part of the new Institute for Business Innovation at Berkeley-Haas, under the leadership of Professor Michael Katz.